CC BY
16
УКД 82.131 Казарьянц
В.Д.
ТИ имени А.П.Чехова (филиал) РГЭУ(РИНХ) Науч.рук.: д.фил.н. Павленко А.Е.
SOME PHILOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL REMARKS ON THE SCREEN VERSION OF THE EPIC POEM "BEOWULF"
Аннотация: This article deals with the recent screen version of the well-know epic poem "Beowulf" written in Old English. A comparison of the film with the original text helps to estimate the distance between them. An analysis of how the life in the Early Middle Ages may be perceived today has been carried out.
Ключевые слова: epic poem, Old English. Beowulf, Heorot, Grendel, screen version, Scandanavia.
Hollywood has always eagerly borrowed plots for its films from ancient history and heroic epos. The time of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem "Beowulf" came in 2007 and the movie's release turned to be the climax of what some authors call a "Beowulf boom" , including a recent opera and the release of "Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition" a translation of the ancient text by Seamus Heaney [4].
"Beowulf" is a heroic poem, the highest achievement of Old English literature. It did not appear in print until 1815. Although originally untitled, it was later named after the Scandinavian hero Beowulf. There is no evidence of a historical Beowulf, but some characters, sites, and events in the poem can be historically verified. The poem was certainly written in an Anglian dialect of Old English, but the only surviving manuscript is in West Saxon, though there are some forms which suggest its original dialect [1, 123].
The hero Beowulf belongs to the royal house of the Geats. The action opens
in Denmark, where King Hrothgar's hall, Heorot, has been attacked by a troll called Grendel for 12 years. Beowulf hears of the haunting, and travels to Denmark to free Heorot. When Grendel comes, Beowulf grasps him by the arm. In the end the troll manages to escape to his abode under the sea, leaving his arm in the hero's grasp. The next night Grendel's mother takes vengeance carrying off one of the Danes, but Beowulf follows her to the sea-bottom and slays her with a lucky sword. Having returned to Geatland Beowulf becomes king and rules for 50 years. Beowulf with his young kinsman Wiglaf together finally kill the dragon, but Beowulf is mortally wounded. The poem ends with the burial of the hero and praising him.
Beowulf belongs in all respect to the Germanic heroic tradition. This did not use rhyme, but alliteration - two stressed words in the first half of the line, and one word (sometimes two) in the second half of the line all had to begin with the same letter. All vowels, however, were allowed to alliterate together. Also "Beowulf" is very rich in poetic descriptive compounds, the so-called kennings, which are decorative and imaginative on the one hand, and conventional on the other. Thus, sea, for example, may be called hron rad "the whale road", a king - beah-gifa"giver of rings", and a sword - beadoleoma "the ray of battle" [ibid., 141].
Despite its relative conventionality, "Beowulf" differs greatly from a typical heroic poem in length and content. Traditionally English poems of this kind were seldom more than 500 lines long and dealt with a single event or a closely linked series of events. The plot of Beowulf however, contains two contrasting sets of events, and the author presents both sets in great detail.
"Beowulf" has all the features for a Hollywood film: action, monsters and classic battles of good versus evil. But it also has a protagonist of "monastic" type whose story is told in Old English, what would hardly bring a commercial success to a movie [2]. Director Robert Zemeckis' radical approach along with the screenplay co-written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary solve this problem. Thus,
Angelina Jolie is starring in the film as the Grendel's mother. Actor Ray Winstone, as "Beowulf", looks like a bodybuilder. By the end of the poem the protagonist is over 90 years old but he definitely looks too young, what can be considered an understandable exaggeration of the screenplay.
"Beowulf" expert John D. Niles says those changes have "sexed up" the story to help filmmakers create their vision. He believes using a mixture of animation and live action, as Zemeckis has done, is the best way to do justice on screen to the scary and larger-than-life characters found in Beowulf [3].
In other words, the classic epic poem "Beowulf" came to the big screen featuring a handsome warrior, a gorgeous monster and state-of-the-art special effects. But life in sixth-century Scandinavia was obviously far from its scenic representation in the movie. There was famine, disease and constant battles with raiders. It just seems that literature is filled with tragedy and disaster. Maybe because no one bothered to write down the happy things. [ibid.].
The narrative embraces certain basic aspects of the human life: death, divine power, horror, fame, etc., and you do not have to be an aristocratic warrior from the first millennium to be able to relate to the human issues. Therefore, one must admit that Hollywood also has the right for its own way of imagining the epic events of the past. Besides, the social function of the poem a thousand years ago was very close to that of the film today, i.e. to entertain the audience.
References:
1. Barber C.L. The Story of Language. London-Sydney. 1972.
2. Price J. Beowulf's world comes to life in new book // The Seattle Times. Nov. 14, 2007.
3. Price J. Beowulf expert says Hollywood makeover may do justice to epic poem // Seattle Times Nov. 12, 2007.
4. Niles J.D.(ed.) Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition. Translated by Seamus Heaney. New York. 2007.
УДК 378.147.34 Капариха М.П.
студентка ЮРИУ РАНХ и ГС Науч.рук.: Котова Н.С., д.филол.н., проф.
СМАРТФОНЫ КАК ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНЫЙ ИНСТРУМЕНТ
Аннотация: В статье обсуждаются использование информационно-коммуникационных технологий (смартфонов) в образовательном процессе в вузе. Технологии представляются как естественный и доступный способ продвижения образовательного процесса и взаимодействия преподавателя и студента. Рассмотрены и проанализированы факторы интеграции информационно-коммуникационных технологий в образовательный процесс.
Ключевые слова: информационно-коммуникационные технологии, смартфоны, образовательный процесс, иностранный язык.
Сегодня, в значительной степени, благодаря невероятной универсальности и интернет-возможностям смартфонов, у преподавателей появилась возможность контролируемого использования смартфоном, в том числе во время занятия. В формирующейся новой учебной среде учащийся взаимодействует как с информационными ресурсами и технологиями, так и с преподавателем. Инновационные образовательные технологии (в частности интеграция смартфонов в образовательный процесс) предоставляют учащимся мощные инструменты и возможности получения доступа к обширным информационным ресурсам, сотрудничеству с другими людьми, консультациям с преподавателем, обменом знаниями, а также трансляции
