“What Kinship Should Mean:” An Examination of the Ethnic and Nationalist Themes Within Beowulf Adaptations

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine Beowulf adaptations for moments in which the adapter chooses to emphasize themes of a community drawn along ethnic or national lines. These authorial choices reveal how different historical translations and retellings of the story of Beowulf have used the epic to justify or define their national and ethnic identities. This work will reveal the multi-faceted nature of this topic in two parts: a scrutiny of Beowulf adaptations in which the author identifies with the culture of the protagonist and how those authors who do not identify Beowulf as part of their own heritage approach the poem.