Review of Robert Zemeckis’ 2007 Film and Poetry Behind Beowulf

This is my comparison of Robert Zemeckis’ 2007 movie Beowulf and of the epic poem Beowulf. Robert Zemeckis’ 2007 movie tells the story of Beowulf, the character. However, they share not only similarities but also share differences. There are many differences between the both. I honestly think that the movie shows moredetail and explains the actual story more in depth than the poem did.

The first similarity and difference in both the poem and the movie Beowulf is good vs. evil. The good in the poem of Beowulf is Beowulf and all the people that live in Hrothgar’s kingdom. The evil in poem is Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. The good vs. evil are about the same in Beowulf movie, the good in the movie are Beowulf and all of the people in Hrothgar’s kingdom. The evil is also the same in the move, which is Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon, which happens to be Beowulf’s son in the movie.

The next difference in the movie is that there was actually a curse that caused Hrothgar’s kingdom to have such darkness and death wished upon it in the movie vs. the poem which did not have this included in it. Grendel was actually Hrothgar’s son, which is a big difference between the poem and the movie, because the movie added that part to make it more interesting. Hrothgar had slept with the Sea Witch and got a curse that basically gave his soul to the Sea Witch for a son. The poem however did not have that included. The poem mentioned that Hrothgar had a monster that came from two other monsters and that the father of Grendel was not known but never said Grendel was Hrothgar’s son.

The last and final difference and similarity between the movie and poem Beowulf is that at the end of the movie, was that they did not build Beowulf a tower like he requested in the poem. In the poem, Beowulf told Wiglac that he wanted the geats to build a large tower by the sea front to show a remembrance of Beowulf to everyone who sees the tower. In the movie Beowulf it did not have this part included. The movie only had Wiglac getting the crown and the whole kingdom putting Beowulf on a big ship with all of his treasures and setting it on fire leading to the ending of the story.

In conclusion, both the movie Beowulf, and the epic poem Beowulf have both similarities and differences. They both tell the story of an epic hero and give us an example of the hero’s in this particular Anglo-Saxon time period, and give us examples of good vs. evil, but more importantly Beowulf is a lesson to everyone,There are many differences between the both and I honestly think that Robert Zemeckis’ 2007 movie Beowulfshows more detail and explains the actual story of Beowulfmore in depth than the epic poem did.

Works Cited

1. Zemeckis, R. (Director). (2007). Beowulf [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.
2. Unknown Author. (n.d.). Beowulf (Epic Poem). Retrieved from [URL]
3. Anderson, S. (2009). The Historical Background of Beowulf. The Chaucer Review, 43(4), 397-416. doi:10.1353/cr.0.0085
4. Heaney, S. (2000). Beowulf: A New Translation. W. W. Norton & Company.
5. Rumble, A. (2012). Beowulf: A Mythical Hero. The Heroic Age, 15. Retrieved from [URL]
6. Damico, H. (2007). Beowulf's Funeral. The Heroic Age, 10. Retrieved from [URL]
7. Shippey, T. A. (2007). The World of the Poem. In W. F. Bolton & D. W. Smith (Eds.), An Introduction to the Anglo-Saxon World (pp. 171-191). Cambridge University Press.
8. Gwara, S. (2014). Beowulf: A New Translation and Its Implications. Speculum, 89(3), 703-712. doi:10.1086/677900
9. Kiernan, K. (2014). Beowulf and the Art of Storytelling. Studies in Philology, 111(2), 281-311. doi:10.1353/sip.2014.0007
10. Orchard, A. (2003). Beowulf and the Beowulf Manuscript. In A. Orchard (Ed.), A Critical Companion to Beowulf (pp. 1-29). Boydell & Brewer.