A deep part of me, some ancestral chunk of my mind, truly
wanted to enjoy Beowulf. I thoroughly
anticipated to be whisked away by an age-old skald of heroics and valor. There,
on the pages before me, was a well-known epic which had always been brought up
in discussions. However, as I sank my literary teeth into Beowulf, wanting to savor every word, I realized one thing: Beowulf is not Tolkien.
My imagination had always played with the concept of Beowulf. Ever since I was young, I had
heard brief snippets detailing the deeds of its hero. In Fifth Grade, I had
participated in a re-enactment of Grendel’s attack on Heorot. Yet such details
were the extent of my knowledge. I always expected more, much more. When I
heard the name Beowulf, a fantastic journey, full of intense action and
glorious set-piece moments, reverberated throughout my thoughts. I now feel
underwhelmed.
Beowulf in and
of itself is not bad. I do not dislike the epic. I also wholly appreciate the
work people like Seamus Heaney have put into translating the poem into a
decidedly less Anglo-Saxon format. Beowulf’s journey through Scandinavia was a pleasurable
experience, through which I was finally witnessing such a cornerstone of
English canonical literature. I met Hrothgar, Unferth, Wiglaf, Grendel, and
Hygelac. I witnessed the great mead-hall of Heorot, and the notorious dragon’s
barrow, and the hideous lair of Grendel and his dam. I immersed myself in the
warrior-code which guided all Geats, Danes, and Swedes, and felt the warmth of
boasts and victory. But it all seemed so sudden, and so shallow.
I believe the problem rests in my own expectations and
understandings. The former were too high, and the latter were nonexistent. Of course Beowulf
is quick-paced and short. The story was written between the 7th and
11th centuries, composed in a time when novels were unknown. In
addition, Beowulf is an epic poem, and is meant to be read aloud as a
performance. Few people take the time to read a whole novel in one sitting, at
least not to an assembled audience. And, as an epic, Beowulf is a fairly lengthy poetic work.
Even given the narrative’s limitations, I cannot feel
myself completely engrossed by it. I have, I believe, been spoiled by modern
culture. Movies and video games have provided engaging stories and intense
action, allowing myself to be more greatly absorbed in their material than with
Beowulf. In Bethesda’s TES V: Skyrim, I can assume the role of
a character who is Beowulf’s
equivalent. In Gladiator, I can watch
as Maximus abides by his own code of honor and conduct, struggling against
immense trials which only boost his fame and glory. Yet, I have been most
affected by the literary works of writers like Tolkien, and especially Tolkien,
who weaved a rich fabric of history and identity into their text.
Comically ironic, in this situation, is that Tolkien was
heavily inspired by the work of Beowulf.
Tolkien desired a mythical history for Britain, his homeland, and the work of Beowulf was a considerable factor in his
pursuit. The Lord of the Rings, a cherished
fiction of mine, could be seen as a veritable result of Beowulf and its impact on modern English literature. At this point,
I must bring myself back to the limitations of the epic poem’s original
creation. Tolkien had an abundance of text to draw inspiration from, and likely
possessed greater academic insight than Beowulf’s
composer, enabling him to create a more immersive and engaging work (the
availability of paper is also a major bonus).
` If I were asked to summarize both The Fellowship of the Ring and Beowulf, I could probably do so in the
same amount of time, even the same amount of sentences. The plots of both are
manageable and memorable. Ask me to analyze the works, however, and I guarantee
there will be a difference of length. While the themes and topics explored in Beowulf are just, I find myself more
attracted to the substance of modern fictional creations, such as Tolkien. The
Geats may be a proud and noble people, but I will take the Hobbits of the Shire
any day.
"...the availability of paper is also a major bonus"--loved that line.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
You make a good point: Tolkien was a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, and he was intimately familiar with every nook and cranny of the Beowulf world. You can see Anglo-Saxon ideology in even the premise of the novel: kings were seen as treasure-givers, and rings were imbued with great symbolism and power. There is also quite a bit of Scandinavia in the names, particularly of the people of Rohan in book 2.
I'd like to humbly suggest that Tolkien's work represents the voice and spirit of just one author, whereas Beowulf is a hodgepodge of multiple voices collected and then refashioned with a Christian agenda. I think comparing them in that regard is essentially problematic.