Beowulf

[samercury]

(Haven't posted in a long while) :wave:

Hiii, Has anyone ever heard of Beowulf? Wwe're reading it in my Coll Ela class thiss month. It's this epic poem that was written in the 8th century (...I think) by this Anglo-Saxon person. It's really interesting..... :p

P.S. Does anyone know the author's name? :D :D :D

[Scheherazade]

Hi Samercury,

Beowulf's origin goes back to the Oral Literature and the identity of the person who finally put it into writing is not known.

I am moving this thread to the General Literature section.

Good luck with your course! :)

[PeterL]

(Haven't posted in a long while) :wave:

Hiii, Has anyone ever heard of Beowulf? Wwe're reading it in my Coll Ela class thiss month. It's this epic poem that was written in the 8th century (...I think) by this Anglo-Saxon person. It's really interesting..... :p

P.S. Does anyone know the author's name? :D :D :D

Ever heard of Beowulf!!!!! It is only one of the earliest works in English literature. As was noted, the author is unknown. Actually, it appears that Beowulf was put together from several sources. I am convinced that most of it was composed by a pre-christian poet, and that the Christian references were added at a later time.

[Kat_Orr]

Heard of it, never read it, yet. Want to, though! HOw are you liking it so far?

[Wendigo_49]

Hiii, Has anyone ever heard of Beowulf?




It was required reading in my 12th grade English/Literature class along with The Canterbury Tales, one Shakspeareian play you gave a report on, and a book of your choosing. It wasn't great nor bad, just okay.

[volvoreta]

What translation are you reading? If you can choose yourself, I would recommend Seamus Heaney's.

[B-Mental]

Did you know that the movie "The 13th Warrior" was based on Beowulf? Do not, repeat, do not read the screenplay! The movie was an interesting interpretation of oral tradition. Now where did I put my mead?

[Monica]

I loved Beowulf. A pretty mystic and dark text. Anglo-Saxon literature is really, realy interesting and Beowulf is the best example of it. Maybe it's a bit too obvious and heroic at times, but all in all, it's a great read.

[Mark F.]

I read this and it bored me to death.

[Natalie]

I read it too, a while ago - and while I appreciated it - it bored me to tears. That being said, I'm so glad I read it - it's a classic and I think it's one of those things everyone should have to read at some point - same with the Iliad, The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, Heart of Darkness, The Scarlett Letter, and many more. In fact we should make a list of the classics - the "great books" - the must-reads. (My most sincere apologies if this has already been done here - I'll admit I have not read through everything yet).

[Mark F.]

Meh, Heart of Darkness and Hamlet are classics but aren't boring, you can have one without the other.

[kren]

they're making a movie out of it, anthony hopkins is playing.. not sure what the release date is, but the screen play was co-written by neil gaiman(sandman, american gods)

[Mark F.]

Yeah, they made one out of it with Christophe Lambert (Highlander) and it was really, really, really awful.

[Padan Fain]

Just my opinion, but Parke Godwin did a pretty decent job with his version. More of a paraphrase than a translation (sounds like a Biblical statement).

[vazupha]

i read it 3 years ago.maybe i cant remember much:P i can say it s a great work.u can learn a lot about anglo-saxons.thnx to this book,i passed an exam on history of ideas.that proves u can use everything u learn from this book in other fields:)enjoy it:)

[Natalie]

Meh, Heart of Darkness and Hamlet are classics but aren't boring, you can have one without the other.

Oh my point was that they were classics I think everyone should have to read at some point - not that all classics are boring - not at all! :p

[samercury]

I loved Beowulf. A pretty mystic and dark text. Anglo-Saxon literature is really, realy interesting and Beowulf is the best example of it. Maybe it's a bit too obvious and heroic at times, but all in all, it's a great read.
I agree!!! I didn't know that there was a movie based on it though :eek: (will have to see it... maybe)
I'm reading the version translated by Burton Raffel :p

[becca2389]

I loved Beowulf. A pretty mystic and dark text. Anglo-Saxon literature is really, realy interesting and Beowulf is the best example of it. Maybe it's a bit too obvious and heroic at times, but all in all, it's a great read.

I agree too! I found it brilliant. It's really interesting to actually read tales written more than a thousand years ago...life has changed and customs are different, but perhaps not as different as you'd think. I've found the same on reading Chaucer too.

I'm looking forward to seeing the film...it really is a story that would work well on film, especially the funeral scene at the end

[Natalie]

I'd love to know more about the film actually.

[mono]

For future reference, could any of you suggest a good translator of Beowulf? I read it once in high school with a decent translation, but I usually like to get a bit of a mix for my next read.
Thanks in advance. ;)

[Eliza]

I read Beowulf for high school English class then Grendel for college freshman Literature. Since I was 18 and 19 at the time, I can't remember much about them but I do remember I liked Grendel. Maybe I was just rooting for the underdog or maybe my reading taste improved within a year. I'm putting these on my "re-read" list to figure it out!

[oscar tully]

Try the recent Seamus Heaney translation. It's very good (and I think is now in paperback).

[Monica]

I read Heaney's translation. It was OK. Some of my friends tried to read it in Anglo-Saxon :) Our tutor knows it and he tried to encourage us to learn it but it was an unsuccessful attempt :D

[samercury]

I'd love to know more about the film actually.

Yeah me too ;)
I like Grendel a lot too. I feel sorry for him- lonely