Another difference between them is that beowulf was fighting to help save the danes and achilles was fighting hector for revenge because he had killed his friend. The odyssey also shows a ringcomposition in the books ixxii when odysseus tells the story of. In their famous tale of the great hero beowulf, who in the poem is the great warrior and an aid to the danes. Beowulf fought monsters, while achilles fought humans who were of troy. Achilles was a greek and beowulf was a geat is also a difference between the two. A narrative technique in beowulf and homeric epic citeseerx.
Pdf on oct 10, 2014, sibaprasad dutta published beowulf. Beowulf is not quite as direct about this, but the value of glory and fame in. When it comes to epic poetry, the iliad and the odyssey are the two names that spring to mind. Beowulf tries striking at grendels mother, but cannot land a hit. Achilles only reason for going to troy is to enhance his own glory. The heaney translation of beowulf is referred to often as heaneywulf for a reason. How does the epic poem the iliad compare to the epic poem of beowulf. The qualities of the main characters in both the iliad and beowulf are very similar.
I think there may be a difference here between us and uk preferred translations. The protagonists in both epics, achilles and beowulf, participate in supernatural battles which most of the time determine the fate of their nation, their character traits reflect important ideals of their society, and the y both have supernatural powers that separates them from the rest of the warriors. It is a story about a hero, a scandinavian prince named beowulf, who rids the danes of the. Beowulf was a legend and the town wrote a song in memory of him. Revenge is a unique emotion in which is can be very motivating to accomplish a certain task, to serve for justice. Beowulf and the classical epics john nist i in any cursory reading of the heroic monodrama beowulf and the epics of homer and virgil, one is struck with general similarities of structure and tex ture between the anglosaxon master piece and those of the greek and. Although the iliad is a much older poem than beowulf, achilles comes from a more sophisticated material, intellectual, and artistic culture than the one described in the old english poem. Evil and life and death to find that the two themes are the biggest themes in an epic.
Achilles is one of the main characters of the iliad and he is a great man. The iliad too faces the dilemma of preordinance and free will. Translation by michael alexander, first published on 1973 is very skillfully put together and admirable. Both of beowulf in anglosaxon literature and achilles in the iliad have a number of parallels in the way that they are presented as being the epic heroes and the leading characters with almost supernatural strength and the classical heroic traits. The iliad, written by homer, is about a few weeks of a tenyear war between the trojans and the acheans.
Occasionally a deviation has been made, but always for what seemed good and sufficient reason. Beowulf itself narrates the battles of beowulf, a prince of the geats a tribe in what is now. The comparison between the iliad and beowulf falls along the lines of a comparison of one myth to another. In the quarrel in book i achilles abstains from killing agamemnon because athena reins him in by the hair and forbids it. The iliad is a textbook example of not one, but three different types of literary genres. They are written in the same general fashion of an epic poem. These poems meet certain requirements to be called epics. Achilles vs beowulf compare and contrast freebooksummary. Get an answer for compare and contrast the characters of beowulf and achilles in beowulf and the iliad. A 20thcentury example of political allegory is george orwells novel animal. To compare and contrast how each writer presents beowulf and his adventures. Both are great warriors and share a lot of characteristics, but they also have numerous differences that make them better or worse. Similarities and differences between beowulf and achilles 719 words 3 pages. Get an answer for how does the epic poem the iliad compare to the epic poem of beowulf.
Beowulf is known for his bravery, strength, and religion. Achilles in the iliad and beowulf in the self titled epic. He first tries to strike her with hrunting, but the blade cannot hurt her. Paris x, approaches to the iliad rutherford, from the iliad to the odyssey page 3 of 5 he states that the iliad and the odyssey were, in his opinion, committed for writing from the start rather than composed as we know them in a completely oral tradition because they would be too. The iliad begins with a ransom and an argument book i, a ceremonial aggregation of forces book ii, and a duel book iii, and ends with a comparable sequence in reverse silk 34. Beowulf and the iliad fate and religion in ancient text. Achilles was the greatest warrior in homers book the iliad, whereas beowulf proves his astounding strength and agility in the anglosaxon story beowulf. A version of homer that dares to match him line for line. Beowulf is the iconic work of literature in old english. Beowulf and the iliad essay sample when comparing the major themes of good vs. What is ironic about the way beowulf kills grendels mother. Rieus translations of both the odyssey and the iliad as posthumously revised by d. As grendel is trying to flee heorot, beowulf slams the door on his arm, severing it.
The present work is a modest effort to reproduce approximately, in modern measures, the venerable epic, beowulf. The iliad and odyssey are composed in a long dactylic line tumpetytumpetytum thats poorly suited to the natural rhythms of. The aeneid follows the journey of aeneas from a sacked troy to italy, where he begins a new life and starts to build a new city for the homeless trojans. Beowulf iliad comparison essaysin the epic poems the iliad by homer and beowulf, there are two heroes one in each epic. Language analysis of beowulf and iliad beowulf is one of the oldest and important existing poems in the english language.
