Beowulf is a glorious, heroic Anglo-Saxon poem that took place in the 6th century. The poem is considered to be one of the most important books in Anglo-Saxon literature. The poem is set in Scandinavia, although the story was written in England. At first, the book had no title until it was named after a warrior from Scandinavia. A brave warrior that arrived to Herot, which everyone considered a hero, due to all of the heroic acts that he boasted about, fought for glory and seeked fame. When he fought the monsters that were scaring Hrothgar, the king and his thanes, this caused his reputation to grow even more. In both the Beowulf movie and poem, there were similarities and differences in Beowulf, Grendel, and gender roles which make up the Anglo-Saxon society. The first illustration of how the similarities and differences tie these two unique stories is the personality of Beowulf. When we look for similarities, we find that in both the poem and the movie, Beowulf was a hero who boasts about himself and who saves the kingdom. When we search for differences, it is known that in the movie, Beowulf is just a hero, but not that it makes him any less...or maybe if we compare his royalty in the poem, we find that there is a slight, or maybe big difference. …show more content…
The main and only part that a women appeared was when Grendel’s mother seeked revenge for her son, Grendel but she was never given a name in either the poem or in the movie. In the movie, we realized that women had more of a role because we saw that they appeared more in community participations and in the way that Grendel’s mother showed up in more scenes that in the poem and also because there was a queen. But for similarities, both men and women were allowed to enter the mead hall but even after all of the things that women did to appear higher than they were actually seen, men still
Beowulf is an epic poem that was written in the late tenth-century, at the kingdom of the West Saxons. The two main characters are Beowulf, a young man; and Grendel, a furious dragon. Beowulf's world is a very violent society with wars as a dominant part of daily life. Dragons and monsters are a constant threat to the Danes and the Geats. Warriors are a necessity to this war-like society. Beowulf is a hero as well as a great, and honorable, warrior.
The epic poem Beowulf is an amazing story about heroism, bravery, and courage of man named Beowulf who rids a town of a monster who has been killing its people for over twelve years. While the author of this poem is unknown, he does an amazing job providing the reader with vivid details and an overall good story of the journey and life of Beowulf whom fights three monster to save the lives of others. The first monster Beowulf fights is Grendel, Grendel is monster who kills just to make others unhappy. While reading the story of the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, the reader learns of many similarities and differences between the two characters.
Beowulf and Grendel from the book are significantly different from Beowulf and Grendel(Gunnarsson,2005) from the movie.(Heaney,2000) Beowulf and Grendel from the book are one dimensional characters, and the Beowulf and Grendel from the movie act more complex than in the book. The Beowulf from the movie expresses the cultural belief of morality when he changes throughout the movie of how he feels about Grendel while Grendel from the movie shows the cultural belief of prejudice.
The women in Beowulf are barely discussed and seem to exist solely for the use of the men. They are weak and portray none of the legendary qualities that the men display. Wealhtheow, the Queen of Danes and Hrothgar's wife, is the only female character in the epic that talks. In a speech to her husband, we are able to see that she is a strong woman, who is able to speak her mind. She tells the king that it is good that he adopted Beowulf, but reminds him that he already has two sons. However, her speech is made while she carries the drinking goblet to all of the men in the room, "Wealhtheow came in,/ Hrothgar's queen, observing the courtesies./ Adorned in her gold, she graciously handed the cup first to Hrothgar, their homeland's guardian,/ urging him to drink deep and enjoy it because he was dear to them" (612-618). When she is given the opportunity to talk, she only praises the men and plays a role defined by their society.
Beowulf is an epic tale written over twelve hundred years ago. In the poem, several different female characters are introduced, and each woman possesses detailed and unique characteristics. The women in Beowulf are portrayed as strong individuals, each of whom has a specific role within the poem. Some women are cast as the cup-bearers and gracious hostesses of the mead halls, such as Wealhtheow and Hygd, while others, Grendel's mother, fulfill the role of a monstrous uninvited guest. The woman's role of the time period, author's attitude, and societal expectations for women are evidenced throughout the poem.
Like we all know there are always two side to every story. The story might be the same, but the tone of each narrator make the story unique and shapes the readers understanding of the events. Both novels are based on the story of beowulf killing Grendel and the various element that brought us to that event. Nevertheless the two divergent point view telling the story create an extremely different novels. In Beowulf the author describe Grendel as a descendant of Cain the first murderer in the Bible. Grendel as a monster that goes around causing havoc for no particular reason.While in Grendel he is perceived as different creature looking to be welcome and understanded but his mistreated by the humans.
The many differences associated between the epic poem, Beowulf and the movie are mainly focused on the modern ideas people share today. Many of the ideas that are in the Beowulf movie are more acclimated to fit modern lives today and how people are affected by these ideas. The ideas shared today compared to the ideas they shared in the time period of the poem have significantly changed.
In conclusion, many things were alike between the poem and the movie, but there were more things that were different. Both the poem and the movie were very entertaining, but they were so different that it almost seemed like a different movie if it weren`t for the names being the same. These were only three of the many differences between Beowulf the poem and Beowulf the
Both in the novel Grendel, and the poem Beowulf, there are substantial differences between characters, and how they are depicted in each of the writings. The interpretation of a hero is always created and altered by the society in which the hero resides. In both writings, Grendel and Beowulf share distinct similarities in description in their individual literature, yet each character is portrayed differently in the same writing.
Beowulf and Grendel are similar yet different in many ways. In this tale Beowulf is portrayed as heroic as Grendel is monstrous. Although they are the exact opposite of each other they have ways where they are alike. The whole ideal of this poem is good vs. evil. There are many characteristics that can describe the two but only three stand out the most. As both characters are superior to humans what makes them different is Beowulf's courage compared to Grendel's cowardice ways.
Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, is an epic poem that was originally written in Old English and was composed in between the seventh and the tenth century. In the poem, a hero named Beowulf is a brave warrior in the land of the Geats who has a goal of saving the Danes from a vicious monster named Grendel. Grendel is a conceptual monster who is contrasted by the Anglo-Saxon beliefs of togetherness and Christianity. Being a descendant of Cain, Grendel is opposed to the idea of camaraderie and God, thus making him strongly disliked by the people who live in the Geats. For his unethical values and disbeliefs of the Anglo-Saxon way of life, Grendel is portrayed as a demon and a monster.
Grendel in the novel Grendel by John Gardner, and Grendel in the poem Beowulf, which has an unknown author, presents two different views of the same character due to the perception differences of Gardner and the unknown author. Grendel in Beowulf and the story of his namesake both have notable similarities and differences that make each distinctive from one another.
Beowulf is among the earliest surviving works of literature. It was written in Old English and dates back sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem is set in Scandinavia, and tells the story of the heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf was the perfect hero. He fought for his people and defeated evil with his ability to bring on justice. Three of Beowulf’s traits that serve as evidence of this were his remarkable physical strength, his ability to put the well-being of others before his own well-being, and his courage.
The Anglo-Saxon time period, a world where dark violence spreads like a malignant cloud over civilization. The people look for a hero to save the day, and that one hero is Beowulf. A man with the love of battle, seeking for glory, and just showing his courageous superhuman strength.
Beowulf is the single greatest story of Old English literature and one of the greatest epics of all time. Ironically, no one can lay claim to being the author of this amazing example of literature. The creator of this poem was said to be alive around 600 A.D. and the story was, since then, been passed down orally from generation to generation. When the first English monks heard the story, they took it upon themselves to write it down and add a bit of their own thoughts. Thus, a great epic and the beginning to English literature was born.