I just finished reading Beowulf, and I must say that I am really surprised! When I first started reading about how it was written hundreds of years ago by some unknown author in an ancient language and all that, I just knew that it would be boring beyond belief. After about four hours of watching television with the British Literature book sitting open in front of me, so I could at least pretend I was doing something academic, I forced my self to read the poem...and I liked it!
It was not nearly as difficult to read as I had been expecting, though in some parts I did get a bit confused, like after Beowulf and his companions got back home to their kingdom and all of that fighting happened. And the part with the dragon? It took me a couple different reads to understand what was going on with that...
The main thing I did not like about Beowulf was that he was so arrogant! Honestly, he was so into himself! Especially when he was talking to Unferth,and bragging about him and the man named Breca having a swimming competition and how he, Beowulf, was so powerful and killed nine sea-monsters in the middle of a storm. Was that story really necessary? Sure, he may have had a reason so brag, but the fact that he did annoys me. It didn't bother me enough to put me off of him at the time, but looking back, he really was conceited. He's still awesome though. I'm far too much of a sissy to ever even consider fighting something like Grendel. :]
I think I'll stop my little rant here though. That was much more than I had planned to say!
The section after they returned home bothered me too. It just seemed too abrupt. Not enough detail. I wish Heardred had actually been in the poem instead of just mentioned, as it were.
ReplyDeleteBeowulf was very arrogant! I mean, he had every right to tell about what he did, but I think he took it a little too far. He was constantly talking about how he did something better than someone else or how he was the most amazing person ever or something around those lines. It just really bugged me how he could be so arrogant and snobby.
ReplyDeleteAs i read your post i laugh not at the content, only at your reaction to Beowulfs Arrogance. I find this extremly funny to read Larissa's comment on the Arrogance as well. Its funny because as arrogant as he may be as a male i find it completely necessary that he brag. I mean sure he could be humble and not comment on any of the feats he has accomplished but where would the fun be in that? i mean seriously? i find his arrogance to be enjoyable towards the story although i did hope for it all to be a lie that way he would end up as a cast out type character in the end, kind of like Lockheart in harry potter. But sadly my male side of me says that i would react in the same way if i had such feats to boast about
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