The author recalls, “Suddenly then the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: greedy and grim, he rushed to his lair, flushed up and inflamed from the raid, blundering back with the butchered corpses” (Beowulf 126-129). Grendel had no self restraint and was excessive in his killings and tortures. These malicious incidents prompted Beowulf to come to the Danes and set up a surprise attack which would later be the reason of death for Grendel. Although Grendel is the first monster in this epic poem, he can stand for the whole idea of what barbaric elements are and his death can represent how the civilized will always conquer
Grendel is disturbed by the Danes enjoyment of life and happiness; for revenge he ruins their enjoyment and happiness. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, “he was spawned in that slime, conceived…monster” who was a “ murderous creature banished by God”(19-22). He finds harassing and killing innocent people entertaining. Beowulf comes and vanishes Grendel and stops him from continuing his evil acts. On the other hand, Beowulf and the Danes assume “Grendel`s elimination” is the last monster they will encounter, but “believing that [the] evil has been eradicated” the unexpected happens, “Grendel’s mother appear[s]”(Kardaun 1).
Throughout the poem Beowulf, the author, whom to this day is still unknown, uses light and darkness to explain good and evil characters and events. This unknown author describes Beowulf, the hero of the story, and other people and events as bright, as well as making many references to the sun and sunlight. The monster that Beowulf defeats named Grendel, is often described as a shadow or only emerging in the dark of night. The imagery is used with light and dark is used to represent the good and evil that the author saw as he was Anglo-Saxon and likely pagan as well. Imagery is used often throughout the poem, but especially when Grendel and Beowulf are first introduced and when they fight.
Both authors paint a grotesque picture of their creations and how they both desire to destroy beauty; Aesthetic Iconoclasm, that is shared between the two figures. However, both authors present their monsters separate to one another in philosophy; with Grendel being a mindless savage and the Monster being more contemplative and questioning the nature of its own creation. ‘Monster’ characters have always been a target of both folk tales and pagan myths since the dawn of humanity, the very concept of a monstrous creature harkens back to the primal fear instinct of facing a dangerous predator that presents a danger to humanity. Grendel from Beowulf is the perfect example of this hysteria and
In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.
Beowulf: A New Translation for Oral Delivery, translated by Dick Ringler, utilized the dark and the ominous to foreshadow or to portray the impending savagery of mankind. Darkness could be defined either by the absence of light or by the lack of intellectual enlightenment. The monstrous creatures are shrouded within the darkness or associate with the ominous. Throughout Beowulf the theme of violence and darkness are intertwined, which is manifest by correlating the darkness with the unknown through Grendel. The unknown generate fear among the mass through their inability to control and understand the existence of inhuman beings.
In the poem shows fighting between good and evil, it was Beowulf vs monsters. In the poem Beowulf kill three monster and make a peace world, but in the movie main point was history repeating itself. Key person is the Grendel’s mother, people go to kill Grendel’s mother always can’t kill her and make kid with her, and that kid become a monster. The monster called Grendel is the Hrothgar’s son, in old age he go to kill Grendel’s mother but he can’t. And in the movie Beowulf go to kill Grendel’s mother
Imagine a beast so evil, so dangerous, so powerful, that it could only be brought down by one man, The Almighty Beowulf the Great. Beowulf was one of the first pieces of English language literature that was later made into several movies. The book and movie diverge into different storylines as the plot moves along. While the poem gets past the idea of Grendel and his mother moving along to a dragon that kills Beowulf, the movie on the other hand has a strong focus on Grendel’s mother all throughout the story. Although the movie and the poem share many similarities, the different portrayals of Grendel, mead hall etiquette, and the comportment of Beowulf communicate the values of the societies in which they are told.
Finally, a Hero has risen again and defeated the enemy and his mother he raises Grendel arm high above his head and set all the people of Greatland free from their fair once again. That’s how darkness vs. light played a important rolled in the story of Beowulf night equal to evil and day equal peace love and
This reinforces the idea that Grendel’s mother is also a monster, since put in the same position as the prior one. The two monsters, Grendel and his mother are also associated with the night as a time for action. This reinforces their animal-like behavior, and the monstrosity of their actions because they are not giving fair warning to the humans. The monstrosity of Grendel is also seen through his savagery when killing the men. He is carnivorous and feeds on human flesh.
Being an epic hero, Beowulf was very brave and battled many immortal creatures. One monster he came across was Grendel. “Conceived by a pair of the monster born of Cain, murderous creatures banned by God..,”(44), Hrothgar’s men would say. This is a reference from the Bible, showing the evil portrayed in the monster Grendel. This monster went to Herot and killed thirty men just because he was hungry.
Repetitive Symbolism Light and darkness are both fluctuating stigmas of what society perceives as right and wrong. Each holds a representational standpoint in many forms of literature, both modern and old. In the epic poem Beowulf, light heavily parallels darkness by coming in several symbolic forms that institute an analysis of depth. One of these symbols in specific capitalizes itself throughout the epic poem as a shining hero and guiding light against the evil manifestation that may be terrorizing the innocent figures in the novel. For example, the 'helpless' Dane's were at first wary of this new person, but once he'd proved himself, held no doubt, and almost gawked at one of his most historic victories.
The reader travels upon insight which defines who this godly figure is and his deeds that are a comforting pleasure to God. Beowulf’s moral values concerning his religious interests and conceptual ideas of good vs evil, allows the reader clarity between Beowulf and Grendel who are the central motives good versus evil. The distinction between Beowulf and Grendel provides information declaring God’s glory being given by grace to Beowulf. God makes an example of Cain by giving him a curse for violating his commandments of murder. Satan’s influence causes Cain and others to receive a sevenfold vengeance of God.
Thus allowing the reader to interpret the tone better because of how Grendel expresses his feeling. On the other hand, Beowulf gives the reader a generalization of how he sees society. Plain and simple. Beowulf only sees the world as good and evil, black and white, there is no gray area, causing the tone to be bland and boring due to no detail or unexpected turns. Beowulf overlooks society as a horrible place that only " the vicious raids and ravages of Grendel, his long and unrelenting feud, nothing but war...young and old were hunted down by the death shadow" (line 151-160).
The epic poem Beowulf is a classic tale of good versus evil. Good, as shown in the story, is any action that fights evil and defends the community and the people of it. The evil intent of Grendel, the story’s antagonist and cannibalistic murderer, who is depicted as a “fiend out of hell” (99), is strongly countered by the heroic actions of the stories main protagonist, Beowulf. The noble King Hrothgar is a role model for young Beowulf at the beginning of the epic, displaying acts of charity and wisdom throughout his life.
