There is this one book that I would like to introduce to you which is entitled, “Beowulf – A New Telling” written by Robert Nye. It is another one interesting book about our favorite hero where the author had made a few changes to the original poem.
For those who does not know, the original Beowulf poem is composed of one single piece of an ancient manuscript with unknown author. Majority of readers who reads it are most likely to get confused with the poem because there are so many confusing and undetailed parts of the story.
Now, thanks to all talented book writers who gave their own effort of re-writing the original poem into their own styles. The way how they deliver the story is now a lot much easier to understand which makes it very enjoyable to read.
On this post, let’s discuss a short summary of the book written by Robert Nye about the story of Beowulf on his own unique twists of plot.
The Beginning
Heorot was at the verge of destruction due to the menacing demonic creature, “Grendel”. This was no ordinary monster that even the entire army of the Danes’ king, Hrothgar failed miserably in slaying the evil being.
The monster had been terrorizing “Heorot” for several years now causing a major problem to all the residents of Danes.
Who would want to live at a place being attacked by a monster that consumes human flesh and no one can stop it?
I am sure you don’t.
Grendel had been attacking everyone for years and he was unstoppable. Throughout those years, just try to imagine how many numbers of people he had already eaten. This was a monster that needs to be stopped.
Beowulf, the mighty slayer
Gladly, there was one man who was brave enough to challenge Grendel and his name was, “Beowulf”. He wasn’t from Heorot but from the land of the “Geats” the reason why he had to take a long journey just to reach king Hrothgar’s kingdom.
Beowulf wasn’t exactly the first slayer and adventurer who challenged Grendel. There were already other several brave men who tried it but they failed. This was the reason why king Hrothgar had grown skeptic that he might just be another complete failure.
Beowulf versus Grendel
Nothing can be proven with words alone. So Beowulf had shown his true might by facing Grendel with no sword and plan or any sort of tactics than can put him at a good advantage.
The fight was equally fair and square. But to me, Grendel was at a huge advantage because he was no human but a monster.
However, Beowulf had overpowered Grendel and defeated the demon creature finally putting an end to his reign of terror.
Grendel’s mother and her revenge
After Grendel’s defeat, another monster had emerged which was the mother of the fallen demonic beast.
She attacked Hrothgar’s kingdom at an unexpected night of a certain day taking one life of the king’s men. Unferth who was a loyal servant of the king also went missing.
Fortunately, Beowulf was not just a slayer but also a good “tracker”. Thus, he was able to follow the spoor of Grendel’s mother into the edge of the Hall where there was a swamp-like area.
In order to continuously follow the creature, Beowulf had to dive and explore the bottomless pool and by surprise, he was grabbed by Grendel’s mom.
They fought with one another until one of them was victorious, and that was Beowulf.
Becoming the next king of Danes
With so much reputation that he had already gained, Beowulf was asked to be the next successor of the current king. Although, he declined it because there was still a rightful heir to the throne.
Since he no longer had any purpose at the land of Danes, he felt homesick so he went back home. Back on his homeland, he spent a few years of his time tending back to his bees which was a hobby of his since childhood.
Then, he was urgently summoned back to the land of Danes because the young king was killed. It was for this reason why he had to take the throne.
During his reign as a king, nothing much really happened where he had lead the country at a peaceful time. This allowed him to continue with his hobby as a bee keeper.
The fire drake
After several years later, Beowulf was now an old king. Suddenly, a fire drake came to his kingdom and wrecked total chaos to all the villages.
The appearance of the fire-breathing dragon all started when a slave went wondering around the mountains in search for treasures. He then came across a prince’s burial chamber not knowing that there was a dragon on guard.
Due to the disturbance caused by the intruder, the fire drake got enrage where it had grown itself into an enormous size. This made the creature got stuck inside the chamber temporarily, until it was able to calm itself down and went to the outside world.
The flying dragon directly attacked Beowulf’s kingdom setting most of the villager’s houses on fire.
As a king, Beowulf needs to take action to protect his people from the fire drake. So he devised a good plan which allowed him to slay the dragon.
Conclusion
I almost covered the entire story of the book from my summary above. But, I would still encourage you to read Robert Nye’s book to get a full grasps of the story.
