Grendel, grendels mother, and the dragon in beowulf essay. This postapocalyptic future story is based on the 8th century saxon epic poem about the knight who battled a monster in a medieval castle. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper. Deep in the lake, the mother grasps him tightly with her claws so that he cannot draw his sword. And its grendels mother who becomes the temptation that brings these sinful characteristics to horrifying life.
In the movie the dragon happens to be the son of beowulf and grendels mother, and seeks to kill his father. As grendel is trying to flee heorot, beowulf slams the door on his arm, severing it. Grendel and grendel s mother, and later in his life an unnamed dragon. Grendels mother, like her son, is a mysterious humanoid creature. After beowulf kills grendel, grendels mother enters the story and wants to get vengeance for the death of her son. For this reason, some readers have seen grendels mother as an embodiment of ancient northern european societys tendency toward unending bloodfeuds. Though he has many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seems to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses, and he shows more of an interior life than one might expect.
It is not known who wrote it, and there is no agreement as to when it was written. Beowulf dives into the lake and is dragged down to the cave by grendel s mother. The biblical interpretation, which sees grendel and his mother as the cursed offspring of cain, is. Grendel s mother kills almost an entire group of warriors, who are shown as shadowy, bloody figures hanging from ceiling beams. Whats the difference between beowulf the movie and beowulf. In the movie the portrayal of grendels mother is rather inaccurate as she is presented as a beautiful seductive woman, mother of grendels hrothgars offspring and the dragon beowulfs child. In the original text of beowulf, is there any implication he had sex with grendel s mother. On the left side, they write a fivebullet summary of grendel s mother from the text. One of the many differences could be seen when beowulf goes to kill grendels mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Funnily enough, its only very vaguely got anything to do with beowulf, and grendel s mother is the most monstrous that youll probably ever see her. May 07, 2019 this essay on grendels mother in film beowulf was written and submitted by user fletcher mcclure to help you with your own studies.
Grendel s mother seems quite harsh towards him and he fears her almost as much as he loves her, but she is quite right in her belief that, if grendel disobeys her by disturbing humans, they will come and try to kill them or at least him, who is not a magic user like her. Angelina jolie is the voice of grendel s mother in beowulf. Describe the battle between beowulf and grendels mother. The main reworking concerns the relationship between hrothgar, beowulf and grendel s mother. Beowulf 1010 movie clip slaying the dragon 2007 hd duration. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for beowulf, grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the germanic society. Some animation is just very poor, especially in the action sequences. Funnily enough, its only very vaguely got anything to do with beowulf, and grendels mother is the most monstrous that youll probably ever see her. Before long, beowulf finds himself doing battle with hrothgar s daughter kyra rhona mitra, hrothgar s master of arms, roland goetz otto and even grendel s mother layla roberts. Indeed the final moments of the film force the new king to confront the temptation of. Characters grendels mother grendels mother, like her son, is a mysterious humanoid creature.
Angelina jolie was too hot to be grendels mother in beowulf. A horrific battle ensues, climaxing with beowulf ripping off grendels arm at the shoulder socket. Its been a long time since i read it but i dont remember that bit. In the film, beowulf is a tragic hero who acts on impulse and lets his pride, ego, selfishness, and lust get the best of him. Recall now, oh, famous kinsman of healfdene, prince very prudent, now to part i am ready, goldfriend of earlmen, what erst we agreed on, if i fail, act as a kind liegelord to my thanes, 5 should i lay down my life in. Kim beowulf paper grendels mother in the poem beowulf, the most evident theme is the importance of the germanic heroic code. After grendel is killed, grendels mother attacks heorot in revenge. Tolkien describes and illustrates many of the features of old english poetry in his 1940 essay on translating beowulf. Some characters beowulf, grendel s mom, grendel dragon, and unferth in the movie become aligned with modern concepts. Grendels mother is covered in gold, wolflike, and has talons. As noted in lines 106114 and lines 12601267 of beowulf, monsters which include grendels mother and grendel are descendants of cain.
