There have been many important works throughout human existence. These important works exist through multiple flavors literature has to offer, such as plays, poems, stories, and, eventually, movies. The Anglo-Saxon period marked the initial debut of written literature starting with Beowulf and, while it retains anonymous authorship, Beowulf also sparked the new genre of poetry known as an epic. The Old English poem stars a young warrior who, by defeating multiple alien-like creatures, becomes King but eventually dies after defeating his last foe, a dragon. This society revolved around both Pagan and Christian beliefs, creating an interesting combination of the two beliefs fusing together to become equally important. Robert Zemeckis’ 2007 Beowulf
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Regardless, Beowulf does not have both Pagan and Christian beliefs relevant towards the story; therefore, it lacks an important aspect of the original poem. The movie only portrays Pagan beliefs while as the original text portrays both Pagan and Christian beliefs, making it more accurate to the past. The Anglo-Saxons lived in a time of change and the entire world has change occurring around them, faith being one of them. Despite them having a strong presence of Paganism carved into their own beliefs, such as the concept of wyrd, or fate, not believing in an afterlife, and fulfilling one’s duty until their end, the movie misses out on the Christian belief which also serves a role in Beowulf. For example, in the movie the concept of wyrd is present when Beowulf mentions to Finn, the young warrior wanting to kill him towards the end of the movie, how the Gods will not let him die in his sleep or let someone kill him abruptly without reason while as when Unferth came to Hrothgar asking if the Danes should pray to the new Christian Lord when they were at a time of need but he said no. The poem, however, contains both Christian and Pagan beliefs. Similarly to the movie adaptation, Beowulf used the concept of wyrd to demonstrate that fate is an important aspect of life to the Anglo-Saxons. When
Regardless, Beowulf does not have both Pagan and Christian beliefs relevant towards the story; therefore, it lacks an important aspect of the original poem. The movie only portrays Pagan beliefs while as the original text portrays both Pagan and Christian beliefs, making it more accurate to the past. The Anglo-Saxons lived in a time of change and the entire world has change occurring around them, faith being one of them. Despite them having a strong presence of Paganism carved into their own beliefs, such as the concept of wyrd, or fate, not believing in an afterlife, and fulfilling one’s duty until their end, the movie misses out on the Christian belief which also serves a role in Beowulf. For example, in the movie the concept of wyrd is present when Beowulf mentions to Finn, the young warrior wanting to kill him towards the end of the movie, how the Gods will not let him die in his sleep or let someone kill him abruptly without reason while as when Unferth came to Hrothgar asking if the Danes should pray to the new Christian Lord when they were at a time of need but he said no. The poem, however, contains both Christian and Pagan beliefs. Similarly to the movie adaptation, Beowulf used the concept of wyrd to demonstrate that fate is an important aspect of life to the Anglo-Saxons. When