For those who hate reading books, then I would recommend watching the 2007 Beowulf animated movie instead. Although, this film has also featured its own unique twists that will put you by surprise especially when you already knew the original plot of the story.
For those who does not know, the original Beowulf poem is composed of one single piece of an ancient manuscript with unknown author. Majority of readers who reads it are most likely to get confused with the poem because there are so many confusing and undetailed parts of the story.
Now, thanks to all talented book writers who gave their own effort of re-writing the original poem into their own styles. The way how they deliver the story is now a lot much easier to understand which makes it very enjoyable to read.
On this post, let’s discuss a short summary of the book written by Robert Nye about the story of Beowulf on his own unique twists of plot.
The Beginning
Heorot was at the verge of destruction due to the menacing demonic creature, “Grendel”. This was no ordinary monster that even the entire army of the Danes’ king, Hrothgar failed miserably in slaying the evil being.
The monster had been terrorizing “Heorot” for several years now causing a major problem to all the residents of Danes.
Who would want to live at a place being attacked by a monster that consumes human flesh and no one can stop it?
I am sure you don’t.
Grendel had been attacking everyone for years and he was unstoppable. Throughout those years, just try to imagine how many numbers of people he had already eaten. This was a monster that needs to be stopped.
Beowulf, the mighty slayer
Gladly, there was one man who was brave enough to challenge Grendel and his name was, “Beowulf”. He wasn’t from Heorot but from the land of the “Geats” the reason why he had to take a long journey just to reach king Hrothgar’s kingdom.
Beowulf wasn’t exactly the first slayer and adventurer who challenged Grendel. There were already other several brave men who tried it but they failed. This was the reason why king Hrothgar had grown skeptic that he might just be another complete failure.
Beowulf versus Grendel
Nothing can be proven with words alone. So Beowulf had shown his true might by facing Grendel with no sword and plan or any sort of tactics than can put him at a good advantage.
The fight was equally fair and square. But to me, Grendel was at a huge advantage because he was no human but a monster.
However, Beowulf had overpowered Grendel and defeated the demon creature finally putting an end to his reign of terror.
Grendel’s mother and her revenge
After Grendel’s defeat, another monster had emerged which was the mother of the fallen demonic beast.
She attacked Hrothgar’s kingdom at an unexpected night of a certain day taking one life of the king’s men. Unferth who was a loyal servant of the king also went missing.
Fortunately, Beowulf was not just a slayer but also a good “tracker”. Thus, he was able to follow the spoor of Grendel’s mother into the edge of the Hall where there was a swamp-like area.
In order to continuously follow the creature, Beowulf had to dive and explore the bottomless pool and by surprise, he was grabbed by Grendel’s mom.
They fought with one another until one of them was victorious, and that was Beowulf.
Becoming the next king of Danes
With so much reputation that he had already gained, Beowulf was asked to be the next successor of the current king. Although, he declined it because there was still a rightful heir to the throne.
Since he no longer had any purpose at the land of Danes, he felt homesick so he went back home. Back on his homeland, he spent a few years of his time tending back to his bees which was a hobby of his since childhood.
Then, he was urgently summoned back to the land of Danes because the young king was killed. It was for this reason why he had to take the throne.
During his reign as a king, nothing much really happened where he had lead the country at a peaceful time. This allowed him to continue with his hobby as a bee keeper.
The fire drake
After several years later, Beowulf was now an old king. Suddenly, a fire drake came to his kingdom and wrecked total chaos to all the villages.
The appearance of the fire-breathing dragon all started when a slave went wondering around the mountains in search for treasures. He then came across a prince’s burial chamber not knowing that there was a dragon on guard.
Due to the disturbance caused by the intruder, the fire drake got enrage where it had grown itself into an enormous size. This made the creature got stuck inside the chamber temporarily, until it was able to calm itself down and went to the outside world.
The flying dragon directly attacked Beowulf’s kingdom setting most of the villager’s houses on fire.
As a king, Beowulf needs to take action to protect his people from the fire drake. So he devised a good plan which allowed him to slay the dragon.
Conclusion
I almost covered the entire story of the book from my summary above. But, I would still encourage you to read Robert Nye’s book to get a full grasps of the story.
For those who hate reading books, then I would recommend watching the 2007 Beowulf animated movie instead. Although, this film has also featured its own unique twists that will put you by surprise especially when you already knew the original plot of the story.
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