Beowulf

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Originally Posted by Mark F.

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

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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

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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

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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.

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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

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

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. ;)

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!

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

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

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Originally Posted by Natalie

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

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