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Misunderstanding Of Grendel's Heroism In 'Beowulf'

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Many of the classic original texts have been transformed into films in the past decade. Many of these films can start a polemical debate. Beowulf was a transcribed poem written in present form about 1000 AD. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon traditional poem that shows heroism. Beowulf was a monster killer who travelled to help out the king of Danes, Hrothgar, by fighting a monster named Grendel and his mother. In the original poem Beowulf is displayed as a true hero to the Geats and Danes. The film displays Beowulf's heroism as a problem rather than a solution. Although the film follows the same storyline as the poem, they have different themes for courage. One of the biggest differences found between the film and original poem is the theme of Beowulf's …show more content…

The film gives the viewer a misunderstanding of Grendel's sinfulness. The film shows Grendel as an innocent, naive, injured monster after the fight with Beowulf. This gives the viewer the thought that the real monsters in the film are those who seek to kill Grendel. The blame for Grendel's violence could be put in Beowulf's men's hands because they brought it upon themselves by being careless. After the killing of Grendel, Beowulf meets with Grendel's mother to defeat her and all the violence Heorot has taken. The film displays Grendel's mother as an attractive female which is when Beowulf's true flaws become apparent to everyone. Grendel's mother tells Beowulf in the film that she knows he is just as much of a monster as her son was. Beowulf never killed Grendel's mother when he left her cave in the film. Instead, Beowulf gave Grendel's mother a gold piece she asked for and she would no longer attack their kingdom. In the film we can see Beowulf fall under her attractiveness and he ends up negotiating with her. After this part of the film, it leaves the viewers questioning the courage and overall opinion of Beowulf. In the poem Beowulf doesn’t ever hesitate to kill Grendel's mother. The film Beowulf gives a totally new idea of the type of leader Beowulf really

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