Did you know about Beowulf?

Question

They say it's one of the oldest folklore stories in England but i'm 47 and it's the first time i've heard of it...sorry if this question has already been asked

Answer 1

yes, in the schools now they make you read it so im familar with the story, but i had to go onto one of those cliffnotes sites to get the modern english version to understand it

Answer 2

I never read it in High school but Ive heard people talk about it for years. The movie The 13th Warrior with Antonio Bandaras(sp?) is loosly based on it along with a made-for-tv Sci-fi movie called Grendle and a movie with Gerard Butler called Beowulf and Grendle, and then the most recent re-make with Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins.

Beowulf in the movies is COMPLETELY different from the Prose. I dont understand why Hollywood has to completely change the story, it makes no sence to me. Anyways, The Kennings sometimes are hard to understand especially if you dont know anything about the culture and myths, but if you get a good translation they'll explain it for you. And Yes it is a very very old manuscript and it was found in a burnt monastary in, I do believe, the 14th century and it is shown that it had been copied by a monk. So it is unknown how old the tale really is and how long it was passed down by word before being written down....or how many times it had been copied prior to the copy found in the Monastary. I think the latest speculation was that it was originally written down in the 12th or 13th century but I dont remember where I read that to reference it.

Answer 3

I read Beowulf on my own when I was about 13 or 14 years old, and then we were required to read some of it in a high school Advanced Placement World Literature course. My English teacher was a bit surprised to learn that I had already read it (and at such a young age), as it was an Old English epic poem, and not the typical reading material of a teenager. I live in the United States.

But, I'm not entirely surprised that you have never heard of the poem. I have several friends from England, and many of them had never heard of it until the Beowulf movie was released this year, and a few of them said that they had even asked their parents about it, and their parents didn't know anything about it, either.

Perhaps the reason that you've never read or heard of the poem is because of the fact that it is of English origins and it is just assumed that people of England would already know the "story"? In my World Literature class we covered a lot of pieces of literature among many countries across the world, except America. In a mythology class I took, we covered a lot of different areas in mythology (Greece, Rome, Egypt, etc.), but we never so much as talked about the myths here in America. I guess because they just ASSUMED we would know about our own country. Who knows? Interesting, however, and it's obvious you are not alone in this :)

Answer 4

Yes I have known about Beowulf for many years. I think actually it is much better known in America. They seem to study it there.

There are more modern interpretations of the Poem Epic that are very far removed from the original. And the film is mostly poetic licence.

If you read it, read a near original version of the old text. You will be interested to know the similarities between Grendel and a T Rex. Very interesting.

I think it's Anglo Saxon

Answer 5

Oh geez your kidding! You've never read Beowulf? I read it in High School for English and I've read two translations recently. LOL Yes it's one of the oldest folklore stories in Northern Europe. Read the story. It's good.

Answer 6

Did you grow up in an English-speaking country?

Did you graduate from high school?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then it's a little weird that you hadn't heard of it.

It's very common to have to read Beowulf (translated) in high school English classes. It's not unusual to be forced to at least try and figure out a little bit of the Old English, as well.

Answer 7

Im a 25year old graduate, born and bred in the north-east england. Id never heard of beowulf before seeing it on the cinema. I was in all the top classes at school and it seems like some people on here studied it through there, but we never did!

Answer 8

I believe the tale is originally Scandinavian. It used to be on the general school curriculum, so everyone of a certain age would have done it in English classes. I'm 48, so I'm suprised it has passed you by so far.
It became part of British culture because it was transcribed by Medieval monks along with a lot of other folklore.
One of the best recent versions is by the Irsih poet Seamus Heaney.

Answer 9

But... do you know that Beowulf.org is a collection of resources for the expanding universe of users and designers of Beowulf class cluster computers? These enterprise systems are built on commodity hardware deploying Linux OS and open source software.

Answer 10

I guess you were supposed to read it back in high school. It is one of the bet surviving stories of poetry. If you watch the movie, your probably going to be confused. The original story is not similar to it. The original poem consisted of various structures. I recommend you read " The Beowulf Poet" by Donald. K. Fry, It talks about the perspectives of the poem, by many authors. I think its an elagaic poem, b/c it deals with heroism.

Answer 11

The classical heroes like Beowulf possesses the oftentimes happening of capability, loyalty, non secular and the guy who continually fights for solid of the folk. The classical heroes fights against the dragons and monsters. It’s all with regard to the vengeance and acceptance. Classical heroes use ability and magic while cutting-edge heroes use ability and cutting-edge methods. enable’s examine the Beowulf with Batman. the two possesses heroic high quality of capability. Beowulf fights against monsters while Batman fights against the criminals and undesirable human beings. Beowulf fights without weapons while Batman fights with palms, methods and weapons. the two one in each of them have distinctive backgrounds and settings. the two one in each of them possibility their very own lives. they conflict by myself to guard others. Beowulf is a nicely nicely-known warrior and later will become a king while American superheroes including Batman, Superman, and Spiderman are all like undercover protectors.