Beowulf

Image credit: Barnes and Noble

It doesn’t matter if it’s an epic novel like Lord of the Rings, a series of adventures like Harry Potter, or one big, long poem like Beowulf there is something instantly recognizable and exciting about fantasy. True, whatever genre floats your boat is a complete matter of taste, but for me fantasy is exhilarating, timeless, and immune to the influences of literary structure. This is something I only discovered recently after taking on the epic poem –and I am no lover of poetry- of the warrior Beowulf.

The central story of Beowulf focuses on a Danish kingdom being plagued nightly by a savage, bloodthirsty, and seemingly invincible monster named Grendal. Hearing of the Danes’ plight a Scandinavian hero called Beowulf travels to the kingdom where he bravely battles against Grendel and, later, his even more fearsome mother.

Aside from the recognizable fantasy themes of good vs. evil, the hero’s quest, and the fearsome monster, perhaps what I liked about Beowulf was the fact that it’s closer to a narrative than a poem. True it’s a poem in structure alone, but it’s written, seemingly, without rhythm or rhyme and simply allows the language to flow, yet still retains an oral vibe of a campfire minstrel. Indeed the tone that the author uses is one of a storyteller and this is made more evident when they refer to themselves within the story (“ I have heard it said…”).

Seamus Heaney
Image credit: Huffington Post

But it’s the imagery that captures the imagination and gets the adrenaline going. Despite being quite graphic at times, especially during the violence that Grendel inflicts upon his victims, the poem stirs up such striking and vivid pictures in the mind thanks to its minimal use of adverbs and frank descriptions of events. Just enough is both explained and left to the imagination and it’s quite wonderful.

For all lovers of fantasy Beowulf is an epic tale, one that should be in every diehard fan's library. 

Beowulf was written by an Anonymous Author and first printed in 1815. This retelling is a translation by Seamus Heaney and published in 2008 by W. W. Norton & Company.