Heath 1 Mallory Heath Professor Bollermann ENG 320 (SLN 80112) 10/24/11 The Monstrosity of Zemeckis Beowulf Isn t Grendel Written in the Anglo-Saxon era, Beowulf is a poem that allows the reader to marvel at the hero of the tale, a man more powerful than any beast with an even stronger code of morals. Beowulf is the victor of three heroic battles: killing Grendel, destroying Grendel s mother, and slaying the dragon. In the original poem, Beowulf rises to all three occasions and is a champion who can be revered by all. However, in Zemeckis telling of this classic, Beowulf is painted as not a hero, but as a man, fallible and flawed (Beowulf). The first challenge Beowulf encounters is the fight against Grendel. In the poem, Beowulf proudly announces he will save Heorot. He proudly asserts to the Geats that when it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel (Beowulf 19). He bravely lays down his armor, in honor of tradition, allowing himself to fight on equal terms with Grendel: he has no idea the arts of war, of shield and sword-play, although he does possess a wild strength. No weapons, therefore, for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares (Beowulf 19). He lays down awaiting Grendel. Grendel arrives that night to terrorize the Geats once more, out of the night came the shadow-stalker, stealthy and swift (Beowulf 19). In the original poem, Grendel is cunning and possessive of his evil traits, indeed, his glee was demonic (Beowulf 20). Grendel comes stalking in, awaiting the mayhem he will produce, and out of the
Heath 2 darkness, Beowulf surprises him and takes hold of his arm, with a strength Grendel had not known before. The battle is brave and heroic, and it is with Beowulf s strength alone that he peels Grendel s arm from its socket. In the film, Beowulf brags to Wealhtheow seductively as he decides that to fight Grendel he must be stark naked- and lies in wait for Grendel. Grendel enters, a mutant mix of what appears to be man and Golum, the creature from The Lord of the Rings. His ears have some sort of disability which causes him to have sensitive hearing. He staggers in, dazed in pain and anger and starts thrashing about. Beowulf leaps onto him, and it is naked man against savage beast as Beowulf bellows into Grendel s ear and starts punching him in the head. Eventually he ties up Grendel s arm and as Grendel attempts to flee, he runs to the door and shouts: I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power! I AM BEOWULF! (Beowulf). With the last scream he slams the door shut and Grendel s arm falls off. This leaves much to be desired from our original brute-strength-only hero. Rather than a man who honorably disarms himself and swiftly kills his opponent, we witness a naked man lop around on a troll-like creature in what inevitably ends up looking more like a drunken bar brawl than a heroic fight. Beowulf s narcissistic rant as he pounds the door onto Grendel s arm takes us away from why Beowulf was actually fighting Grendel: it was not to add one more story notch to his belt; it was to honorably defend Hrothgar s people. The second fight is between Beowulf and Grendel s mother, a monstrous hellbride (Beowulf 34). In the poem Beowulf proudly asserts himself up for the task at
Heath 3 hand- and speaks to the king with dignity and respect: Wise sir, do not grieve, it is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning I guarantee you, she will not get away (Beowulf 37). He dresses in respected armor and plummets into a monsterinfested sea to fight Grendel s mother. He courageously takes one of her own pilfered swords and beheads her with it. In the film, Beowulf decides all he needs to face Grendel s mother is a pair of boxer-briefs. He gets to her cave, and finds a seductress with a perfectly bronzed, naked body. The only thing that could possibly relate this mother with the hell-bride from the poem is the tail she has, which is really just a part of her (very long) braid. She promises him riches and a kingdom, and they make love to seal the deal. Beowulf saunters back to the Heorot mead-hall and pronounces her dead. The changes between the two Beowulf s would be laughable if not so heartbreaking. Zemerick creates a selfish, flaw-ridden Beowulf who lies to everyone about his victory. This is where the character of Beowulf loses all credibility. Zemerick takes one of the most noted heroes in English history and makes him a lusting liar. This change completely diminishes Beowulf. He exchanges his honor for a deal with a shedevil, and doesn t seem to regret doing so. On top of this fatal flaw within the movie, the way Zemerick s Beowulf approaches the fight with the mother is appalling. Instead of proudly rising to the challenge, he stomps his foot in front of Hrothgar and yells: How many monsters must I slay!? (Beowulf). This absolutely discredits Beowulf as a hero, and instead portrays him as a whining brute that has no interest in being a hero. The last battle is between Beowulf and the dragon. In the poem, after 50 years of
Heath 4 ruling his kingdom, Beowulf steps up once again to battle the monster that has come to wreak havoc on his people. In the film, the dragon is the offspring of his loins after his carnal adventure with Grendel s mother. In the poem he dies of a dragon bite, a true hero until his dying breath. In the film, he cuts off his own arm (an irony which is not lost on me, seeing as he cut off Grendel s arm), and dies as the aftermath of his own personal malice. Personally, this took away from the hero Beowulf was also. Beowulf did not need to maim himself in the original epic, and died from circumstances he was unable to prevent: when a chance came, he caught the hero in a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs into his neck (Beowulf 67). In the film, his clumsy swordsmanship ends up killing him in an ironic, but very tactless way. The movie concludes with Grendel s mother (who is still alive) looking seductively at Wiglaf. All one would need to see in order to feel nauseous is an italicized font of to be continued and a score of ellipses. The changes made within the movie squander the demeanor of Beowulf. It makes him look lusty and fallible, which may be expected of a normal man, but certainly not a hero. Zemerick s reproduction of Beowulf strips away the very essence of the hero. The only purpose fueling the change was the desire to dramatize Beowulf in order to fit it to Hollywood s standards. Zemerick s changes leave Beowulf with no credibility, and thus, the entire meaning of the epic is lost. The monstrosity of this film is in Beowulf s actions, which kill the character before he even finishes his first battle.
Heath 5 Works Cited Beowulf. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie. 2007. DVD. Film Heaney, Seamus, and Daniel Donoghue. Beowulf--a Verse Translation: Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: Norton, 1999. Print.