“Heaney has transformed Beowulf into a hit--a vivid, gripping tale written in an elegant flowing style… Heaney’s version is flawless… And (his) marvelous introduction… is alone worth the price of the book. ” -- Eve Claxton, Time Out N.Y. The poem is known for its epic battles against an inhuman trio and its ‘horror’ lore of the Dark Ages. Everyone and their neighbor knows about Beowulf either by reading the poem or the animated version, which had its own turn of events. Its about a Scandinavian hero who sails overseas towards a foreign land to kill an infamous monster that cruelly terrorizes the kingdom and ends up killing the monster’s mother as well. Beowulf represents life with a spiritual-sense twist and in that of itself intertwines various themes that I have learned from.
(Horror Theme)(2)BOOK
Beowulf is seen as the original horror story, featuring three monsters of not quite giving off that fearful image. “What the original audience for Beowulf had on its mind was terror. They listened to the poem in circumstances much like the ones it describes, huddled together around a fire and fretting about what lurked outside in the darkness, and they knew something that some of the modern adapters may have lost sight of: that in the right circumstances it's extremely pleasant to be scared out of your wits”(McGrath). For personal experience while reading the poem, I found it to be quite smooth and relaxing. Hence, I did not really feel any terror or fear from reading it. But in the older times where monsters seemed as real as any hidden thing lurking outside it would make sense why anciently then would entice terror. There were points where I absolutely admired Heaney for his translation of some parts that would otherwise be seen ...
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...spotlighting the Dark Ages of the warrior culture. Instead of taking the text and make an interpretation of what it could be based on what it has to offer, I did that and expanded on something that is meaningful to me. Sometimes taking things as they are, is not good enough and using my own experiences has helped me identify any relations between myself and the poem. After all, Beowulf has taught me lessons that I could take careful note of and improve on my own set of beliefs and morals. I would recommend the book to people for them to take into consideration and possible have them shape their beliefs and morals differently. It does not have to necessarily be a positive happening for someone to pick up Beowulf and change slightly for the bad. As long as it is a meaningful change and the reader is able to enhance themselves like I had accomplished reading the poem.
In Beowulf, the essence left behind by a true hero is extremely important. In epics such as this one, leaders tend to have the determination and boldness of a hero. On the other hand, the main character, Beowulf, does not display these certain traits. In this heroic poem, respect and trust come naturally. Honor and integrity are present throughout the poem.
In Tolkien’s lecture, “Beowulf: The monsters and the Critics,” he argues that Beowulf has been over analyzed for its historical content, and it is not being studied as a piece of art as it should be. He discusses what he perceives the poet of Beowulf intended to do, and why he wrote the poem the way he did. Tolkien’s main proposition, “it was plainly only in the consideration of Beowulf as a poem, with an inherent poetic significance, that any view or conviction can be reached or steadily held” (Tolkien). He evaluates why the author centers the monsters throughout the entire poem, why the poem has a non-harmonic structure, why and how the author fusses together Christianity and Paganism, and how the author uses time to make his fictional poem seem real. He also discusses the overall theme of Beowulf and other assumptions of the text. To support his viewpoints, Tolkien uses quotations and examples from the poem, quotations from other critics, and compares Beowulf to other works of art. Tolkien discusses several statements in interpreting Beowulf as a poem.
In the length of the poem, Beowulf goes from abandoned child to gallant warrior to King. This transformation, expressed in the tone and content of the poem, shows the importance of the relationship between lord and thane and expresses the ultimate value of that connection. From the difference in battle scenes to Beowulf’s speeches, it is clear that he has gone from a somewhat self-loving hero to a selfless king. Within this change he also goes from serving a lord to becoming a lord, and in that way the poem shows us the importance of both sides of the relationship.
Beowulf is an epic poem, about the life of a central character Beowulf who fights many monsters such as Grendel, his Mother and a Dragon; however he also fig...
The movie “Philadelphia” shows our society in the workforce and the discrimination that can take place because of an illness or sexual orientation. In this movie Andy Beckett, a fully competent Philadelphia lawyer, is fired from the firm wheeler & Co. because he has AIDS and because he is homosexual. According to the statutes, the American with Disabilities Act, it is unlawful for an employer to fire an individual because of a terminal illness such as cancer or in this case AIDS. Moreover in the movie Andy was diagnosed with HIV, and he does not tell his supervisors in the firm for his sickness and that he is homosexual. However this does not impede the man’s performance, and if the illness does not impede in the performance in the job, the employer has not reason to fire you. Which in this case is not true because more often the law and morality are not one and the same. For example in the movie Charles Wheeler, the senior partner who assigned Andy a very important case in which a very important letter of that case was misplaced, so they accused Andy for that incident and they also ...
