39,327
edits
Beowulf: Difference between revisions
m
update links
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (→The epic provides examples of:: -> tropelist) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 19:
In 1936, a lecture by [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]], "''Beowulf'': the Monsters and the Critics" had a lasting influence on ''Beowulf'' research. Lewis E. Nicholson said that the article Tolkien wrote about ''Beowulf'' is "widely recognized as a turning point in Beowulfian criticism", noting that Tolkien established the primacy of the poetic nature of the work as opposed to the purely linguistic elements. At the time, the [[Sci Fi Ghetto|consensus of scholarship considered ''Beowulf'' childish because they considered battles with monsters rather than realistic tribal warfare to be not worthy of study]]; needless to say the Creator of Middle Earth was having none of that. Tolkien argued that the author of ''Beowulf'' was addressing human destiny in general, not as limited by particular tribal politics, and therefore the monsters were essential to the poem. Where ''Beowulf'' does deal with specific tribal struggles, as at Finnsburg, Tolkien argued firmly against reading in fantastic elements. In the essay, Tolkien also revealed how highly he regarded ''Beowulf'': "''Beowulf'' is among my most valued sources," and this influence can be seen in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. The Professor also reveals an acidic wit that suggests Gandalf may have been based on his creator.
The story has been adapted many times. Some of the adaptations have been quite offbeat: they include John Gardner's novel ''[[Grendel (novel)|Grendel]]'', from the [[Alternate Character Interpretation|point of view of the monster]]; [[Michael Crichton]]'s novel ''Eaters of the Dead'' (filmed as ''[[The 13th Warrior]]''), which [[Demythtification|purported to tell the historical events that inspired]] the Grendel plot; and the weird 1999 sci-fi film starring Christopher Lambert. The 2005 film ''Beowulf & Grendel'' was comparatively faithful. The YouTube video, ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKp5kTUFl1k Beowulf, The Storybook Version]'', is relatively faithful, but very silly.
Most (but not all) of the ''Beowulf'' references on this wiki are to the 2007 film ''[[Beowulf (film)|Beowulf]]'', written by Roger Avary (who co-wrote ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'') and [[Neil Gaiman]], directed by [[Robert Zemeckis]], and starring [[Ray Winstone]]. The screenplay for this has [[External Retcon|similarly unusual]] diversions from the original story, to say the least. It seems ''Beowulf'' has a knack for inspiring artists to put their own spin on the material. This could perhaps be owing to the somewhat [[Blue and Orange Morality|alien]] [[Values Dissonance|worldview]] in which the piece was written.
----
{{tropelist}}
* [[
* [[Author Filibuster]]: Did you know that a proper ruler should always be benevolent, open-minded, and willing to honour his people who honour him in return? No? Don't worry, the poem will make sure you don't forget it.
* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]: Beowulf, of course.
* [[Awesome McCoolname]]: The hero's name means [[Everything's Worse with Bears|"bear"]].
* [[Badass Boast]]: Unferth, one of Hrothgar's men calls Beowulf a loser for losing a swimming contest. Beowulf responds that he got ambushed and had to stay on the sea floor ruining the shit of nine monsters, and tells the drunk he's going to hell.
** He took part in ''a swimming contest'' equipped with [[Self-Imposed Challenge|mail armor and a sword]].
Line 33:
* [[Badass Normal]]: Why is Beowulf the only one destined to kill Grendel? ''Because he's a hero.'' It should be noted that was how the Anglo-Saxons portrayed their heroes.
* [[Batman Can Breathe in Space]]: Or "Beowulf can breath underwater".
* [[Because Destiny Says So]]: The most important word in the poem is ''wyrd'', which means fate. Beowulf relies less on his [[Super Strength]] and more on the favour of fate before his battle with Grendel.
* [[Beyond the Impossible]]: Beowulf tells a story early on in which he kills nine sea monsters with only his sword while ''underwater''.