Beowulf, whose authorship is not known and which is the most ancient epic, has a story that, by common consent, is considered to be heroic. In the book the iliad we saw so many warriors and a lot of them though that they were greats warrior but when achilles appeared the difference is completely big and is the same thing in the beowulfs poem these two characters had the strong of hundreds of warriors what help them to make amazing exploits like to kill monster or to kill an army. Tolkien article pdf available in tolkien studies 121. Compare and contrast beowulf and the iliad answers. In iliad, achilles using the feeling of revenge to complete his journey. The similarity between dantes the inferno and book vi of virgils the aeneid is, in many cases, clear. Beowulf by graceyhoward who is the greater warrior achilles or beowulf. The differences of revenge in beowulf and iliad 1176 words 5 pages. Similaritiesdifferences of beowulf by brandy weems on prezi. Achilles was the greatest warrior in homers book the iliad, whereas beowulf proves his astounding. The iliad and the odyssey analysis essay blog essayshark. What are the differences and similarities between achilles. Beowulf, heroic poem, the highest achievement of old english.
Beowulf vs achilles essays essays and papers online. Can you please tell me some similarities and differences between the battle with grendels mother in the story beowulf and the battle that hektor and achilleus have in the story the iliad by homer. According to humorism this major difference makes sense because the iliad is about purging troy and bring about an end or figurative death to the conflicts between the achaeans and trojans whereas the aeneid is about the visions of future rome, aeneass travels. Its hard to choose who would be the greater warrior between the two. I need you to compare and contrast the two battles. Who would win in a duel between achilles and beowulf.
Geatish meowle, the poetry of homer and the beowulf poet has invited me to remember. The story of heroic beowulf and his battles with the monster grendel and also with grendels mother not to mention the dragon is rather awesome. Essay about achilles vs beowulf compare and contrast. Comparing the characters of beowulf and achilles 1291. The project gutenberg ebook of beowulf this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost. Comparison between beowulf the epic and beowulf the film. Nothing in old english literature can compare with beowulf. Beowulf and the iliad fate and religion in ancient text uploaded by alterac on dec 02, 2002. Originally written in anglosaxon, it has been translated to give readers the opportunity to enjoy this colorful, heroic poem.
Arrogance is an important trait of any epic hero, in the film this arrogance is established in beowulfs tale of swimming in the ocean during which he states he slew several sea monsters, however in the background his followers can be seen stating that the original number. The elements are present toward what the type of reflection and will be touched on all keys. Aeneas, beowulf, and roland reflect the values of the societies that created them. So this essay is about beowulf and achilles and what they went through to be famous and also what they went through to keep their fame. Compare and contrasting beowulf as an anglosaxon epic hero, and achilles as a western epic hero. In the book, beowulf kills her in an underwater battle, but in the movie, they are above water and she seduces him into being her. Theres an rpg system ive seen called adventurer conqueror king, with an interesting way of comparing old heroes across times and fictions based on demographics. I guess richard lattimores translation is set out as poetry i think. The similarities between achilles and hector is that both lived in the present moment and both wanted to achieve glory in order to be the hero that their homeland needed, while the differences include achilles being stubborn and angry while hector was prideful, yet cowardly and impulsive. Beowulf which was written by a group anglosaxon people. Beowulf grapples grendel, who has a chain wrapped around his arm, pulling it loose. Beowulf descends into the cave to slay grendels mother. In this lesson, well explore where the grand narrative by homer might fit into the literary genre.
The most prominent similarity between the two is the characteristics granted to beowulf, the key trait being arrogance. Beowulf fulfills the anglosaxon idea of heroism in the epic poem through strength, humility and essential goodness. How does the epic poem the iliad compare to the epic poem of. However, there is a difference in purpose for these two pieces of writing. The hero as a reflection of culture palm beach state college. Although the gods meddling in the trojan war seems trivial, it is often divine intervention to ensure the preordained flow of things.
Beowulf is a poem about prince bewulf, a great warrior. If you would prefer a prose translation, then i loved e. Create marketing content that resonates with prezi video. And no, im not just trying to get somebody else to do my homework for me, i. A huge difference between he book and the movie was beowulfs relationship with grendels mother. One of the oldest works of ancient literature is homer. Centred on the trojan war, these two ancient greek epic poems are world renowned not only for the engaging dialogue with which they present turn of events but also for the beauty with which it is unfolded. Im really struggling with this in my 12th grade brit lit. A translation and commentary together with sellic spell by j. The greek epic the iliad and the essential work of old english, beowulf, are. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. All english translators of homer face a basic problem.