The Story Beowulf is an Epic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon period. The author of the poem is unknown. Beowulf is the hero of the story and the Thane to Hygelac the king of the Geats in Sweden. When Beowulf finds out the Grendel (the big guy) is causing problems in Denmark he decides to go over there and help them out. He fights Grendel and everyone is happy. Then Grendels mother comes to avenge her son so Beowulf has to go fight her also. After winning that battle Beowulf goes back to the Geats and becomes king and rules for fifty winters. Everything is good until he has to go fight this dragon. The dragon ends up killing Beowulf. In the story you can see how things like Honor, fame, and Courage are associated with Beowulf. The reason that he take the dangerous journey is to gain all there of those characteristics in his journey. Out lines below is how he gets each one of those traits in the story.
Beowulf is a poem about strength and courage. This is illustrated in the eighth section of the story called “Beowulf and the Dragon.” A slave, a hero and a dragon play a big role in this section. The characters are well developed, as is the setup for the conclusion of the poem.
Beowulf was a strong young man who was able to defeat a terrible monster known as Grendel. During this era in human history young men were expected to be far more durable and adequate compared to those of today. Those young men commonly had the dream of becoming king, defeating strong monsters, go on adventures, or even die a hero. All of which Beowulf managed to do making him a perfect role model for the young men at the time. The story of Beowulf truly captured all of the dreams of young men at the time and it was a perfect story for the time. Although times changed the dreams of the people never died, they were just advanced, edited and remade into new stories, better stories for better
Today Beowulf can be relevant in society. A good leader can be further seen in a political process. Throughout the poem, similarities between personal relationships then and now are evident. Disloyalty within a family, murder caused by jealousy, and marriage for the wrong reasons are all themes in Beowulf. Today’s shows like soap operas reveal that little has changed. We live in a technology advanced world with sophisticated machinery but yet human nature has remained the same unchanged. Corruption, greed, and jealousy exist today as does courage, bravery, and
Beowulf portrays the life a warrior turned king who demonstrates the qualities that not only the ideal king should have, but also the ideal warrior should exhibit. This allows the reader to notice how kings in the past were, and the power they possessed over the people of the area.
Beowulf is an epic poem that explores many themes and motifs within the Anglo-Saxon society. The Author, who remains anonymous, composed the epic around 1000 A.D. The literature focuses mainly on a Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf, who comes to the aid of Herot, a small town ran by King Hrothgar. Beowulf arises to rid the town of evil forces, such as the demon monster Grendel, and his savage mother who seeks revenge for the death of her son. As he ages, Beowulf presumes his title as king of Geatland, still eager to protect his loyal followers from danger.
Beowulf is an interesting story in that it has a meaning that is firmly rooted in fantasy creatures based in mythical origins while providing insight into religious ideals and practices of the time. It also speaks of tradition and the struggle of man against things perceived as evil. In this tradition especially, Beowulf is an incredible allegory regarding the struggle of good and evil in the Christian tradition.
The first beast the hero faces is the wicked Grendel. At first he appears to be a demon, a “hellish enemy”. However, it is soon revealed that he is human, the “kin of Cain”. This is a crucial detail involving the lesson Beowulf will learn from this battle. The man-beast always strikes at night while his prey is fast asleep. He has no respect for the fight, preferring to attack the unwary and defenseless. On the night Grendel attacks Heorot with Beowulf lying in wait, Grendel’s most horrid of traits is learned: “He suddenly seized a sleeping man, tore at him ravenously, bit into his bone-locks, drank the blood from his veins, swallowed huge morsels; quickly had he eaten all of the lifeless one, feet and hands” (36). This utter disrespect that the supposed ‘man’ shows for human life is a testament to his complete lack of humanity. Any such qualities have rotted inside of him, replaced by hatred. He delights in slaughter, killing not out of necessity or for God or country: “His heart laughed: dreadful monster, he though that before the day came he would divide the life from the ...
The epic Beowulf is one of the earliest known works in the English vernacular. The protagonist, Beowulf, is a hero with superhuman powers who fears nothing and no one. The poem follows his journey through life and specifically his defeat of the three antagonists: Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon, who brings about Beowulf’s downfall. The chosen passage details the horrors of Grendel’s attack on Heorot, the domain of Hrothgar, King of the Danes and comes before Beowulf is introduced.
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.