Movie Vs Beowulf

The epic poem, Beowulf, was the first known written piece of literature, as well as perhaps one of the most famous works ever composed. The story first began circulating orally around 300 to 400 AD, and was modified many times until it was finally written down by an unknown source around 700 AD. Although the story of Beowulf has remained fairly constant since the discovery of a written copy, the poem has still occasionally been reworked in order to appeal to a more diverse audience. Specifically, Beowulf has been adapted into a computer-generated imagery, or CGI, motion picture. More than several differences exist between the epic poem Beowulf and the movie Beowulf. The variations between the two works include major parts of the storyline,

For example, Beowulf’s fight with Grendel was drastically different than how it was portrayed in the movie. In the poem, Grendel grabs Beowulf and a fight ensues. Beowulf fights Grendel with his bare hands, eventually causing Grendel to flee after ripping off his arm and displaying it on one of the walls of Herot. In the movie, however, Grendel attacks Herot and Beowulf insists on fighting him while naked. Beowulf jumps on Grendel’s back and beats him until he begins to flee. Before Grendel is able to leave, Beowulf catches his arm in a door and slams it until the door cuts off Grendel’s arm. Grendel runs away, and Beowulf displays the arm to all the patrons of Herot. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon was also heavily changed. In the poem, a thief steals a cup from the lair of a dragon, awakening the dragon and causing it to attack the geats. Beowulf, with the help of Wiglaf, is eventually able to slay the dragon; however, the dragon fatally wounds Beowulf and he dies after asking Wiglaf to bring him the treasure from the dragon’s lair and build a tower in his memory. In the movie, the dragon is Beowulf’s son. Beowulf uses several different methods to stay close to the dragon, and eventually attempts to stab it in the heart with a dagger. When Beowulf is unable to reach the dragon’s heart with the dagger, he cuts off his own arm and reaches into the dragon’s chest, pulling

Beowulf, the main character, was one of the most changed. In the poem, Beowulf was boastful and greedy, but generally honest. Beowulf never exaggerated or lied about his accomplishments. In the movie, however, Beowulf is far more dishonest. Not only does Beowulf exaggerate the tales of his conquests, but he also lies about slaying Grendel’s mother. Wiglaf was only mentioned in the final battle between Beowulf and the dragon in the poem, but he was a fixture throughout the entirety of the movie. In the poem, Unferth is Hrothgar’s best friend and is killed by Grendel’s mother. In the movie, Unferth is very doubtful of Beowulf until after Beowulf defeats Grendel. Unferth lives throughout the movie. In the poem, Hrothgar is well-respected and level-headed ruler, but in the movie he is portrayed as a drunkard. The movie also implies that Hrothgar is the father of Grendel, while there is no evidence of this in the poem. Grendel himself is very different in the movie. In the poem, Grendel is an evil, terrifying creature who sneaks into Herot at night and murders Hrothgar’s men because he hates happiness; however, in the movie it is implied that Grendel kills the men solely because the noise from their celebration hurts his ears. Grendel’s mother is described as an evil hag in the poem, whereas she is a beautiful seductress in the movie adaptation. Almost every character found in the written