Beowulf Good Vs Evil Analysis

Good vs. Evil Every piece of literature conveys some sort of lesson that is being taught. In the anglo saxon poem Beowulf, a monster born of Cain named Grendel torments and terrorize Hrothgar’s men in the hall Herot. Beowulf a strong noble leader of the Geats who has traveled across the seas to take the challenge of facing the monstrous Grendel. Not knowing the challenges it will cause in the future. In Beowulf, the piece of literature depicts a theme of good versus evil. To begin with, the qualities of the characters present them in a way that represents the difference of good warriors and evil demons. To illustrate, when Beowulf states to the danish queen, “My purpose was this: to win the good will of your people or die in the battle” (line 467). Clearly, this shows Beowulf as a epic hero who is willing to sacrifice his life to help others while Grendel is a monster whose typical life is to ruin the lives of the good.

For instance, describing the monster’s lair it states, “They live in secret places, windy cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours from the rocks, then runs underground, where mist steams like black clouds” (lines 635-638). Only a monster born of Cain would live in a deep dark cave where little light seeps through. Grendel being the ideal form of evil is usually presented as more of a dark color which relates back to his home being dark. Although Beowulf being all that is good, he would live in a place of bright elegance. As a result, the author developed a variety use of literary terms that present good versus evil. To conclude, in the anglo saxon poem Beowulf, the use of the author’s literary devices portrays a variety of good versus evil examples. The theme of good versus evil helps create the story to be more intriguing which attracts the interest of people. For every good hero there will be evil which in result creates a good conflict and moreover a better