The
2007 film adaptation of Beowulf by Robert Zemeckis is
unfortunately inaccurate to the epic poem as well as being strewn with
inaccuracies about the middle ages. While some details are accurate, such as
funeral pyres and clothing style, these details only serve to legitimize a modern
story told through an 8th-11th century poem. These
conflicting time periods are evident in the characters, who are depicted to be almost
as flawed as the monsters themselves. Beowulf, a character renowned for bravery
and courage, is retold to be a weak man, only fighting in an attempt to gain
false glory. (Beowulf also has a difficult time remaining clothed—he struggles
with this throughout the film.) What some reviews of this movie miss, however,
is that this movie was not intended to be a pure retelling of the story. The
movie is meant to tell the history behind the epic poem itself. While this film
would be a horrible way to study for a quiz on Beowulf, it does refer to
fascinating Anglo-Saxon concepts of immortalizing glory and virtuous leadership.
The film Beowulf is not an accurate
or reliable resource for understanding the early middle ages, but it does draw
attention to an enthralling work of literature that has captivated numerous
readers for centuries.
Before
addressing these concepts, both versions of Beowulf,
the historical and the bastardized, must be examined. The epic poem Beowulf is divided into three acts. In
the first act, Beowulf sails to help the Danes defeat the monster Grendel, who
he attacks. Beowulf rips the arm from the man-eating monster. The second act
begins as Grendel’s mother attacks to avenge her son, but Beowulf is able to
defeat her. In the third act, when he is an old and powerful king, Beowulf
fights against a gold-mongering dragon who terrorizes the land. He kills the
dragon but dies as a result of the battle. The text examines what it means to
be a good warrior/leader, as well as how to obtain immortality from glory.
The
movie, while containing the same three monsters, diverges from the original
plot early in the story. After Grendel attacks the Danes, Beowulf sails to their
assistance. He fights Grendel, breaking the monster’s arm off. After Grendel’s
mother kills more men out of vengeance, Beowulf travels to her lair to kill
her, but is instead seduced by her as she had taken on the form of a beautiful,
naked woman, complete with high-heels. He is promised fame and power, and he
succumbs to her wiles. Years later, Beowulf is weary of the world. He still
struggles to keep his clothes on. The dragon terrorizing his people is none
other than his bastard son. He fights and kills the dragon, but dies in the
end. Through this chaotic narrative, the writers examine what it means to be
human, flawed and as capable of monstrous acts as the monsters themselves.
While the characters share the same names, the textual
Beowulf is quite different from the Beowulf in the movie. Why does the movie
fail to capture the original story of Beowulf? The movie removes any
possibility of Hrothgar and Beowulf being considered virtuous. “The central problem is that instead of presenting
Hrothgar and Beowulf as great heroes, which is exactly who they are in the
poem, the film offers us two decidedly unheroic liars. Both men achieve their
worldly success not by killing monsters but by having sex with Mother and then
lying about it” (Larsen). In the movie, the hero is simply the toughest
man in the room. Or, to be more accurate, the first to make a deal with a demon
in order to gain power. However, the epic poem established that you need more
than that in order to be a true leader:
Thus
Beowulf bore himself with valour; / he was formidable in battle yet behaved
with honour / and took no advantage; never cut down / a comrade who was drunk,
kept his temper / and, warrior that he was, watched and controlled / his
God-send strength and his outstanding / natural powers. (lines 2177-2180)
The movie places emphasis
on the physical attributes—strength and beauty, but it does not address the
virtues of a good leader that were present throughout Beowulf. Beowulf proves himself to be a good king in the third act,
but he gained the title through his heroic actions. The movie implies that
people were, more often than not, unable to be virtuous. This is especially
seen in Hrothgar, a wise and noble king in the book, who is portrayed as a fat,
undesirable man who slept with a monster to gain his power and respect. This
lack of consciousness was not true, as detailed Germanic laws, such as the
Burgundian Code, provide evidence for a society that created laws to prevent or
temper debauchery and war. The movie presents a different story, depicting
people from the early middle ages as being morally weak, but the poem provides
historical evidence that virtuous traits were desired and admired in leaders.
 |
As shown in the movie, Beowulf would
have worn chain-mail for protection.
Even if warriors accepted the inevitability
of death they would still take precautions. |
While their methods of securing glory were different,
both versions of Beowulf were interested in glory in order to be remembered
after death. Life wasn’t just about accumulating worldly goods, but to gain
enough respect to be remembered. In his first scene in the movie, Beowulf declares,
“If we die, it will be for glory not for gold.” He
is risking death for illusive glory. In the poem, the Geats and Danes alike
understood the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. Fate is a
concept seen throughout the poem, interwoven with references to God. (The
combination of Fate and God is especially interesting as it may possibly be
evidence of the assimilation of Christianity into the Anglo-Saxon culture.) Despite knowing
that fate could claim your life at any moment, the characters in the story were
motivated to live heroically and dangerously. Some would distract themselves
with gold and women, but the fear of being forgotten by time was strong. Both
versions of Beowulf desired to be remembered, and yet the cinematic Beowulf
sacrifices his honor and loyalty in order for the same remembrance that the
poetic Beowulf gained by remaining steadfast in his values. Because he held
onto his values in the text, Beowulf earned his title as a king, and when his
death was drawing near he accepted his fate:
He wished good luck to the Geats who had shared / his hearth and
his gold. He was sad at heart, / unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. / He
fate hovered near, unknowable but certain: / it would soon claim his coffered
soul, / part life from limb, (lines 2418-2423)
The poem
allows insight into early medieval perceptions of death and fate. The warriors
were keen on gaining glory because their lives were especially short. The movie
addresses this, but the characters secure their glory by sacrificing their
morals. Undoubtedly, kings could just gain “glory” by inciting bloody wars and
murdering kin such as the Merovingian king Clovis who “adopted the
straightforward policy of murdering all possible rivals” (Bennett 37), but Beowulf seems to have been written to
inspire leaders and warriors to act justly and with wisdom.
Having
never seen the movie before now, I had high expectations from reading Beowulf. I didn’t expect the movie to be
overly accurate as the story itself contains sea-monsters and demons, but the
final product feels far removed from Beowulf.
Musings on virtuous leadership and glory, which demonstrate early chivalric
virtues, give insight into the character and ethics of the early middle ages
and yet the movie ignores these in favor of analyzing modern character and
thought. The movie altered the story to serve as a vehicle for its own message.
The pensive and often dark tone of
Beowulf is left behind as the movie sensationalizes the characters in order to
draw more audiences. The actual story and lessons of Beowulf are lost, causing modern understanding of this time period
to become corrupted or entirely replaced by this inaccurate representation. While
interesting in raising questions about human nature, the film is not a good
resource for learning medieval values of leadership and glory. The historical
details that are mixed into this modern story are used to sell the story
instead of informing it, which allows for escapism instead of actual
understanding of this dynamic period of time reflected through Beowulf. The 2007 Beowulf adaption is
not a good resource, but does urge us to return to the historical version which
is useful for understanding the early middle ages.
Works Cited
Bennett, Judith. Medieval Europe: A Short History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011.
Beowulf. Directed by Robert
Zemeckis. Performances by Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, and Angelina Jolie. Warner
Bros. Pictures, 2007
Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
The cup’s appearance is Roman while
the construction is Irish. The chalice is made out of silver and is decorated with
gold, glass, and other materials. Beneath the band of gold, the names of St. Paul
and eleven apostles can be seen. The Ardagh Chalice is testament to medieval
craftmanship. The chalice can be seen at The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin,
Ireland.
