My grandfather was called Papa. No, not Pah-Pah like in fairy tales, Pah-Pah! (With the exclamation point.)
Imagine a group of mobsters greeting their father over a dinner feast. That's the kind of Pah-Pah! he wanted to be.
Papa loved stories, and he knew them all. Every constellation was a story of an adventure yet to be told, every dusty old book a doorway to the past just waiting to be opened. And he opened them for me! He gave me my first copy of Beowulf when I was ten. It was a worn old thing, but I loved it. I never read it and he knew it (because let's be real, I couldn't comprehend that particular edition now) so he told it to me.
He told me his version of Beowulf...
which means I know nothing abut what actually happened.
But I know some version, that is half-true and half made-up by him.
Papa passed away this past summer. He was my best friend,
But I'll always have in my heart the best version of Beowulf EVER.
I suppose you're wanting me to "get on with it!" Goodness I love Monty Python (so I will post a segment from one of their movies to cheer up this vibe a little).
Papa was, and IS, my hero. Like King Arthur, or maybe even Beowulf, he is gone but forever here. Papa had his own qualities that made him my hero, as did Beowulf for other people. Let's look at a few of Beowulf's qualities that made him admirable to the readers of the time (I just realized I'm assuming that Beowulf is nobody's hero anymore. Maybe he's yours. If so, comment! Anyway...getting ON with it):
Beowulf is...
Brave
Charismatic
Impressive to look at
Quick on his feet
Has...super-human powers?
Did you catch anything else?
It's interesting to me that Beowulf isn't just, well...a piece of meat. He isn't like Hercules in the ancient Greek legend, who is actually described as the equivalent of a dumb jock, and was actually a pawn during Hera's vengeful wrath.
Beowulf is charismatic, he is cunning, and overall, he seems fairly intelligent. Do you think this is significant? Do you think this says something about the culture of the time? Does it make you like Beowulf more?
...Do you like Beowulf as a person at all?
Let me know what you think! And of course, happy reading!
Beowulf is someone that most strive to be if not already. He is always up for the challenge and he made a name for himself by being bold. I like Beowulf because in the story he gave hope when there was none and he lifted a burden off the people who lived in that land. he didn't do it for his own glory he did it repay a debt. but it doesn't hurt if he obtained some of the fame for himself. He is doing most of the hard work. Beowulf can be considered one of the first super heroes because he is Brave, strong, a leader, Charismatic towards the people, and friendly.
ReplyDeleteI am kind of torn about Beowulf. He has definitely proven himself to be strong and quite the fighter considering he took on two creatures from hell and a dragon. He does have a lot of admirable qualities about him, but hearing him drone on and on about his accomplishments can get more than a little tiring. I get that he is basically giving the people a resume to let them know he is qualified to take on Grendel, but he also kind of comes off as a braggart. He is also very sure of his abilities, which can be both a good and bad thing. His fearlessness, I think, is borderline foolishness. He wants to face Grendel with no weapons. While it may be the honorable thing to do, I think that if he simply wanted to vanquish Grendel, he would have wanted every advantage possible. I don't know, like I said, I think Beowulf has some good qualities, but I also think he has some qualities that are not so desirable.
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