Comparing Beowulf and Michael Crichton's The 13th Warrior Essay

“Then when darkness had dropped, Grendel went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors would do in that hall when their drinking was done. He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting nothing , their dreams undisturbed. The monsters thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: He slipped through the door and there in silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them, unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, blood dripping behind him, back to his lair, delighted with his nights slaughter (Narrator pg. 42 lines 30-40)”. Beowulf is a folk epic translated by Burton Raffel. Its a story about a hero with the strengths of a bear and a wolf called to a desperate town to defeat vicious monsters who have been tormenting them for the past

Beowulf is an epic poem written a long time ago. The 13th Warrior is pretty much a movie based on Beowulf but not exactly. The two pieces of literature both shared a lot of differences and similarities as well. The 13th Warrior offered a more realistic, believable, and more understanding of the epic tale of Beowulf. It’s a short story covering the bases of a triumphant hero battling three supernatural monsters. But there had a lot of theatrical remake of the original story; it provides us with the barbaric cannibalistic tribe of the Wendols, which were creatures of the mist. Both the epic Beowulf and the movie the 13th Warrior shared similarities and differences in the struggle of good

The plot of the epic poem Beowulf and the film The 13th Warrior differ greatly from each other. In Beowulf the main character, Beowulf sets sail to the Danes land in order to defeat a monster named Grendel. In the film, the character that represents Beowulf is named Buliwyf, setting out to defeat a race called the Wendols. Also in the poem, Beowulf defeats Grendel in his first attack, however in the 13th Warrior Buliwyf does not defeat all of the Wendols on the first attack. Instead, the Wendols are

The epic poem of Beowulf has been around since the 700 ce. It has been passed down by story telling. The poem is a northern european myth. Majority of the action takes place in Denmark, Geatland however, this location is now Southern Sweden. Beowolf is a heroic myth. It is about a hero's journey. The film The 13th Warrior did not do the poem much justice. It had things which were similar and things that were different. The poem is written in third person and the movie in first person. Both have similar names, in the poem the character's name is Beowulf and in the movie it is Buliwyf. In the book there is much symbolism this is made especially with weapons. In the poem it is written they would even sleep with there weapons that is how important

Beowulf ‘s confidence in his abilities and courage to carry out his mission exhibits how he could be considered an epic hero. When he first hears of the Danes’ plight with the monster Grendel, Beowulf wastes no time in “his plan to sail the swan’s road and seek out that king” who desperately needs assistance in his troubles (Heaney 201-202). He eagerly accepts his call to action, wasting no time in ensuring King Hrothgar of his “awesome strength” and exhibiting an unwavering self-assurance as he recalls how he “battled and bound five beasts” (Heaney 418-420). In these first encounters with the hero, it is evident that Beowulf’s defining characteristics include his courage and pride. There is no fear or reluctance in his attempt for glory,

The poem Beowulf, written by an unknown Anglo-Saxon poet and the movie script, written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. The story is about a Man named Beowulf, who becomes a hero to his town Heorot, by defeating a monster named Grendel. He is later named King of Geats, because of his braveness and loyalty to his people. After about fifty years of ruling, a dragon threatens the town’s people. Beowulf and his servant, Wiglaf, set off to defeat this dragon. While he did succeed to kill it, sadly Beowulf dies in the process. In the poem versus the movie, Beowulf shows different character traits throughout the story. Heroism, loyalty, and bravery all differ from the poem to the movie. The audience will perceive Beowulf as a completely different person if only looking at one of the two pieces.

Grendel’s invasion of Herot symbolizes the destruction of peace and safety, and the imperfections within the society. The twelve years Grendel had haunted Herot, “Herot stood empty, and stayed deserted for years” (145-146) were also the twelve years Hrothgar and his kingdom suffered. Nevertheless, when Beowulf finally eliminated Grendel, readers see a different side of Herot, “Golden tapestries were lined along the walls, for a host of visitors to see and take pleasure in” (995-996), the glory and grandeur was restored, all with the slaying of Grendel – an outcast of society.

Beowulf is an epic poem that has been handed down orally for centuries, but was finally written down in the eighth century. It is the story of an epic hero, named Beowulf, who travels with his men, the Geats, to conquer the many beasts who terrorize the lands of the Danes. The scops describe Beowulf as “greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”(110-111). This example shows one of many qualities that make Beowulf the epic hero that he is. He uses his strength to demonstrate both the dedication and bravery needed to bring peace and justice to the people who have been terrorized for such a long time. Cultural elements exemplified in Beowulf occur in the aspects of the mead hall, the warriors, and their belief system.

Throughout history the traditional heroic elements have changed because of our society. Although elements of a hero have changed there are also certain characteristics of a hero that stays the same, such as a hero’s character and courage. This can be seen through Beowulf , “ The Epic and the Epic Hero,”and the movie “The 13th Warrior.”

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

Religions play various different roles throughout literature, the most common one I think of is Christianity. We will discuss what the role of Religion is in Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney and the role in the movie The 13th Warrior. Christianity, Islam, and Anglo-Saxon Paganism are the various Religions’ that are expressed in both the literature and the movie. Since both works are similar, but written in a different point of view because of different beliefs we will discuss the difference between Beowulf and The 13th warrior throughout the paper. Another thing we will be discussing is how the authors use religion in a unique way in both works to portray their story in their own way. Before we begin our comparison we will begin with some information on Anglo-Saxon Paganism and Islam.

Beowulf is an epic poem being cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem. The poem is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Herot has been under attack by a monster named Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory. Beowulf is clearly a hero because of his brave deeds, he is a strong and responsible leader, and his courage. Beowulf is a hero because of his brave deeds. Throughout Beowulf, Beowulf does many deeds which are considered to be brave during the Anglo-Saxon period.“Grendel is no braver, no stronger/Than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not,Easy as it would be. This fiend is a bold And famous fighter, but his claws and teeth.../ Beating at my sword blade, would be helpless. I will meet him With my hands empty-unless his heart /Fails him, seeing a soldier waiting /Weaponless, unafraid. Let God in His wisdom /Extend His hand where He wills, reward /Whom he chooses!”. In his first battle, Beowulf fights Grendel. He fights without any armor. Also, Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother. He then

To begin, one of the many ways that Beowulf was different than Grendel is that Beowulf was brave. Every night Grendel snuck into Herot Hall to destroy King Hrothgar’s men. He did this while hiding in the shadows, sneaking around in the dead of night, and attacking while the men we asleep and at there most vulnerable. These are not the characteristics the brave, these are the characteristics of a foul, loathsome, cowardly beast. Mean while, Beowulf liked to meet a problem head on, in this case the problem was Grendel himself. Determined Beowulf sailed to Denmark to defeat Grendel, telling Hrothgar that he will take Grendel’s life with his bare hands. As told in the story, “ That mighty protector of men/ Meant to hold the monster till it’s life/ leaped out” (Raffel, 1963, l. 366-368). And when Beowulf got the chance to do just that, Grendel took the cowards road, “Grendel’s one thought

In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel who is the first monster Beowulf battles snatched up 30 men and it is to be said that beowulf has the strength of 30 men. Beowulf is an epic poem translated by Burton Raffel. In Beowulf there is three battles with three different monsters, Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon. The three battles have a symbolic meaning throughout the whole book. The three battles in the epic poem represent more than just two enemies fighting for victory, they are battles between the internal good and monster who embody evil.

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.