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Steph
Personally, I think most paperback fiction can go either way with regards to the book vs. movie first approach, but books and poems like Beowulf that have stood the test of time deserve one's first experience be in its original presentation style, which in this case would be in the oral tradition (i.e., audio book). However, the written version is equally acceptable if audio books don't sound appealing to you.
My ultimate recommendation is that you read or listen to the poem, watch the movie, then read or listen to it again. It's quite dense, and even with a translated copy, it can be difficult to understand what is going on in the story, and watching a movie version of an old tale can often help to explain what is going on, especially with stories that take place in bygone times and whose way of speech is far from that of the modern language the reader may be accustom to.
My ultimate recommendation is that you read or listen to the poem, watch the movie, then read or listen to it again. It's quite dense, and even with a translated copy, it can be difficult to understand what is going on in the story, and watching a movie version of an old tale can often help to explain what is going on, especially with stories that take place in bygone times and whose way of speech is far from that of the modern language the reader may be accustom to.
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