Week 6 Flashcards
Reception of Beowulf (2007)
Divided reception; per the director, “It has nothing to do with the Beowulf you read in high school”.
This is also why it is such an interesting adaptation, because it departs from the original.
What is Beowulf?
One of the first great, canonical stories in English literature. An epic poem about the great hero Beowulf who fights three monsters.
Unknown author
By who and when?
Unknown author and unknown date; copied around 1000, but definitely older than that.
Where?
Written in England, but set in Denmark/Sweden.
Why do we care about Beowulf?
Considered the English Odyssey/Iliad, one of the few surviving poems from medieval England, with an actually good story.
When did interest in Beowulf spike up?
Interest in Beowulf only started surging recently as copies only started circulating in the 19th century. It was translated in Latin by Grimur J. Thorkelin (1815) with the title “About the things done by the Danes”.
What was the title given to Beowulf by the Latin translation by Thorkelin?
“About the things done by the Danes” (1815).
What was Beowulf used for initially?
- To discover the “wonderful English history”, looping back to earlier discussions on medievalism.
- Other scholars tried to place Beowulf in their own countries as well.
What does Beowulf mean according to Tolkien?
Beowulf exists as a poem that appeals to native English people; other people, according to him, simply cannot “understand” and thus appreciate the poem.
Beowulf Afterlives
It tracks adaptations of Beowulf, with 3000 entries and counting.
Gardner’s Grendel (1971)
Literary fiction; Grendel as a way to write about his ideas of Western civilisation.
Beowulf as an anti-hero
He has the strength of 30 men, paralleling how Grendel had slain 30 men, retellings picturing Beowulf as a violent, threatening.
2007 Beowulf
Not as the Beowulf we know, but the film wants us to read in between the lines for this Beowulf. It dissects the concept of a “hero” and the heroes we know, challenging the authors of Beowulf as a classic hero poem.
Why is 2007 Beowulf different?
- To fill the gaps in the original story, such as Grendel’s father never being disclosed in the original.
- Narrative cohesion: Beowulf does not return to Denmark unlike the original, due to the lack of continuity in the latter; the sudden and mysterious appearance of the dragon is transformed to be connected to Beowulf having relations with the mother; Beowulf cutting his own arm parallel with Grendel’s cut arm.
- Sex is more or less exempt from the original, as it’s more concerned with the weight of political marriages.
- In the film, the sex reflects modern anxieties (like sexual infidelity) as the sexual relations in Beowulf are ultimately what ruins both Hrothgar and Beowulf.
Medievalism: Swife
Swife (censorship for fuck; it sounds Old English, but the word first appears in 1500), production and design (the castles were made more grand for cinema, as 6th century buildings were not at all). The film aims to evoke a feeling of medievalism, without being wholly accurate.
How does Beowulf (2007) shed a different light on the original story?
The film gives a liar. The story behind the story. The film insists that the poem did not display the full truth. It challenges the original tale.
It is critical of the male characters (unfaithfulness, consent). Women are often victim to violence, which the poem doesn’t really show.
How is Beowulf (2007) critical of gender?
It is critical of the male characters (unfaithfulness, consent). Women are often victim to violence, which the poem doesn’t really show.
The film proves Beowulf to be great, but a liar.
