I received this a few years ago from Santa. Beowulf is a poem that is VERY interesting. I got a modern interpretation and will be honest in saying that I was hesitant to read a poem. I dislike poetry, it's just... not my thing. Any interest in it was crushed in Secondary 4 (10th grade)... Long ago...
Now we all know the story of Beowulf. A prince of the Geats who goes to Hroathar's hall and defeats Grendel, then Grendel's mother.
Now, I will admit that I found myself enjoying this book much more than I thought.
What I learned about the story is that it is one of the only book in Old English rescued from ~700AD. There are nods to a richer litterary tradition that is now lost to us. References to people we don't know about anymore. Links to events we forget about. I did not know that. There is so much we just do not know about it.
The story is well-known, but reading as close to the source material as possible is awesome. Gives you a snapshot of mankind in the past. What people thought at the time... What was important to them. What they believed. And Beowulf is no exception.
Not much more to say... I liked it. I would give it a 3.5, which rounds out to 4/5.
Grendel is the topic of one of my inspirational songs... From this post from 2015
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