Purpose of Beowulf
Beowulf & Beowulf and Grendel
For what different purposes has the story of Beowulf been told over the ages?
I find that different adaptations of the story Beowulf, can be very different in purposes and true meaning. I have read the book Beowulf by Seamus Heaney and I've seen the movie Beowulf and Grendel directed by Sturla Gunnarsson. These two adaptations are no exception to having different pruposes.
Beowulf by Seamus Heaney is a book that tells a fantastic story about an incredible hero, Beowulf, with the purpose to prove the importance of heroism, to have the identity of a hero and to make other people of the time to want to be like him. Beowulf is a powerful man "with the strength of thirty/ in the grip of each hand."(380-381) who shows no flaws throughout the whole book. Him having no flaws and being brave, loyal and determined just proves to us that he shows perfect examples of heroism. Beowulf proves all these characteristics and shows his heroism by defeating monsters who no one was able to defeat before and by bringing the long-awaited peace to the Danes. This heroism might have been shown just to make an entertaining story but I think it was shown to make other Anglo-Saxons of the time to look up to this ideal hero and for them to strive to be like him.
(Cover of the book Beowulf)
Beowulf's heroism jumps around all over the poem. First, he kills a monster, then a mother of a monster and then a dragon! And he did all of this to become a hero and protect the people. Beowulf first comes to the Danes by hearing about Grendel, a monster who seems to have an inherent desire for evil and has been killing people in the Hereot Hall, a great hall that was made by Hrothgar (the king of the Danes). Once Beowulf arrives, he kills this monster with his bare hands. Later, he kills Grendel's mom and a dragon but sadly, he dies during this last battle.
Even when looking at all of these things that Beowulf has done you can already tell that he is an ideal hero, that a lot of people at the time would want to be like. However, some things stand out in his actions that make him seem impeccable. His bravery, loyalty and determination are a big part of making him seem like the perfect role model and an impeccable hero. For example, when Beowulf initially wanted to fight Grendel's mom with a sword he was quite surprised when the sword "refused to bite"(1524) but Beowulf remained brave and "flung his sword away"(1530) so he could fight with his bare hands. Only because of his bravery and hope was he able to defeat her. Another characteristic that Beowulf portrays is loyalty. When Beowulf defeated Grendel, got all these treasures, and fame he didn't leave when he heard about Grendel's mom. Instead of running away back home, he stayed in order to help the Danes to defeat this monster and get their peace. The last characteristic that is most noticeable in Beowulf's heroism is determination. From the very first day in Daneland Beowulf was more than determined to defeat Grendel. "And I shall fulfill that purpose, /prove myself with a proud deed/ or meet my death here in the mead-hall."(636-638). This determination is a perfect characteristic of a hero because without it a hero may be scared and will not fulfill their purpose or goal. Beowulf has all of these characteristics and even more and for having all of them and achieving his goal he was praised he got fame, gifts, and treasures. This is a big part of why other Anglo-Saxons would want to be like Beowulf at that time after hearing this story. They knew that if they will be as awesome as Beowulf, they too would be rewarded and be great heroes.
The next adaptation I chose for this story is the movie Beowulf and Grendel. Sturla Gunnarsson directed this movie in 2006. It has beautiful scenery with tall green mountains with magnificent views of the sea and land that was shot in Iceland. In this movie, Beowulf is powerful and brave but he shows more characteristics such as love compassion nd curiosity that are more human than just perfect. This is why I have decided that the purpose of this movie is to show a more realistic hero, one that would be more common and achievable.
(Beowulf as shown in the movie Beowulf & Grendel)
This movie does differ in purpose from the book and therefore you will notice a few changes in the plot and characters such as that Grendel is actually taking revenge for his father that Hrothgar killed (and yes Grendel has a father in this movie), there is no dragon and also Grendel is a lot more human than monster. This movie starts out very similar to the book. Beowulf is determined to kill Grendel and he will do it no matter what. Later on in the movie, we get to see that Beowulf is actually lot more relatable. First, he falls in love with a witch. Later he also starts to show compassion for Grendel since he understood that he was only killing the Danes to take revenge for his father and also doesn't want to kill anyone else. Beowulf also, immediately regrets killing Grendel (or making him kill himself since Grendel cut his own arm off). Other than that, Beowulf starts to become more curious. He wonders why Grendel only killed Danes and why he doesn't like them so he starts to question Hrothgar, where another hero might have just done what the king said. With all of this in mind you can most definitely tell that this Beowulf is much more like a hero that would be able to see in our time if underdeveloped human-monsters still existed.
