The battle of good verse evil has and will go on for centuries. Beowulf and The Thirteenth Warrior are just two of many who share this concept. Although there are some differences between Beowulf and The Thirteenth Warrior, their basic similarities lie in setting, characters, and theme.
Albeit there are many similarities between Beowulf and The Thirteenth Warrior, the two do have a few differences. One difference lies in the point of view from which the two stories are told. Beowulf is told in third person by an anonymous Christian monk. The person telling the story is not part of the story in Beowulf. In the epic Grendel is said to be born to Cain. (21) In The Bible, Cain is the eldest son of Adam and Eve. This reference to the Bible shows that the surviving version of Beowulf, composed around 750 AD was most likely written down by a Christian monk. "Hrothgar's glorious throne, protected by God" (84). This reference shows once again the influence Christianity has on the poem, Beowulf. On the other hand, The Thirteenth Warrior, story is told from the main character, an Arab's, point of view. During the movie, only the Arab's thoughts are revealed to the audience. In this story the person telling the story is involved in the action of the story, telling it in first person. The storyline also follows the Arab throughout the whole movie. This implies that the movie is told from the Arab's point of view. The epic and the movie, though very similar, show an obvious difference in their points of view.
In comparison, Beowulf and The Thirteenth Warrior have nearly identical settings. The epic takes place in Denmark, and a dark gloomy underground swamp. In the beginning the scene is set in Denmark. (sum33) "Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty hills and bogs," (234) describes the dark gloomy underground in the epic. Those are the two main settings throughout the poem. In comparison, The Thirteenth Warrior, takes place in similar settings.