Furthermore, beowulf succumbs to grendels mothers seductions and fathers the dragon he faces in the end. Grendel retreats to his cave where he bleeds to death in his mothers arms, having just enough life left in him to tell his mother the name of the man who killed him. Beowulf 2007 angelina jolie as grendels mother imdb. Beowulf s strength helps him defeat grendel and grendels mother but he is unable to beat the dragon because his age degrades his strength. What are the characteristics of grendels mother in beowulf. Grendels mother in film beowulf 840 words essay example. And yet they make a lot of hay out of it in both recent beowulf inspired films, particularly the 2007 one. So, despite the film s apparent exoskeleton of paganism, it ends with the christlike sacrifice beowulf must make and the idea that he must show incredible courage to confront his own, monstrous mistake. Nov 23, 2019 the warrior manages to kill the monster, but grendels mother comes and kills almost all beowulfs men. Beowulf fights grendel and kills him, then fights a seacreature that turns out to be grendels mother.
She travels to heorot and slaughters beowulfs men while they are sleeping. I prepare to show students the film clip of the section on grendels mother, including her attack on herot then beowulfs visit to her lair, from the beowulf film paramount, 2007 by designing their ticket out, having them divide their papers in half. Grendles modor is one of three antagonists in the anonymous old english poem beowulf c. Monsters in beowulf essay there are three prominent monsters in the beowulf text, grendel, his mother, and the dragon. Beowulf resolves to find and kill grendel s mother, and he tracks her to a mere.
The animation is the talking point of this movie, and its a real step on from the. Incarnations view all 2 versions of grendel s mother on btva. Well for one grendels mother was not an attractive woman, she was a monster like grendel. Secondly, in the poem beowulf takes the life of grendels mother, while in the film they have sexual intercourse and soon grendels mother gives birth to a dragonlike child. Beowulf never slept with grendels mother, and the dragon he fights in the end of the movie is not his son its a random dragon that he fights after returning home to geatland to be crowned king. She generally lacks humanity, but she does seek revenge for her son s death, which can be viewed as a distinctly human quality. Aside from keeping a bit closer to the poem, one of the great strengths of this film is. In zemeckis hands, its an intriguing look at a hero as a flawed human being. The warrior beowulf must fight and defeat the monster grendel, who is terrorizing denmark, and later, grendels mother, who begins killing out of revenge. However in the modern retelling of beowulf made famous by the rendered 3d film, grendels mother was not killed by beowulf. Grendels mother beowulf the female villains wiki fandom.
Beowulf prepares to dive to the bottom of the mere, and one of hrothgar s warriors called unferth presents him with a sword called hrunting. Beowulf simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Looking at the movie gave me better imagery for the thrilling adventure of beowulf. The sword melts to its hilt after beowulf uses it to decapitate the corpse of grendel, which lies nearby. The role of grendels mother is a muchdebated topic in scholarly circles. No other sex tube is more popular and features more beowulf scenes than pornhub. Review of grendel, beowulf, and battle with grendel.
The grendel quotes below are all either spoken by grendels mother or refer to grendels mother. Indeed the final moments of the film force the new king to. In the original text of beowulf, is there any implication. Beowulf 2007 mother of grendel the monster youtube. Her son has returned to their cave mort grendels mother. I prepare to show students the film clip of the section on grendel s mother, including her attack on herot then beowulf s visit to her lair, from the beowulf film paramount, 2007 by designing their ticket out, having them divide their papers in half. In the movie, beowulf is the dragons father and hrothgar is grendels father. The screenplay was written by neil gaiman and roger avary, and reflects their dark and satirical visions as reflected in some of their other works. Grendel s mother angelina jolie, also sometimes called hag in the old viking beowulf saga, is the main antagonist in the viking saga beowulf as well as its many retellings over the years. Beowulf s kingdom the dragon beowulf 1999 christopher lambert beowulf and grendel 2005 grendel tv movie series scifi beowulf 2007 treasure craze or.
