Beowulf
The Young Beowulf
It's interesting to see the young Beowulf, since, unlike many great heroes, he comes off as the black sheep; maybe his "black wool" is valued by others, but it still makes him an outcast. Most heroes are found and lauded for their prowess concerning war, and everyone accepts them. But his situation, where everyone both is awed and envies his talents, he becomes isolated, and it shows in his demeanor. Literally his nickname is "the Silent One", even though his vocal chords work perfectly fine. And because of this treatment, it also gives him thick skin, making him care very little about what people say about him, which I think is great. However, he doesn't seem like the intellectual type, preferring to think about the wars he wants to fight rather than paying attention to gossip to figure out the social nuances of the court and exploit them. Maybe that's a Machiavellian thing to do, but I think if I were in that situation, I would whatever resources I had to protect myself from the wrath of people.
Beowulf Lands In Daneland; Beowulf Comes to Heorot
I think in this chapter, Beowulf shows his excitement for his long-awaited chance at glory and fame and fighting with his eagerness to help Daneland, which is wracked by the evil monster Grendel. An old man, before admitting Beowulf into the land, asks him if he really will try and warns him that everyone that has tried to kill Grendel has been torn apart. Of course, this makes Beowulf become more excited, since it's something he can go all out against. Thus, with this resolve, Beowulf and his men journey past the shore of Daneland, going deeper into the land. After awhile, they arrive at what once was the great hall of the kingdom, Heorot, which reeks of rottenness and death. It's bad. But the king, Hrothgar, welcomes them and again (like the herald) warns them of what Grendel will do. He also asks Beowulf who he is, and upon hearing he is Beowulf, he entreats them to a feast. I'm sure he would have given them a feast whether or not he was Beowulf.
The Battle With Grendel
I think it's kind of funny that Grendel and Beowulf are fighting this silent battle, and I wonder how it would translate into a movie. 'Cause if you wanted to make it cannon, you wouldn't put any noise (except maybe the emotion-stirring background music). No growls, no roars of rage -- just two fighters, decking it out in the middle of a hall littered with bodies, being extremely silent. Well, except at the end -- Grendel, as a coward, shrieks and runs away. But he doesn't run away in one piece -- before he can, Beowulf has already taken off his arm, and the rest of the men in the hall are breaking out of the sleeping spell. It's a good thing too that he's able to take off Grendel's arm, since it becomes a piece of hope to the people in Daneland, and gives more strength as a tangible reminder that Grendel isn't invincible than merely chasing Grendel away would. Here's a random observation of mine, superficial but something interesting, I believe -- the description of Beowulf. It doesn't fit with the Gerard Butler, dark haired and buff image that I had in mind for Beowulf. Instead, he's more like a Disney Prince (like Prince Adam -- Beauty and the Beast), with blond hair and blue eyes. But like certain other aspects of this epic, it breaks the stereotype/archetype, which is awesome.
The End of Beowulf
This chapter's sad, since I'd kind of gotten attached to Beowulf (just a teensy bit). You know Beowulf's death is coming, Beowulf know Beowulf's death is coming, and it's the ending of a great legend. I guess the consolation is that Beowulf is old and has lived a full life, with adventure that he sought for in his youth and the resulting peace thanks to him defeating his enemies. And now, after years of peace, something stirs up trouble, and instead of dying in his bed, he does die a hero's death, which is the way I think he would have wanted to go. It's also nice to know that someone (Wiglaf) with courage, determination, and loyalty will succeed him, rather than only cowards being the choices around. It's also nice to know that Beowulf is revered by his people and will be remembered by those after him. He also gets a gigantic bonfire as a funeral, which is awesome.
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