Examples Of Evil In Beowulf

Beowulf, like many modern heroes such as the ones we see in movies and read about in comic books has an unnatural amount of strength. Take superman for example, he has superhuman strength. Although Beowulf does not have the same amount of strength as superman he still has more than the average human. This gives him a typical “hero” trait that many people are familiar with today.

Why does the poet of Beowulf choose to give human qualities and distinct territories to Beowulf’s monstrous rivals? In the epic, Grendel is a horrible, human-like monster and an outcast in the society. Grendel’s mother is another dangerous adversary of Beowulf because she feels the pain of her child’s death and desires to take revenge, which is similar to the way a human mother feels for her child. In addition to connecting the traits of the monsters to the humans, the poet also provides them a territory for their survival. In Beowulf, the poet’s purpose of bestowing human attributes and granting a residence to Beowulf’s opponents is to reflect that the in Anglo-Saxon society, everyone is respected, but the only elements that prevents one from

Beowulf a New Telling by Robert Nye was very interesting but not altogether satisfactory and one of the very interesting parts was the memory that stirred in Grendel’s heart but one of the unsatisfactory parts was the ending and the conclusion I can draw about the features of the work is that Beowulf a New Telling by Robert Nye is a thrilling tale about Beowulf who is trying to rid the land of the Danes and the land of the Geats of evil. There were also many relationships between light and darkness (good and evil) in people but the main one was in Beowulf. For example, in chapter 6 on page 40, Beowulf has elements of lightness when he says, “light holds you, Grendel. Light has you in its power. You, who have shunned the sun, meet me, once stung by bees that drank the sun. There is honey in my veins, Grendel, a liquid sunlight that can kill you quite.” This contrasts with his elements of bad in chapter 11 on page 76 when he says “By my own bad, please don’t think of me as some saint. That would make me as monstrous as Grendel, though in the other direction. Majesty of all the Danes, sweet Wealtheow, you see before you a hero who has come through many kinds of high adventures only to foul of his own weakness.”

In the beginning of the the text, we immediately see the juxtaposition of good and evil through the authors use of diction. As we are introduced to Grendel through the kennings and allusions the author uses, we have a clear understanding of who Grendel is. In the beginning of “The Coming of Grendel,” he is referred to as “A powerful monster,…” (line 23). The author also alludes to Grendel being the spawn of one of the sons of Cain. As “The Coming of Grendel” ends and transitions into “The Coming of Beowulf,” the major difference in their character’s are seen clearly through the author’s use of kennings to describe Beowulf. In line 132, the author calls Beowulf “…strongest of the Geats-greater/And stronger than anyone anywhere in this world-…” The author goes on about how great Beowulf is to display how evil Grendel is. The author sets a tone with their diction to create the effect of

Beowulf is a hero because of his actions in the novel. Heroic traits includes determination, physical strength, courage, loyalty, and leadership, which Beowulf demonstrated throughout the story. A quote from Beowulf shows an example of his determination, “…Fought with fate against him, with glory/ Denied him. He knew it, but he raised his sword/ And struck at the dragon’s scaly hide,” (Beowulf-Translator). Beowulf realized that there was a chance he would not win the battle, however his determination did not stop him from trying. Another quote from Beowulf shows his courage, “Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life/ Against the monster,” (Beowulf- Translator). Beowulf fought against Grendel without any weapons, just his

In the Epic poem of Beowulf, the theme is good vs. evil. But in the movie Hollywood made everything is different. Beowulf is not honest, women are sexually powerful, and the monsters are Hrothgar and Beowulf’s sons, etc. They added many things that were definitely now in the poem. If you read the poem then watching the movie you would be confused. You would be asking so many questions. But the current audience think good vs. evil is boring.

In the epic poem of Beowulf, the journey of good and evil is a description of how good can take over the evil and what it takes to be a hero and a great savior. Beowulf’s bare hands is a proof of his legacy and greatness which would last for long time in the history of its own. The poem reflects the time when Christianity were taking over the Pagan world witnessing a cultural and moral change which altered the lives of millions and witness an urging Christianity. As like any other warrior story, Beowulf is not an exception and it comes with different conflicts that the hero must face in making of his legacy. From killing a man-eating monster with

Evil, Grendel is seen as the villain and monster in the poem. One could get a better understanding of the theme by the author's Allusion. For example, the author explains in “The Coming of Grendel” Grendel's actions and how he sees himself having this great feeling of killing people which demonstrates the side of him being evil because of the monster he is. For instance, in line 39-41, the author states “Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild/ Marshes, and made his home in a hell/ Not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime". Which this explains how Grendel is seen as a monster, the allusion being expressed here explains a monster but in much more detail. On the other hand many see Grendel as just a monster, but because of his actions, many are scared of him making him the evil one in the poem, which is shown in lines 56-60, “The monster’s/ Thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws/ He slipped through the door and there in the silence/ Snatched up thirty men, smashed them/ Unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, The blood dripping behind him, back/ To his lair, delighted with his night’s slaughter”. In other words, the poem shows the Evil in Grendel although he commits these action this shows him the person he is. Although, Grendel's reasoning in being evil is because he isn't treated nicely by the

Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.

To begin, one of the many ways that Beowulf was different than Grendel is that Beowulf was brave. Every night Grendel snuck into Herot Hall to destroy King Hrothgar’s men. He did this while hiding in the shadows, sneaking around in the dead of night, and attacking while the men we asleep and at there most vulnerable. These are not the characteristics the brave, these are the characteristics of a foul, loathsome, cowardly beast. Mean while, Beowulf liked to meet a problem head on, in this case the problem was Grendel himself. Determined Beowulf sailed to Denmark to defeat Grendel, telling Hrothgar that he will take Grendel’s life with his bare hands. As told in the story, “ That mighty protector of men/ Meant to hold the monster till it’s life/ leaped out” (Raffel, 1963, l. 366-368). And when Beowulf got the chance to do just that, Grendel took the cowards road, “Grendel’s one thought

Beowulf is appeared to be the most powerful among all the powerful. Physical strength was excessively begrudged by the Anglo-Saxon society. Beowulf could kill the best beast of all, Grendell. Beowulf eventually did kill Grendell; Grendell had never come to such a match among a more powerful individual "That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime knew at once that nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder". This demonstrates the physical strength that Beowulf epitomized.

Why is it that Beowulf, a man, seems to only pick battles against supernatural creatures rather than other strong warriors from, perhaps, other tribes? Does he find anything other than the supernatural unworthy of encountering his heroic capabilities? 3. Is a victory in a battle between two tribes of men, omitting any supernatural creatures, even considered real heroism when either side could be argued as good or evil? 4.

Beowulf is the brave epic hero. The evil characters are Grendel, Grendel's mom, and the Dragon. Grendel is the main villian. There are many examples of darkness in the poem. The setting of Grendel's home is described as hell on earth.

In Beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the story’s most universal theme. The storyteller is very clear who is good and who is evil, Beowulf represents the good and the ability to act selflessly when help is needed from others. Good is also shown throughout the epic as having the ability to abolish villainy. Evil is presented by Grendel, his mother, and a dragon, whose purpose in life is to make the lives of humanity a little more miserable.

One quality that makes Beowulf a hero is his unnatural strength. Beowulf could take down giants and other monsters with his bare hands. The text points out Beowulf’s strength when it says he is “...greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world.”. He killed many of his enemies, and hunted