The destruction of a sword seems nothing less than a wonderful thing to the narrator, who puts a lot of trust in the sword and in the battleprowess of warriors. Grendels mother also sometimes called hag in the old viking beowulf saga is one of the three main antagonists in the viking saga beowulf as well as its many retellings over the years. As a loyal lord, its hrothgars obligation to avenge aescheres death. Beowulf s fight with grendels mother differs greatly from the fight with grendel himself. The role of grendel s mother is a muchdebated topic in scholarly circles. Beowulf 2007 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. In his cave, grendels mother swears revenge over his corpse. Hrothgar says he must depend on beowulf a second time, and offers him treasure to kill grendel s mother and end the feud. Identify the modern parallel that each character serves to represent and the implied message or bias. Some critics feel that grendel s mother receives inadequate consideration in the poem. Grendel s mother, another demonic descendant of cain, attempts to avenge her son s death by attacking heorot hall. So now hrothgar seeks revenge, just as grendel s mother does.
He returns to heorot with a greater trophy, the head of the ogre, as well as the hilt of the magic sword. It is too shreklike in places, but then alternates with realism, for example grendel s mother is eyepoppingly real. Grendel s mother is a character described in the early medieval anglosaxon poem beowulf, where she is the second of three creatures who battled the titular hero the first being her son grendel and the third being the dragon. The warrior beowulf ray winstone must fight and defeat the monster grendel crispin glover, who is terrorizing denmark, and later, grendels mother angelina jolie, who begins killing out of revenge. The other antagonists are grendel and the dragon, all aligned in opposition to the hero beowulf. Beowulf swims down through snakeinfested burning water, emerging in a subterranean cave to confront the mother figure 07. Grendel is a 2007 american actionfantasy television film directed by nick lyon and very loosely based on the anglosaxon epic poem beowulf.
The television film was produced by the sci fi channel as an original movie for broadcasting on the sci fi cable television network, and began airing on january, 2007. Beowulf know he must correct his mistake he made and protect his people, so sets out to slay his son. I have to admit, i have only watched one beowulf film, that from 2005 beowulf and grendel, well after i wrote the initial draft of grendel s mother. Compare and contrast beowulf book and movie essay custom. Whereas, in the motion picture he remains in the land of the danes and turns to be the king of the hrothgars kingdom. The warrior beowulf ray winstone must fight and defeat the monster grendel crispin glover, who is terrorizing denmark, and later, grendels mother angelina jolie, who begins killing out.
Grendels mother angelina jolie takes revenge by attacking the hall following a. Grendels mother angelina jolie is completely naked throughout her scenes, sometimes covered with a goldlike film dripping off her skin like chocolate. Beowulf dismembers grendel s arm after a long handtohand battle. The recreation of the period feels authentic and the acting is good. In the very few cases that people have asked me what my favourite beowulf film is most likely its me telling them against their will when im shitfaced, i have to answer with outlander. In the battle with grendels mother beowulf seemed to have many disadvantages. Your story would live on when everything now alive is dust. Beowulf battles two demons, first the maneating grendel, then grendel s bereaved mother, defending the danes from these vicious killers. However i couldnt help but notice a slight difference between the movie and the story. Furthermore, beowulf succumbs to grendels mother s seductions and fathers the dragon he faces in the end.
Beowulf has been fully translated by sixtyfive and counting translators, has been adapted into four films including an. Dvd includes a making of film which is really worth watching too. This version instead trys to deconstruct the poem into a realistic mainly non fantastical movie. I think i have deliberately avoided seeing cinematic versions because once i have seen one, i cannot unsee it. Hrothgar tells beowulf that grendels mother, the water demon, lives in a cave and beowulf sets to kill her only to be seduced by the monsters mother who takes the form of a beautiful woman. Although her exact nature isnt clear, shes usually depicted as a. In the poem beowulf kills grendels mother to rid heorot of the chaos that arises after the death of. Beowulf 2007 film beowulf is a 2007 britishamerican 3d computeranimated fantasy adventure film directed by robert zemeckis, written by neil gaiman and roger avary and based on the old.
