Reviews

A fascinating tale that contrasts the decline of Norse and Germanic culture with the need for noble action and modern purity. Beowulf contains vivid descriptions of mythical creatures and battles that truly immerse you. There are detailed explanations of medieval politics that include, battles in Europe, effects of war, causes of medieval war, and the death of kings. Although the poem always retains a certain clumsiness and changes pace at odd moments I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in medieval England, the Viking age or Norse mythology.

lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition

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4.0

Great poem showing the courage and cowardice of men. Of course, the main reason why I read this was for my class, but I am always amazed at the earlier texts and how much they still influence novels today.

In Beowulf, it is pointed out that he has to fight a creature of the night, a decendant of Cain who is cursed by God. This could be linked to a lot of creatures of contemporary paranormal romance (vampires and trolls for instance).

It is always interesting to me to read these kinds of stories, as they make me more aware of where modern authors might have gotten part of their background for their current stories.

sargar114's review against another edition

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2.0

Read this on audiobook (considering the history probably the way to go) and the language was beautiful but served mostly as background noise. However I don’t know if I would have been able to finish if I actually read it so there ya go.