Hollywood Ruined Beowulf Hollywood has ruined the tale of the respectable hero Beowulf whose story has been told for many generations. Beowulf is the protagonist in the oldest surviving long poem of Old English, and is also referred to as one of the most important literary works of old English literature. In 2007 Hollywood’s Robert Zemeckis decided to produce a movie of the literary classic Beowulf. However, the movie only made the story full of drama, lust, and greed. The true story of Beowulf told of a Christ like hero who helped those in need, defeated creatures of evil, and went on mind blowing adventures that only that people could only dream of doing. Hollywood continues to ruin the image of famous novel characters by adding drama or …show more content…
In the book you see more of a virtuous Beowulf who helps people, tells the truth, and seeks adventure. While in the movie you see more of a Beowulf with a craving for more human desires such lust, wealth, and power. The Beowulf we saw in the movie was very lustful and often twisted the truth when asked about his past adventures which is not becoming of a hero, and even those around him sort of confirmed that he lied sometimes without saying it. A great example of this is when Beowulf was asked by Urnferth about his swimming race with Breca and how he lost. Beowulf was telling the story and it starts out simple with him and Breca racing, However, the conditions of what happened in the race are questionable. Beowulf said they swam five days (which according to the original story was true) and that he was conserving most of his strength for the end of the race and then suddenly it started storming, and a school of sea monsters started to attack. Beowulf said he ended up defeating the sea monsters and was able to dive back straight into the race, but right at the moment he was about to catch up to Breca he was dragged down by “sea monster” that was actually a female mermaid and then said he killed the monster by plunging his blade into the sea monsters heart when in reality he just decided to make love to the lovely mermaid. Now after he tells this story Urnferth asks Beowulf how many monsters did he kill and Beowulf …show more content…
The real Beowulf is selfless, kind and exemplifies all the qualities of a hero as it says in Gilchist Brodeur’s book “The Art of Beowulf”. Brodeur writes in his book saying, “Loyalty to kindred and to state word, steadfast fortitude in any situation, readiness to stake one’s life in a good cause, trust in God and submission to his will-these are the qualities of a hero” (Brodeur 185). Hollywood decided to make Beowulf individualistic because in reality who can relate to a virtuous hero. Hollywood needed a character with traits of an average person so that way the audience can say hey I been in the type of situation before this guy is sort of like me. Beowulf was not meant to seen as an individualistic guy, because even though it is harder for people to compare themselves to someone who can kill monsters with near god like strength he still a good example to follow. Why support a man who is plagued with troubles like everyday people when we can look up to someone who has gotten past his earthly struggles and has greatly found confidence in himself. Some might say well its impossible for people to look up to someone who can do all these great things on their own and not feel inadequate. Beowulf was indeed sure of his own strength, but sometimes relied upon God to help him. Beowulf was in fact a God fearing man who at times put his faith
Biggs highlights that Beowulf is not the type of hero audiences believe. He argues that Beowulf twists his own story in order to feign heroism. Furthermore, Biggs uses Beowulf’s own words against his status as a hero in order to defend his argument. In the work, the author is able to describe to the reader that Beowulf is manipulative. This is critical because it shatters the idea of this king being an honest hero. Biggs is able to refer to different passages within “Beowulf” that show how the king
In the two literary classics, Beowulf, an old English Epic, and Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare, there are two types of Heroes present, an epic hero and a tragic hero. The main character of the old English Epic is Beowulf who is described as a great warrior, characterized predominantly by his feats of strength and courage. Beowulf is also know as a hero of the Geats, and in the story comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a
Literature. Works like Beowulf and Canterbury Tales represent two eras and two stages of English, old and middle. Historic landmarks play a part in an author's writing. Monarchs control the authors environment. The study of British literature and its authors is a lasting endeavor bound to the timeline of the British kingdom and its people. Some the major works in British Literature are well known for how well they are written and others are loved for their story and age. Beowulf is a superior example
One example of this is shown in the epic poem Beowulf which was written by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet. In this time period, heroes were often well known and their only motivation for their actions was to just save the greater good and acquire a “trophy.” In this poem, Beowulf, a well known hero, travels to Denmark to save the Danes from a monster, Grendel, who was terrorizing Herot. Beowulf ends up defeating Grendel as well as his mother who comes to avenge her
