Point Of View In Beowulf Essay

Point of view can be defined as the position of the narrator in relation to the story. The point of view from which a story is told establishes how we perceive a story and it greatly impacts how we view the characters in it. The epic Beowulf is an old Anglo-Saxon poem, in which Beowulf, a Swedish hero, comes to the assistance of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall has been under attack by an evil monster known as Grendel. The point of view in the epic is different than that of Grendel, which is a novel written by John Gardner. Both works of literature have similar plots, but because of the use of different point of views, the reader perceives the characters in contrasting ways. Beowulf is told from third person point of view, while Grendel is told from first person point of view, in which we view the story from the eyes of the evil Grendel. In Gardner's Grendel, Grendel is portrayed as over confident, weak, and inferior to his foe, Beowulf. This is contrary to the Anglo-Saxon version of Beowulf, where Grendel is seen as an almighty monster who is very strong and powerful due to the use of different point of views from which the story is told. Grendel has different physical

This is different than the Anglo-Saxon version of Beowulf, where Grendel is seen as an all-powerful monster who is very strong and dominant due to the use of different point of views from which the story is told. Beowulf is told from third person point of view. It is for this reason that we can not definitively see what Grendel is feeling physically, emotionally, or mentally. Meanwhile, Gardner’s version of the story is told from Grendel’s point of view. This is gives us a better look at what Grendel is seeing, feeling, and thinking. Point of view is very important to a story because even though it may not directly affect the plot of the story, it can change our outlook on characters and how we perceive