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ELA 12: I Need a Hero 61 Views


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Description:

In this video we'll teach you all about Beowulf. It sounds kind of like he was a vigilante...but that was a lot more accepted back then. Plus, we're pretty sure Grendel ate all of the police officers anyway.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Since Beowulf is called "Beowulf," it shouldn't be too surprising that it's about someone

00:09

or something called "Beowulf." [Beowulf appears from below]

00:13

But who – or what – is Beowulf? A warrior? A monster? A pet rock with a little smiley

00:18

face drawn on it? [Pictures of the Cookie Monster and a rock appear]

00:19

Haha. That'd be kind of cute.

00:20

Well, unfortunately, Beowulf isn't a cute little rock. He's a heroic warrior. [Cross appears over the rock and a green circle appears over Beowulf]

00:24

Before he even does anything in the story, we're told that, "of heroes then living, he was stoutest

00:30

and strongest, sturdy and noble." [The quote is underlined in the book]

00:33

In other words, he's pretty great, and could probably go toe-to-toe with The Rock. [Beowulf and a rock in a wrestling ring]

00:37

Not that cute little rock. The Rock. [The Rock appears]

00:40

Anyway, back to Beowulf. So something's up at Heorot Hall, the mead hall

00:44

of King Hrothgar.

00:46

And when we say "something's up," we don't mean the typical party fouls. Heorot Hall

00:50

has bigger problems than glasses being used without coasters, or an over-abundance of [Balloons fill the hall]

00:55

party balloons.

00:57

We mean that the current party disturbed the local demon monster, Grendel. [Grendel complaining about the noise]

01:02

However, rather than call the cops to make a noise complaint,

01:05

Grendel takes matters into his own hands.

01:07

One night, when all the warriors are in a sleepy, alcohol-induced stupor, Grendel attacks

01:13

Heorot Hall. He kills thirty guys and takes their corpses back to his lair. [People screaming from inside the hall]

01:17

Not exactly everyone's idea of a party, but hey, Grendel marches to the beat of his own drummer. [Grendel dragging a corpse away]

01:22

In fact, Grendel had such a great time that first night, he attacks Heorot Hall again

01:27

and again, until eventually Heorot Hall is abandoned. [Heorot Hall with the sign crossed out]

01:31

And as any real estate agent will tell you, it's tough to move property when you've got

01:34

monster problems.

01:36

We're guessing King Hrothgar would have been ecstatic over just a rat infestation.

01:40

News of Hrtothgar's Grendel troubles spread all over the world, all the way to Geatland ['The Geatland Times' with a story about Grendel]

01:46

, home of the mighty Beowulf.

01:48

Even though no one seems to be able to kill Grendel, Beowulf is like, "Pft, I could take

01:53

on The Rock. Let's do this thing." So with fourteen trusty warriors, he sets out by boat for Denmark, [Beowulf and his warriors at sea]

02:00

home of Hrothgar.

02:01

Good thing he took a boat…imagine trying to get all those swords through airport security. [Beowulf being pinned down by security]

02:06

Yeah not good.

02:07

When he arrives in Denmark, Beowulf meets with Hrothgar, boasting about his awesome

02:12

strength, and formally declares that he'll fight and kill Grendel.

02:16

And, within the Germanic warrior culture of Beowulf and Hrothgar, that's a big deal. [Beowulf and Grendel in the wrestling ring]

02:21

If Beowulf can make good on his boasts, and kill Grendel, he'll have proven himself a real hero. [Beowulf jumps on Grendel]

02:27

If he doesn't make good on those boasts, well, he might prove himself a decent lunch. [Beowulf being cooked by Grendel]

02:32

No matter what happens, one thing's for sure: this little rock needs his own story. [A pair a scissors vs a rock in the wrestling ring]

02:36

Someone get a publisher on the phone.

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