英美文学作业.doc

On the image of Beowulf We know that most of videos based on literature works are not exactly the same as its original. And today, Id like to take the movie, Beowulf and its original, the Song of Beowulf, as an example to let you see their differences and the reasons that cause their differences. Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, is from Greats. From the movie, he comes for gold and glory to help Hrothgar, the king of Denmark in AD. 507. And he has killed a monster called Grendel, who is the son of Hrothgar and a hag. But he hasnt kill Grendels mother when faced her because she is beautiful and full of fine promises, which brings disaster to the land. There are mainly 3 differences between the movie and the original in total. First, in the original, Beowulf is perfect, for he killed Grendel and his mother and even devoted his life to his land and his people. However, in the film, Beowulf is fallible and flawed, for he didnt pull through the barrier of Grendels mother. But, he still deserves to be honored because hes a real hero and a well-liked king. No matter in the original or the film, Beowulf shows up as a brave man who cares for the future of his land. Second, the film describes Grendel as a fragile child-like creature rather than savage demon monster which is described in the original. In the original, the monsters are outcasts because theyre bad (just as Cain, their progenitor, was outcast because he killed his brother), but in the film, the monsters are bad because theyre outcasts. The film wants us to recognize and humanize the real monsters, humans pride and prejudice. In the film, Grendel is a poor guy who is cast out by human. He and the dragon, son of Beowulf, are sins of their fathers. Last, in the original, a greedy firedrake takes revenge on human because one of Beowulfs subjects stole some of the treasure which it had for 300 years been guarding in a cavern. But in the film, the hag tempts heroes to get the golden horn. For this literature work, we should keep a sincere heart when appreciate it. And although there are some differences between the film and the original, it doesnt matter at all for us to appreciate and learn from it. 3 Conquests of England British history has been a history of invasions. Before the 1st century AD, there are many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people in Britain. Then in 43 AD, England and Wales (though not Scotland or Ireland) become a part of Roman Empire for nearly 400 years after Britain has been invaded by the Roman Empire. And then, Germanic people (the Angles, and the Saxon) become the settlers of Britain because they have reunited the Britain. In the end, the ancestors of French people (Vikings and their descendants, Normans) invade Britain and import a ruling class. These three conquests bring great effects to Britain. In fact, Roman Empire doesnt bring too many effects on Britains language rather than Britains architecture. Before Romans invade Britain, most of Britains buildings are low and simple. Romans improve the structure of Britains architecture. The Anglo-Saxons bring to Britain the Germanic language and culture, while the French people bring Britain Mediterranean civilization, which includes Greek culture, Roman law, and the Christian religion. As we all know, the Anglo-Saxons are regarded as the real British. Their language and culture build up the basic civilization of Britain. For the Roman law brought by French people, people know more about the law and the civilization has been polished, which is the most signi