After beowulf kills grendel, grendel s mother enters the story and wants to get vengeance for the death of her son. The film is a fairly accurate telling of the story but doesnt include the end of the poem where beowulf fights the dragon when hes an old man, therefore ends with grendels mother. In this story, beowulf is a wanderer who learns about a maneating creature called grendel which comes in the night to devour warriors trapped at the outpost. The beowulf voice, while strangely cockney at first, had an edge to it that was believable in a warrior. Read xxiii beowulf s fight with grendel s mother of beowulf by anonymous. Get an answer for describe the battle between beowulf and grendel s mother. She uses her womanly charms to lure beowulf when he goes to her lair to kill her. On the left side, they write a fivebullet summary of grendels mother from the text.
As is typical, hollywood thought they could do a better job than 1,000 years of tale telling summary the main protagonist beowulf, a hero of the geats, comes to the aid of hrothgar, king of. The poem, beowulf, is contained in the nowell codex. Grendel is a vicious, aggressive, bloodthirsty, and dangerous monster who appears in danish poem, beowulf, living in a subterranean cave with his mother, rampaging through the kingdom of hrothgar. When grendel s mother appears, beowulf gives her the golden horn, but she refuses to stop the attacks. Jul 18, 20 in the very few cases that people have asked me what my favourite beowulf film is most likely its me telling them against their will when im shitfaced, i have to answer with outlander. Although she manages to kill one man, she is alarmed by the strength and prowess of the geatish warriors, and retreats to her lair, a cave underneath a lake filled with sea monsters. Grendels mother drags beowulf to the bottom of the lake via uncouth reflections a few miles from here a froststiffened wood waits and keeps watch above a mere.
He is able to become a powerful monster because his father is one of the strongest humans and his mother is a power creature. She generally lacks humanity, but she does seek revenge for her sons death, which can be viewed as a distinctly human quality. Grendel s mother is covered in gold, wolflike, and has talons. The movie features an impressive voicecast, including british actor ray winstone as beowulf, anthony hopkins as king hrothgar, and angelina jolie as grendel s mother. Grendels mother is one of the most devious characters. Grendels mother in beowulf grendels mother grendels mother, another demonic descendant of cain, attempts to avenge her sons death by attacking heorot hall. Grendels mother sometimes called his dam is not as huge or as powerful as the son, but she is motivated by revenge.
There is a very significant difference between the epic poem and the movie, which changes the way we view beowulf. Nov 16, 2007 at the heart of this take on the epic are the bookended battles fought by the geat warrior beowulf ray winstone, the first against grendel and his mother, the second against a dragon. The movie and the poem influences of beowulf on film. The main characters of beowulf are the hero beowulf, the evil monster grendel, grendels mother shewolf, unferth which contrasts beowulf, hrothgar the king of the danes, and wiglaf the loyal ally. In the poem beowulf, grendel s mother is described as a female monster and sea hag. Grendel s mother also sometimes called hag in the old viking beowulf saga is one of the three main antagonists in the viking saga beowulf as well as its many retellings over the years. It stars gerard butler as beowulf, stellan skarsgard as hrothgar, ingvar eggert sigur.
When beowulf goes to fight grendels mother, he doesnt kill her. A man like you could own the greatest tale ever sung. Beowulf grendels mother scene angelina jolie youtube. The title beowulf tells the reader right away what the story is going to be about, and who the hero is. In the battle with grendel it seems everything is on beowulf s terms. Beowulf dives into the mere wearing his mailshirt and carrying hrunting in its scabbard. The portrayal of grendels mother as a beautiful seductress, more of a succubus rather, who bears grendel as hrothgars child and the dragon as beowulfs child this is also the case in the plot of the 1999 film beowulf, with the exception that the dragon is entirely absent there. Grendels mothers blood melts the sword that beowulf uses to decapitate her. Beowulf grapples grendel, who has a chain wrapped around his arm, pulling it loose. Beowulf never slept with grendels mother, and the dragon he fights in the end of the movie is not his son.
The movie leads us to believe that hrothgar cheated on welthow and had a controversial relationship with grendels mother and gave birth to grendel. Angelina jolie was too hot to be grendels mother in. In the poem beowulf, grendels mother is described as a female monster and sea hag. But all that aside, i think its a pretty good film but. The fight took place in his territory and he had the upper hand throughout he whole battle.