Beowulf Compare And Contrast Essay

In the movie and the poem Beowulf there were many differences and similarities that stood out. I was interesting to be able to visually see the poem come to life. As it is always easier for me to be interested while I am watching something instead of reading it. In the book Beowulf goes back to Geatland, which is the land of the Geat's. He goes back to become a king of his uncles kingdom. In the movie he stays in the Denmark, which is the land of the Danes. And he becomes king of Hrothgar's kingdom.

I'm going to start with the differences between the movie and the poem. In the movie it showed Beowulf cut his arm off, so he could kill the dragon. It also showed him ripping out the dragon's heart. He died when he fell off the cliff with the …show more content…
Beowulf is considered a heroic figure in the poem, because he protected the Danes from the beasts and in the movie he is shown more as a liar than a hero. Another difference in the book Grendel slays the Danes in the night, while they are sleeping, so that none have the chance to challenge him. But in the movie it shows Grendel bursts into Heorot in the night, but the Danes are awake, and fully witness his killing. In the book, after Grendel's death, his mother goes to Heorot to avenge him, but being weaker than her son, only makes off with a single thane. But in the movie, Beowulf is asleep in Heorot after slaying Grendel when he has a nightmare about Grendel's mother, awaking from it to see that she has silently murdered many of the men Heorot. In the book, After slaying Grendel's mother, Beowulf brings Hrunting, …show more content…
Similarities between the book and the movie are established to stay true to the theme of Beowulf, a theme in which a hero conquers great odds and shows what the epitome of humanity can achieve. This theme is essential to the development of any true epic. The most prominent similarity between the two is the characteristics granted to Beowulf, the key trait being arrogance. Arrogance is an important trait of any epic hero, in the film this arrogance is established in Beowulf's tale of swimming in the ocean during which he states he slew several sea monsters. However, in the background his followers can be seen stating that the original number was much smaller than Beowulf has stated. In both the movie and the book, Beowulf kills both Grendel and the dragon and is the hero of the epic. Also, Beowulf takes the arm of Grendel and his mother comes back for revenge. Another similarity is Beowulf brings fourteen men to help him slay Grendel. In addition to the similarities Beowulf get Grendel's head and brings it back. Beowulf dies in the end as a hero in both the book and