Comments on: Lessons in Manliness from Beowulf

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:39:04 +0000

Terrific insight on the part of SeanWilson.

But ZZ, WTF?! Read it again, and forget the lecture notes you took in Modern Ethical / (cultureX) Studies class. Cubicles be damned. Courage is to do that which is right even if you’ll be “defeated” (or in our case – voted most “unpopular”).

The only failure B. had was to properly train a successor. Because we all WILL be dead, sooner or later. But death is not defeat (maybe a judeo-christian idea). THe only real defeat is failure to try. Fight evil at every turn, or be a slave.

By: Creinauer

Creinauer — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:35:58 +0000

Those who enjoy Beowulf may also enjoy the Old English poem “The Battle of Maldon”. There are no monsters or fire-breathing dragons. Just raging Vikings, a few English earls, their ill-equipped local militia, and courage in the face of all-too-certain defeat.

By: Cazador

Cazador — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 04:36:15 +0000

@ ZZ

Thank your lucky stars that we don’t have to hunt to eat meat once a week and that our life expectancy is longer than 35 years. Beyond the walls of your cubicle there’s a world in need of men of courage and resolve still. Don’t fall into the romantic trap that the age of heroes is gone.

Solid post. Very inspiring.

By: Eivind F S

Eivind F S — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:59:39 +0000

I loved this post. Thanks for writing it. I haven’t read the poem itself, but I have gone pretty deep with analyzing the movie. I hope it’s not considered appropriate that I mentioned my review of Beowulf on Masculinity Movies: http://www.masculinity-movies.com/movie-database/beowulf.

It’s been a while since I wrote that, but I remember that one of my primary takeaways from the process of writing that piece was the realization that Beowulf was too concerned with glory and the glamour of heroics to be a truly effective King. In the KWML archetype system by Moore and Gillette, the Hero archetype is the last rung on the ladder of boyhood, and a boy can’t be King.

I saw that pretty clearly in the movie – that Beowulf isn’t a good King since he is still trapped in the advanced stages of boyhood. In that movie, we see how Grendel’s mother abuses Beowulf’s greatest weakness – his impotence in the face of the dark feminine (which is a weakness I believe a true man doesn’t have). In that movie, I got that Wiglaf was a more mature man, though less of a Warrior.

That was the movie, though and this is the poem. I may have to read it soon. This piece inspired me.

Thanks,
Eivind

By: John Tchoe

John Tchoe — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 07:02:54 +0000

So, I read you guys on Google Reader, and I noticed that subject of the lead pic in this article

http://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads//2010/09/beowulf2.jpg

is striking almost the exact same pose as the subject of the lead pic in the previous article.

http://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads//2010/09/mechanic.jpg

Coincidence? Surely. But take credit for your unintended slyness anyway.

By: seun

seun — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:02:20 +0000

it’s really hard to be able to feel what the great felt during their handful of time. i still believe the world of yesterday is full of turmoil, limited peace, superiority to one another, with no one succumbing to treat. The world of today is peaceful without the invasion of U s in Afghanistan and Iraq

By: Liutgard

Liutgard — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:34:04 +0000

Joi, thanks for mentioning Benjamin Bagby’s _Beowulf_ I have a copy of the DVD and it is riveting, especially as Beowulf is tearing Grendel’s arm off- delivered in a near roar. Well worth the investment.

For the record, I prefer Chickering’s translation. Heaney is poetic, but does so at the expense of the text, and tends to wander a bit.

By: Richard Brown

Richard Brown — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 02:50:15 +0000

This was a wonderful article! As a matter of fact, I am a minister and I used this article as an illustration in my sermon. It fit in very well as I preached on 1 Timothy 6: 6-19. In this pericope, the Apostle is charging the young preacher Timothy to keep to the confession he made in the beginning. Timothy is warned not to be like some who are lured away by the love of money. Paul states, we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out. It is all about honor and doing heroic acts.

By: Days and Adventures

Days and Adventures — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:47:34 +0000

They were right. You’re right. Regardless of what happens, it’s how we act that defines us. Thinking this way has really helped me in my life. I wrote a little on it myself a while ago – http://marcpapain.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/think-of-it-as%C2%A0a%C2%A0test/

Thanks for the great article.

By: Maicon

Maicon — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:25:35 +0000

Great text. The Beowulf is a great legend.