** Again on the "Beowulf's lungs are the size of train cars" theme, he swims to the bottom of a pool which is so deep it takes him ''almost a whole day'' to get to the bottom. His friends are apparently used to this, as they only start to get worried after many hours have passed.
Line 57:
* [[Franchise Zombie]]: Some scholars have read into the various tales of Beowulf's past achievements to conclude that there were more episodes to this saga, lost to history or having only existed in oral tradition. It's suggested that Beowulf was killed by the dragon as a way to finish off the series.
* [[A Friend in Need]]: Wiglaf is the only one of the troop who helps Beowulf in his fight with the dragon. The two are depicted as closer than he is with the others (they're relatives).
* [[Genre Savvy]]: Beowulf is remarkably unfond of [[Boisterous Bruiser|unnecessary combat,]] [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|wenching,]] and [[Bottle Fairy|getting roaring drunk]] for a Norse hero. It saves his life in combat against Grendel.
* [[God Save Us From the Queen]]: Modthryth, who had any man who looked her in the eye tortured to death. She became better after marrying her husband Offa.
* [[Gold Makes Everything Shiny]]: Gold rings, gold cups and [[Bling of War|gold-plated swords, armour and shields]] are repeatedly and fondly described.
Line 78:
* [[The Mentor]]: Hrothgar, who becomes something of a [[Parental Substitute|father figure]] to Beowulf.
* [[Mutual Kill]]: The dragon and Beowulf.
* [[Name of Cain]]: Grendel is Cain's descendant. His mother probably is, too.
* [[Name's the Same]]: A dude who was Shield Sheaffson's son shares his name with the titular hero.
** It's fairly widely accepted that Shield's son was called Beow, and that the copyist wasn't paying attention and corrected a mistake that wasn't there.
Line 99:
* [[Spell My Name with an "S"]]: Various characters have had their names translated in several different ways across different translations. For example, the king of Geatland is most commonly named "Hygelac", but at least one translation uses "Higlac". Then there's Hrothgar's great-grandfather, who has been variously called "Scyld", "Shild", or "Shield". Beowulf's father's name has been translated as "Ecgtheow" and "Edgetho". Not even the eponymous hero himself is immune - while "Beowulf" is universally accepted as the translation, some passages in the original poem spell it as "Biowulf".
** The reason for this lies in that Anglo-Saxon, like most ancient languages, had no set spelling conventions. Authors wrote what they heard, and the latter part of the manuscript was copied by a second author at some point. It's entirely possible he spoke a different dialect than the original author.
* [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]]: Each of the three monsters (Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and the dragon) is more formidible than the one before it.
* [[Sword of Plot Advancement]]: Just when it looks like all hope is lost, Beowulf finds a sword in the heat of battle to help him defeat Grendel's mother. [[Subverted Trope|Then it breaks.]]
* [[Super Strength]]: Beowulf has the strength of 30 men in just the grip of one hand. He is able to wrestle Grendel to a stand-still before ripping his arm off. Basically, the rule that states that he is the only one allowed to do anything heroic is justified.
** Better yet - he actually just stood there holding Grendel's hand, not even budging, while Grendel, the wimp, kept thrashing away. In a sense, Grendel ripped his own arm off.
** Toward the end, it is said that Beowulf constantly breaks his swords - he could never find one sturdy enough to long withstand the force with which he could swings them.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]/SchmuckBait: All the would-be Grendel slayers who show up before Beowulf think it's an excellent idea to get drunk and party at Heorot knowing full well the monster attacks at night when everyone is drunk and asleep. Beowulf stays with them, knowing damn well this is the perfect way to lure Grendel in.
* [[Viking Funeral]]: The funeral of King Scyld Scefing of Denmark. This is quite possibly the [[Trope Maker]], even though Scyld's funeral boat is not set on fire.
* [[The Wise Prince]]: Hrothgar, and later Beowulf.
* [[World of Badass]]: Although Beowulf manages to stand out anyway.
| |||