Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes from the seemingly invincible monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel’s mother. He then returns to his own country and dies in old age in a vivid fight against a dragon. The poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it, and then having to live on in the exhausted aftermath. In the contours of this story, at once remote and uncannily familiar at the beginning of the twenty-first century, Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney finds a resonance that summons power to the poetry from deep beneath its surface. Drawn to what he has called the “four-squareness of the utterance” in Beowulf and its immense emotional credibility, Heaney gives these epic qualities new and convincing reality for the contemporary reader.
I gotta admit that before I got into this book, I was ready to not like this book since I though that it was one of those very overhyped shitty books and I’ve read a few of them at this point. But after reading this book I need to admit that I’m very happy that I actually read this book. But lets get into the review without making the intro way longer than it needs to be
The plot in this book is so good. It talks about heroism, loyalty as well as the enter struggle between evil and good. I really couldn’t stop reading this book and when I wasn’t reading this book I was thinking about what would happen next in the story. Which really says something because this doesn’t happen often for me.
The thing I loved the most about this book is that this book combines perfectly the elements of mythology, history, and moral lessons. All of those things explored what it tales to be a hero in the society.
I also loved the vivid imagery and use of alliteration this book has which brings the entire plot of this book to life in a way even over a century after it was first written.
The descriptions of the confrontation with a dragon and other important moments in this book were so interesting and amazing for me personally.
The thing which I didn’t like about this book was that the pacing of this book seemed very uneven to me, particularly at the end of this book which is the reason why I give this book 4 starts instead of 5.
In my opinion the monologues in this book are way too long than what they needed to be, but that can just be me because in general I am not a fan of monologues in books and movies. The long monologues in this book was very distracting and boring for me personally.
The old English writing in this book, only helped the book to be more fun and interesting in my opinion. Because it really set the mood and vibe nicely which made this book feel like the action in this book happened a long time ago which it did.
The writing style in this book was very good, because it really helped the plot in this book shine. And it was like the author knew what words to use to completely grab my attention and to not let it go until the very end of this book.
I Give This Book 4 / 5
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