Beowulf Essay

Beowulf Essay

There are many similarities and differences between the text and the movie Beowulf. The overall theme was the same; however a few differences I found was Grendel’s approach to the soldiers, and how Beowulf was in a swimming contest and a monster showed up, and Beowulf killing Grendel’s mother. I think the story has differences because it’s been passed down from generation to generation and people have added their own ideas in the story. That caused the true story to be switched around.

In the text Grendel came to Club Herot to kill the Geats. Grendel came while they were sleep and started attacking them; but in the movie he came while the Geats were partying. He came because the Geats were making too much noise while they were partying. He attacked them and killed a couple soldiers while they were trying to fight Grendel away.

During the movie they showed a scene of Beowulf in a swimming contest and a monster showed up. He could’ve won the race but he decided to kill the monster to keep the sea safe. So instead he swam down deep and found the monsters and killed them. In the text they didn’t have a flashback scene of Beowulf fighting any monster. They added it to the movie to show that he was a brave warrior. He did it so that people could roam the seas without fear.

After Grendel’s mother found out Beowulf killed Grendel she was in rage. In the text Beowulf went and killed Grendel’s mother so she wouldn’t cause any problems. However in the movie Beowulf didn’t kill her, instead he made a deal with her. He told everyone that he killed her to keep his honor, but people soon found out after Beowulf’s death. The deal was that he could not be killed if he made love to her and so he did.

Grendel’s approach to the soldiers, Beowulf’s swimming contest, and the relationship that developed between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother are some differences between the movie and the text Beowulf. Although there’s no author of Beowulf it is a really a good story. It is still being passed on from generations and the story is probably still being switched up. The theme is all the same in all versions of Beowulf. There are plenty of differences in Beowulf and the different versions but they all have the same meaning and storyline.