Beowulf
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Re: Beowulf
- DWish2000
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- NRoach
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between Beowulf and Grendel in ancient Denmark, it was originally composed in Old English (Anglo Saxon) and it would be wonderful if more of us could read and speak this ancient form of English. Interesting insight into the times.
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You an I, tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.
When you have done, pray tell me
That I my thoughts may dim;
Haste! lest while you're lagging.
I may remember him!
Emily Dickinson
- Laila Hashem
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When it comes to Grendel, I'm afraid I must debunk a good number of theories. The story of Beowulf was an oral tradition until a Catholic monk took it upon himself to write it down, which explains the sporadic references to God that contrast with the mythology followed by the actual characters. So it would more likely be in reference to some kind of bear or mythological beast than the descendant of Cain. I can also confirm that he was not any form of a dragon because, throughout the tale, Beowulf is made to fight three different monsters: Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon.
If anyone is interested in some additional trivia about "Beowulf," the poem was actually originally made a classic and studied for purely historical information. It wasn't until much more recently that anyone began to see the literary value. For any classic fantasy nerds like me, it might also interest you to know that J.R.R. Tolkien compiled a whole translation of "Beowulf" and used it as a focal point for two decades of essays and teaching Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. He introduced the idea that "Beowulf" was actually the beginning of fantasy. In fact, he used "Beowulf" to inspire his Lord of the Rings and especially influenced The Hobbit (he directly pulled his mythology of dragons, their lairs, and habit of hoarding from the dragon in the third part of the poem). For further reading I would definitely suggest Tolkien's Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary and his The Monsters and the Critics and other Essays.
- Carolreads30
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Same here, I’m not sure which translation I read, but Grendel was very much portrayed as a dragon. I did not know Tolkien was influenced by this epic, but it makes so much sense!acasto wrote: ↑24 Feb 2014, 17:01 I'm not sure which translation I have read, but nowhere did I read anything about Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Grendel and his mother were portrayed as dragons. I actually did a huge project in school about Tolkein, and he was greatly influenced by this story in his writing of LotR.
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