"Beowulf" is the greatest and the oldest epic poem. It is of great value, because it mirrors the spirit of the past and bares witness to the age. The extract of the poem I have read reflects the old heroic spirit. The poem had a profound philosophical meaning. From my basic knowledge of this poem and from this extract the main idea is that the course of life can not be predicted for sure in our uncertain world. And though the past or the future is wisdom, the true real understanding of the future and our life is not easy to achieve. "Beowulf" is the foundation stone of all the British poetry. The story of Beowulf tells us about a great hero Beowulf who was a nephew of the King of the Geates. In John Gardner's novel "Grendel" there is no such old spirit as it is in "Beowulf", it is written in different way.
The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in al...
An illustration of Grendel by J.R. Skelton from St...
Beowulf & GrendelFirst of all, Gardner uses a novel to write his work and it is written using modern words, and expressions.
In both extracts from "Beowulf" and John Gardner's novel "Grendel" there are different points of views. In "Beowulf" it is omniscient point of view, third person point of view, where characters are filters through whose eyes and minds the author look at the events. In John Gardner's novel "Grendel" it is first person point of view. The author disappears into the character of Grendel. We, the reader, see the story from Grendel's point of view, through his eyes and his mind.
In extracts "Beowulf", translated by J.Duncan Spaeth, and "Grendel" by John Gardner, there is a character that is vividly portrayed. This character is the monster Grendel, a non-human...