heroic sagas

**Steppe Merc** · 10-21-2005, 19:16

I'm starting Beowulf for English class now. Should be a lot better than the Greek play we read and all those boring English and American "literature" we had to read.

**Incongruous** · 10-22-2005, 03:01

Ahhh Beowulf, one of the finest of English Hero's.

**Steppe Merc** · 10-22-2005, 17:16

Originally Posted by Bopa the Magyar

Ahhh Beowulf, one of the finest of English Hero's.

Yup, who lives in Scandinavia.

**Kagemusha** · 10-22-2005, 17:28

If you want read weird Heroic Epos,read Finlands National epos Kalevala.Maybe the best word to describe it is original.

**JimBob** · 10-22-2005, 18:00

I rather fond of the Irish myths: Chuculain, Tuatha Dé Danann, ect. And the Norse sagas and myths. The heroes and gods of the north are always a good read.

Should be a lot better than the Greek play we read and all those boring English and American "literature" we had to read.

What Greek play? And what English and American authors are we talking about? Because there is some damn fine English and American literature around, some of Shakespere's works (I can't stand Othello, but 12th Night is a great play), Hemmingway, London, Wilde, Kerouac, ect.

**Steppe Merc** · 10-22-2005, 18:47

Originally Posted by JimBob

What Greek play? And what English and American authors are we talking about? Because there is some damn fine English and American literature around, some of Shakespere's works (I can't stand Othello, but 12th Night is a great play), Hemmingway, London, Wilde, Kerouac, ect.

Well, I do like some of Shakespeares stuff, but we've only read Romeo and Juliuet, which is boring to me. And the Greek play was Oedipus the King... ok, but sort of boring, and I felt Oedipus was an idiot.

As for English and American stuff, we never really read anything from London, Hemmingway (except for Old Man in the Sea), Kerouac or interesting like that. I did like Huck Finn, but most of the stuff is a snooze fest. And its not like I hate books, I read a lot.

**GoreBag** · 10-23-2005, 00:21

Actually, I don't remember in which area Beowulf is written to have lived. He travelled to...Jutland, right? It's been too long.

Beowulf is a good story, a great one, even. The same goes for most of the Celtic and Germanic mythologies, and Gilgamesh as well. I own one epic myself: Blin' Hary's Wallace, an epic telling of the exploits of Scotland's national hero, William Wallace. Of course, it's a more updated version than the one written in the 1400s, but the translator spared no detail, keeping the descriptions of gore within the text. Hardly graphic by today's visual standards, but it sure makes the Wallace seem much more big and badass after reading how he'd just torn some Saxon's lungs out.