epic poetry

Ben Hellman

Jun 29, 2023

Of Beasts that Gloat and Plunder

The Twa Corbies, preparing to dine on the dead knight below, from “Some British Ballads,” 1919, by Arthur Rackham, (Wikimedia Commons)....

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Her Undying Love; Gothic Viking Zombie Mayhem

Ben Hellman

Oct 31, 2021

Her Undying Love; Gothic Viking Zombie Mayhem

Hild, unable to bear the deaths of her lover and father, raises their bodies with the bodies of their warriors, leading to an endless...

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Too Much of a Good Thing; Epic Burnout in the Jangar Cycle

Ben Hellman

May 9, 2021

Too Much of a Good Thing; Epic Burnout in the Jangar Cycle

Too much of a good thing isn't always fabulous. A hero of Jangar drinks a bowl of wine it would take sixty men to lift, a common...

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Beyond Beowulf: Curses, Shapechangers, and Doomed Love

Ben Hellman

Apr 24, 2021

Beyond Beowulf: Curses, Shapechangers, and Doomed Love

The Saga of King Hrólf Kraki features two warriors, man and son, who fight as bears. The father is cursed to roam as a bear by day. The...

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One Sad Woman; Reclaiming Hildeburh’s Tale from her Men

Ben Hellman

Mar 7, 2021

One Sad Woman; Reclaiming Hildeburh’s Tale from her Men

“The lady lamented, sorrowed with songs...the greatest fire of the slain, roared before the mound” (Beowulf, 1117-1120; Benjamin Slade...

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Toying with Ancient Stories; Uncovering the Tales of the Old English Poem “Widsith”

Ben Hellman

Jan 25, 2021

Toying with Ancient Stories; Uncovering the Tales of the Old English Poem “Widsith”

Danish King Hrothgar with his nephew Hrothulf, cutting down the Heathobards as Heorot Hall burns, following the failed wedding union...

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Seldom Told Tales; Unraveling Viktor Rydberg’s Norse Mythos

Ben Hellman

Dec 8, 2020

Seldom Told Tales; Unraveling Viktor Rydberg’s Norse Mythos

Freya and Svipdag, by the illustrator John Bauer. This is one of several stories I had never read about before reading Viktor Rydberg's...

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The Endless Hunger; Confronting Grief With Gilgamesh

Ben Hellman

Nov 10, 2020

The Endless Hunger; Confronting Grief With Gilgamesh

Statue of Gilgamesh at the University of Sydney (based on an ancient bas-relief at the Louvre) and Herbert Mason's Epic of Gilgamesh. If...

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No Stone Unturned; An Investigation of Steinn from Grettis Saga

Ben Hellman

Sep 3, 2020

No Stone Unturned; An Investigation of Steinn from Grettis Saga

Rock eaters, controllers, destroyers and shapers: Left to right and top to bottom: The Rockbiter from The Neverending Story; Ludo from...

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"Asphurtzela" and the Bear's Son Tradition

Ben Hellman

Aug 30, 2020

"Asphurtzela" and the Bear's Son Tradition

Public statue of the giant- and dragon-slaying Georgian culture hero Amirani, ამირანი, a figure associated with the Greek Prometheus myth....

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On the Challenges of Adapting Beowulf and My Suggestions for a Richer Experience

Ben Hellman

Jul 27, 2020

On the Challenges of Adapting Beowulf and My Suggestions for a Richer Experience

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy in the early 2000s and Michael Crichton's 1999 The 13th Warrior understood the visual nature of...

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An Anglo-Saxonist Reviews Another Beowulf Rock Opera

Ben Hellman

Jul 27, 2020

An Anglo-Saxonist Reviews Another Beowulf Rock Opera

Stage adaptations of Beowulf from 2019, 2013 and 2005. (Left to right) The Met Cloisters, A.R.T's Oberon and New York's Irish Repertory...

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Is the Georgian Folktale "Asphurtzela" an unrecognized Beowulf Analogue?

Ben Hellman

Jul 19, 2020

Is the Georgian Folktale "Asphurtzela" an unrecognized Beowulf Analogue?

Beowulf Mural, Robert Eva, photographer, Sheerness, Kent, Great Britain, 2017 I've found some details in a Georgian folk tale that align...

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