Comparing Beowulf And Epic Poem

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The history and epic poem, Beowulf, had been adapted into different forms of literature, for it is really famous and it represents the ideology of a specific period of time in Europe. Many remediations of Beowulf occurred due to its irreplaceable position. In 2007, a movie “Beowulf” was shown in cinemas and it follows the same story line as the original. There are similarities and differences between the film and the original poem. Both movie and original poem symbols Beowulf and Grendel as hero and jealousy, while they have different focuses and themes with different plots and relationships of the characters.
The symbolisms of Beowulf and Grendel are similar in the epic poem and the movie. Grendel and Beowulf played the same roles in both …show more content…
Firstly, they have different focuses and themes. In the original poem, the speaker shaped the character of Beowulf as a hero with loyalty, reputation. This can be shown by Beowulf’s words:“This was my thought, when my thanes and I/bent to the ocean and entered our boat/that I would work the will of your people/fully, or fighting fall in death/in fiend’s gripe fast. /I am firm to do/an earl’s brave deed, or end the days/of this life of mine in the mead-hall here”(Line 589-565) .He helped Hrothgar to kill Grendel and his mother and all the monsters represent the devil to prove the hero’s goodness. Beowulf is close to a perfect person without weak points. While in the film, the directors wanted to reflect the dark and satirical visions. It is seen when Hrothgar chose to end his life, for he was ashamed that Grendel was his son. Hrothgar was attracted by Grendel’s mother and made a big mistake. Beowulf lied about his battle with sea monsters and Grendel’s mother so that he could win the honor and get married with the queen. Therefore, the film showed that there were both good and dark side of humanity in the story. The heroes were satirized in the film. So the poem focused on loyalty and reputation when talking about heroes, but the film made a satire while showing the characteristic of …show more content…
In both film and poem, Grendel symbolizes jealousy and Beowulf symbolizes courage and reputation. However, the film and the poem have different themes and focuses as well as different plots and relationships between characters. Beowulf is an important literature to help people know more about the Anglo-Saxons culture; it used elegant language which shows its high literature level at that time. As more and more attractive remediation come up, the original poem may be confused. Similarities and differences should be compared and contrasted to make people understand more about
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