For this assignment I have decided to compare and contrast Beowulf literature to Beowulf the movie. I thought that actually watching the movie Beowulf would bring to light some of the reasoning of the poem but it did a better job of confusing me. The movie varies greatly from the poem and may have made me lose what little understanding I began with.
There are many, many differences between the writings of Beowulf and the theatrical interpretation of Beowulf. Included in the differences between the poem and the movie is the scenery around Grendel’s mother’s cave. In the poem the cave is protected by sea monsters and Beowulf slayed a monster to gain entry and the other sea monsters are scared off with the trumpets of Thane. In the movie the entrance to the cave is deserted and Beowulf carefully enters the cave with ease. The huge difference between the poem and the movie completely changes the outcome and moral of Beowulf. In the movie there is no forewarning of life’s delicate state by Hrothgar and much of the moral that Beowulf learns is lost within the way the movie focuses on Grendel’s mother’s beauty rather than her
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In the movie both Beowulf and Hrothgar were unfaithful to their wives numerous including the instance where they both slept with Grendel’s mother, both fathering monstrous creatures with whom they will have to battle. Hrothgar is portrayed in the movie as Grendel’s father and Beowulf is portrayed as the father of the dragon he has to slay several years later in the movie. Also in the movie Hrothgar declares Beowulf as his heir to the thrown then commits suicide, although in the poem Beowulf is declared King after the former king was killed in
Heroes bring a hope to people whom they protect. Heroes bring people joy and bring a sense of relaxation to the people of their society because they play such an important role in lives everywhere. Heroes are complex rather than unembellished because they can fight dragons to defend their kingdom, or create a non-profit foundation to enhance the quality of life for more than 2,000 underprivileged kids. Heroes in our present day can be very complex because a person’s viewpoint on a hero’s life can be a completely different than the way another person looks at that same hero. Thomas Davis Sr. can be extremely comparable to Beowulf but they also have major differences.
Movies and books are never the exact same, sometimes even the whole plot is changed around. In the book Beowulf the plot, characters, and setting are a lot different than they are when the movie was created. If a person watched the movie before they read the book, it may be totally confusing to read. In the book, Beowulf shows up and plans to fight with his men, then leaves to go back to his own kingdom. In the movie Beowulf, Beowulf ends up staying and becoming king of Dane Land.
The plot of the story differs in the poem and film. The main plot has the same general idea, yet in a different sequence. In the book the main character, Beowulf sets sail to the Danes land to conquer a monster named Grendel. Also in the book Beowulf has three agons. In the movie, the character that represents Beowulf, is Buliwuf, and he goes out to conquer a race which is Wendols. In the text Beowolf defeats Grendel. Buliwyf actually defeats the Wendols on the second attack not the first, where they kill the ‘Mother.’ In both the film and poem the characters have a dragon that they must defeat which is also known as a ‘fire
In the beginning of the story the plot stays the same for the most part... other than Beowulf being motivated by other things than glory or pride. When Grendel is killed in the movie they introduce his mother, they don't show her face but they hint to her being very seductive by the way she talks. Grendel’s mom doesn't really seek revenge in the movie but Hrothgar asks Beowulf to kill her because of a prior incident (Grendel is actually Hrothgar's son) with Grendel’s mom. Beowulf obliges and goes to kill G’s mom but when he enter her den he is almost instantly taken away by her beauty, this causes Beowulf to have a lapse in judgement and impregnate G’s mom. This is very different from the book because in the book he kills G’s mom in a battle to the death then cuts the head off of Grendel’s dead body as illustrated “Armless, exactly as that fierce fighter had sent him out from Herot, then struck off His head with a single swift blow”(542). Also after Beowulf was seduced he goes back to Hrothgar and lies to him and the Danes saying that he has killed Grendel’s mother. This is the major plot difference in the movie and the book.
When a book gets made into a movie there are many similarities and differences. A difference between the Reading and the motion picture is that the reading explains the real story of Beowulf more detailed.