“Throughout the stories of Beowulf, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are Beowulf Vs. Grendel, Macbeth vs. Duncan, and Dr. Jekyll vs. Mr. Hyde the protagonist encounters literary foils. One example of a literary foil is the story of Beowulf. Although the fights between the protagonist Beowulf and two antagonists construct the main plot of Beowulf, they merely serve as static background for the narrative. As the only human hero in the story, Beowulf the character fits
suffer the same fate. Whether from Beowulf, or from William Shakespeare’s well-known plays Hamlet, and Macbeth, there stands a ritualistic “connection” between these literary works. These literary works possess the acts of dying a purposeful, heroic death as well as heinous suicides. These deaths are ritualized differently on the basis of religious beliefs—influenced by the year written—as well as the overall “goodness” of the departed. Beowulf, is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem composed by an anonymous poet
be separated into two main types, epic and tragic. A hero is put into these categories by his actions and his story. Beowulf, the hero of the story Beowulf, is an example of an epic hero in fiction. He was the hero at the beginning and he remained a hero until the end of his tale. His persona did not change throughout the story and he had an, at least, semi-happy ending. He got what he wanted and achieved fame and glory. A tragic hero is the opposite of the epic hero. A tragic hero is a person that
obtains both characteristics. Loyalty plays a major role in epic stories. In Macbeth, loyalty is false as Macbeth uses fake loyalty for his own gain. Macbeth says to King Duncan, “The rest is labor which is not used for you” (Macbeth 333). In this quote Macbeth tells
(23 BC), written by the Roman poet Horace. Two poems from this English course that exemplify this phrase are Beowulf and Macbeth. Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, is poem that is set in Scandinavia. In essence, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Now, while this poem does not have a
Beowulf has the noble status of the prince of the Geats, making his death seem unbelievable because of his superior nobility and courageousness. While the Danish coast guard observes Beowulf, he says, “Nor have I seen / a mightier man-at-arms on this earth / than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken, / he is truly noble” (247 – 250). In the beginning of the epic poem, Beowulf truly exemplifies the identity of a courageous hero, and he
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence” (Colin Powell). Striking the manifesting ideals of loyalty in English Literature reflects a strong sense of character in the tales of Beowulf, Hamlet, and King Arthur. Bound to the history of the medieval times, their loyalty to their people, church, and effect on modern day chivalry has made a large impact. The medieval times were always known for their concepts of knights, castles, the feudal system
Fate in Beowulf, Grendel, and Macbeth Fate plays a significant role in the Old English epic poem Beowulf and William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.. The major events of the poem, such as the three killings by Beowulf and his own death, are said to have been predestined. In Macbeth, fate is so significant that it is personified by the Weird Sisters, who drive the action of the play. But if predestination exists, then there must be an agent that determines destiny. In Beowulf, God plays this role
archetype is a character, situation, or action, which represents a template throughout all forms of literature. These archetype templates have been used countless times since the existence of literature. Take the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf for example. The main character, Beowulf, is a leader that everyone looks up to in times of distress. He is an example of the “hero” character archetype. The “hero” archetype can be found in almost every from of literature, especially in eastern culture. In western
and dictatorships. With each passing year, there are technological advancements, changing political platforms, and a progressively mobile worldwide population. Each literary era reflects the human feats, lifestyles, and changing times: Anglo-Saxon epics consist of glory battle scenes, bloodied warriors, and feuding countries; Middle English works consist of glorified knights, the chivalric code, and a greedy, materialistic court; and, modern literary classics depict worlds of which the human race
Edmund Spenser (c. 1552 in London , † January 13 1599 ) was an English poet , elder contemporary and one of the models of William Shakespeare . • He was born in 1552 or 1553, the son of the tailor John Spenser and his wife Elizabeth, from Lincolnshire had come to London. Edmund attended Merchant Taylor's School , where the schoolmaster Richard Mulcaster tested a new educational idea. Mulcaster saw not only the Latin culture, but also the native language ie English, Education, to be important. Spenser