Reviews for Beowulf
Review - Beowulf
The Danes and their king, Hrothgar, had a problem. Seems that every night a monster named Grendel would wander into their hall and eat several of their men. They were undone until Beowulf, champion of the Geats (whatever a Geat is) came from across the sea to help them. He battled Grendel and tore off one of the monster’s arms. Grendel fled back to his home in the lake and died.
Hrothgar heaped riches upon Beowulf, but he partied too soon. Grendel’s mother, as much a monster as her son, came to take revenge. She grabbed a soldier and fled back to the lake. Beowulf followed her tracks to the shore of the lake, took what must have been a really, really deep breath and dove in. He fought Dame Monster for quite some time and finally dispatched her. Hrothgar heaped more riches upon Beowulf, who took them back to Geatville with him. Shortly thereafter, all the necessary people died and Beowulf became King of the Geats.
Things went along swimmingly for some time, and Beowulf had gently aged. Then one day a peasant wandered into a tower and discovered a dragon. He fled, but not before helping himself to a bit of the massive treasure the dragon had accrued. The dragon took exception to the theft and wrecked havoc upon Beowulf’s kingdom. Beowulf was called upon once more to save the day. He took his men and approached the dragon. Alas! He was no longer the man he once was. The dragon broke his sword and was about to do him in. All Beowulf’s men fled except Wiglaf. Together, the two heroes with silly names defeated the dragon. But Beowulf was wounded and soon died. The kingdom grieved. Wiglaf became king and so ends this lovely tale.
Not terribly interesting. Its claim to fame is that it is the earliest surviving book in any modern language, but that doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. Some book has to be the oldest. Beowulf struck me as the 8th-century Superman. All that was missing was the kryptonite.
Hrothgar heaped riches upon Beowulf, but he partied too soon. Grendel’s mother, as much a monster as her son, came to take revenge. She grabbed a soldier and fled back to the lake. Beowulf followed her tracks to the shore of the lake, took what must have been a really, really deep breath and dove in. He fought Dame Monster for quite some time and finally dispatched her. Hrothgar heaped more riches upon Beowulf, who took them back to Geatville with him. Shortly thereafter, all the necessary people died and Beowulf became King of the Geats.
Things went along swimmingly for some time, and Beowulf had gently aged. Then one day a peasant wandered into a tower and discovered a dragon. He fled, but not before helping himself to a bit of the massive treasure the dragon had accrued. The dragon took exception to the theft and wrecked havoc upon Beowulf’s kingdom. Beowulf was called upon once more to save the day. He took his men and approached the dragon. Alas! He was no longer the man he once was. The dragon broke his sword and was about to do him in. All Beowulf’s men fled except Wiglaf. Together, the two heroes with silly names defeated the dragon. But Beowulf was wounded and soon died. The kingdom grieved. Wiglaf became king and so ends this lovely tale.
Not terribly interesting. Its claim to fame is that it is the earliest surviving book in any modern language, but that doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. Some book has to be the oldest. Beowulf struck me as the 8th-century Superman. All that was missing was the kryptonite.
Reviewed by Roger on 2008-08-22 15:09:07
Review - Beowulf
Has this book survived because it is good, or is it just famous because it happened to survive? I know what I think. It wasn't terribly interesting. Its claim to fame is that it's the oldest surviving book in any modern European language. So what? Some book has to be the oldest. Beowulf struck me as an 8th-century Superman comic. All that was missing was the kryptonite.
Reviewed by Roger on 2003-07-19 16:29:14