In the book as well as the movie Beowulf brings fourteen men to the land of the Danes and defeats Grendel. The first main difference is that in the book Grendel’s mother only kills one Dane, Aeschere. In the movie Grendel’s mother slays all of Beowulf’s men besides Wiglaf. At this time in the book Wiglaf is not present with Beowulf and his men, but only at the final battle against the dragon. In both the book and the movie Beowulf detaches Grendel’s arm and his mother returns to the hall for revenge. In the book Beowulf immediately follows Grendel’s mother to the underwater lair, but contrastingly in the movie Beowulf would have no knowledge of Grendel’s mother unless Hrothgar would not have told him. Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother and returns to Geatland to rule in the book, however in the movie Beowulf lies about killing Grendel’s mother and stays to rule in Denmark. Just as Beowulf brought Grendel’s head back in the book, he also did so in the movie. The book does not mention that Hrothgar was the son of Grendel or that Beowulf was the father of the dragon. In the book as well as the movie Beowulf defeats the dragon and dies as the hero of the epic even though he did it in a different way at a different place. The concluding difference includes Beowulf’s funeral. The book displays his funeral as a burial near the coast of the sea, but conversely in the movie his body is put on a burning ship sent out into the
There are many similarities and differences between the movie "Beowulf and Grendel", to the poem. Major differences between the movie and the poem would be Grendel himself. In the poem, he is described as an evil monster born from two demons. In the movie, Grendel is actually human, but known as a troll to the warriors and Danes. The poem doesn’t give the background of Grendel or show how the Danes killed his father and the possible reason of his revenge, like in the movie. If the witch, Selma, was not included in the storyline of the movie, the audience would not have known key information that she was used to show from more flashbacks. The witch gives more of an idea about Grendel’s past life that could have been the possibility to
“No better king had ever lived, no prince so mild, no man so open to his people, so deserving of praise.” This is an ultimate description of the heroic events of Beowulf, an old Anglo-Saxon poem about a warrior who battles and destroys three horrifying monsters. Although written long ago, the emotions expressed within this work, emotions of bravery, valor, and ethics still speak to us centuries later. The anonymous author of the poem convinces us through the masterful use of various literary elements that emphasize its meaning and message. Conflict, imagery and setting are three literary elements that contribute to the effectiveness of the poem.
“There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.” – Ayn Rand. To fully understand the complex world and culture of the Anglo-Saxons, one must examine the only form of historical evidence available – texts. One particular great work from this time period is often underrated and overshadowed in modern society by many other ancient works such as Iliad or Oedipus Rex. The epic poem, Beowulf, was sung by multiple unknown Anglo-Saxon poets four centuries before the Norman Conquest. The theme of good versus evil was constantly reappearing throughout the storyline, the portrayal of evil and its downfall initially shaped the poem’s plot, and illustrates an alien presence; something that
If we’re going to compare the book to the movie we have to make sure we’ve carefully read the book and watched the movie occasionally stopping your mind to evaluate the movie wondering what is different. I did just that, Beowulf the book compared to the movie has a variety of differences and some similarities. In my opinion the movie was better, let me tell you why.
The first example of the similarities and differences between the poem and the movie is the representation of religion. For example, both the movie and the poem of Beowulf included Christianity and Paganism. However, in the movie it was more about the Pagan religion, trying to make Christianity look bad. As an example, in one scenes of the movie, Beowulf says the Christianity killed the time of all heros. On the other hand, in the Beowulf poem, Beowulf is compared to the gods of Christianity. For example, in the passage The Battle With Grendel the scop describes “... Now he discovered- once the afflictor of
1) Describe how we find King Hrothgar and his response to learning that Beowulf has come to his kingdom.
In the text, we see that Beowulf is not yet a king, but, a king to come. He is not quick to react without thinking. Beowulf ordered his boat, picked out his men. A Saviour hero, thanking God after sailing. In the film, the heathen of gods was good, but Christ Jesus was bad.
To explain, the film shows the better side of Buliwyf, the nobel and slightly more nobleman side of him. It shows him fighting to protect his people of the kingdom. In the poem, Beowulf is fighting for glory, fame, rewards or the ladies. He wants to be self-centered and he uses his abilities for his own well being, not for the good of others. Another major difference between the poem and film is the plot. In the poem, Beowulf went to the Danes land to defeat a monster named Grendel. However, in the film, Buliwyf goes out to defeat a race, not a single being and its mother, the race of wendols. Although the main characters are different in some ways, the central idea never
The epic tale of Beowulf was written sometime after his death. In other words, a long time ago during the Anglo-Saxon period. Today, directors in Hollywood did not keep from creating their own rendition of this epic poem As a result, plenty of modern interpretations of Beowulf, such as Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel, have been released. Naturally, the cultural values that might be reflected in modern Beowulf renditions will demonstrate a clash with those of the original fifth century Beowulf literature. One reason for this is that in the modern age we value characters with profound characteristics, characters that change due to the challenges they experience; characters that we as the audience can attach to. Flat characters like those of the original Beowulf text are difficult to empathize with since they are not realistic enough for our standards. Due to these differences in culture and values, the Beowulf and Grendel from the original Beowulf text possess definite contrasts when compared with their Beowulf and Grendel counterparts.