When he struggles and struggles finally Beowulf strength is too much and Grendel’s arm is ripped from its socket. He knows his horrible fate which is to bleed to death in the horrid fen.Although soon after the She demon, Grendel's mother comes back for revenge. Beowulf is prepared and more ready then he’ll ever be.He defeats the She demon triumphantly and comes home strong with pride. Soon Beowulf becomes homesick and returns to his homeland of the Geats, he fights strongly with his uncle until he dies, Beowulf is asked to be the king of the Geats but kindly declines. It is only when Heardred, Beowulf cousin dies that he accepts the position of king and rules wisely. Beowulf grows old and creates the golden age for the land but when the fire drake an evil monster who guards treasure burns down most of the land, Beowulf is ready for one last fight. Using the bees to sting it to death Beowulf and his companion Wiglaf face the beast and kill it. Beowulf's last battle is one to remember and shortly after Beowulf dies of old age but everyone knows that his spirit will live on and create peace for the land of the
Beowulf has shown many characteristics of a hero. Where as Grendel has shown characteristics of being an outcast. The role of the hero in Beowulf was portrayed by Beowulf himself. Beowulf was the leader and took on three quests for the people. Most heros would need some form of preparation before they complete quests, but Beowulf on the other hand did not need any. Beowulf had a calling when he was leader. These callings were the three quests that Beowulf needed to complete for the greater good of Hrothgar’s people, defeating Grendel, defeating Grendel’s mother, and attempting to slay the dragon that had burned the houses and land of the Geats’.
But for Grendel, Beowulf that swore that he was going to defeat Grendel and avenge the deaths of his soldiers that Grendel killed. One day Grendel went up to the mead hall to attack more of Beowulf’s soldiers, but it was a trap and Beowulf comes out attacks him. They engage in a gruesome battle and in the end Beowulf rips off Grendel's arm, which causes him to retreat. He then bled out and died on his way back
Mankind for centuries has viewed good as better than evil and that the hero must always win in the end. There are three major battles throughout the poem: Beowulf against Grendel, Beowulf against Grendel’s mother, and Beowulf against the dragon. In the battle of Beowulf verses Grendel, the good side is Beowulf, and the evil, or aggressor, is Grendel. During the intense part of the fight, Grendel “discovered himself / in a handgrip harder than anything / he had encountered in any man / on the face of the earth” (Beowulf 749-752). Immediately after, Grendel “was desperate to flee to his den and hide” (Beowulf 754), but Beowulf does not permit Grendel to flee so easily, and rips off his arm as a punishment. This moment when Beowulf decides to rip off Grendel’s arm rather than let him flee can either be interpreted as Beowulf attempting to stop the monster from ever attacking the city again, and also it shows how Beowulf is collecting the blood price of the deaths of the many Danish citizens that Grendel had killed. After the battle, Grendel returns home to die a slow painful death and his mother seeks revenge for her son’s pain and
One of the major fights that make Beowulf an epic hero is the fight with Grendel. Grendel is a monster spawned out of slime. He terrorizes and kills the Danes every night for 12 years with their attempt of fighting back. Beowulf hears about Grendel and decides to take matters in his own hand. He chose fifteen warriors to go and battle with him. On the way he meets a king named Hrothgar. Beowulf introduces himself and they go to the hall to meet the other warriors. During the night, Beowulf stays up and waits for Grendel to come out. Grendel comes out and kills a male then Beowulf wrestles him and puts up a good fight. Grendel notices Beowulf strength and starts to panic. “Grendel knew at once that nowhere on earth Had he met a man whose hands were harder; His mind was flooded with fear- but nothing could take his talons and himself from that tight Hard grip.” ("Beowulf." : A
Beowulf, an old English epic, helps the reader visualize how the Anglo-Saxon culture was. This epic uses many different types of literary archetypes from the Anglo-Saxon literature. Beowulf is about a young prince making a journey to Denmark to help Hrothgar, the king of the Danes. The author of the English epic Beowulf, shows how Grendel is such an outcast, Beowulf's battles between good and evil, and how heroic he was throughout his life.
The night after Grendel is killed, his mother attacks Heorot, seeking revenge for her son, leaving them all in chaos. The following morning they all suit up and set off to find and kill Grendel’s mother. Grendel’s mother lives in a cave at the bottom of a mere, causing Beowulf to have to fight underwater. Beowulf suits up in all his armor and is offered a sword, Hrunting, by Unferth to fight with. As Beowulf dives into the mere to find Grendel’s mother, she senses a human observing her lair and attacks, grabbing Beowulf and dragging him to her
Upon entering the Danes' hall, Herot, Grendel is confronted by Beowulf, who immediately seizes Grendel's arms and drives fear into the monster's heart, "... [Grendel] knew at once that nowhere on earth/ Had he met a man whose hands were harder..." (lines 751-752). Through his slaughter of Grendel, Grendel's mom, the dragon, and other monsters, Beowulf proves his amazing strength to the other characters and to the readers.
Grendel’s mother kills Hrothgar’s closest advisor and took Grendel’s arm, which the Danes had hung on the wall as a symbol of victory. Beowulf takes this threat very personally and vows to defeat Grendel’s mother or die trying. Finally, Beowulf answers the call one last time, many years later in Geatland. Fifty years after defeating Grendel and Grendel’s mother, Beowulf had been king of Geatland for many years and happily rules over the Geats. A dragon destroys Beowulf’s mead hall while seeking revenge on an escaped slave who has stolen treasure from the dragon. Beowulf was an extremely prideful person and would not let the dragon go unscathed for destroying his mead hall. This is the third and final time Beowulf answers the call to his Hero’s Quest.
The purpose of the vows/promises in this poem is to show that that whoever is making the vow is a courageous and glorified man. This poem is said to display a code of honor and action. During these times people believed that fate or Wryd controlled their futures, so if a man made promise
Grendel, a monster who lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, is provoked by the singing and celebrating of Hrothgar's followers. He appears at the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years, the fear of Grendel's fury casts a shadow over the lives of the Danes. Hrothgar and his advisors can think of nothing to calm the monster's anger.
In the background, water droplets fall to the ground. Each smack of water against the stone sends a shiver down his spine. Left with nothing but his thoughts, Grendel watches his mother restlessly toss and turn as she sleeps when a faint noise is heard. Intrigued, he walks just beyond the mouth of the cave, and in the distance, what appears to be the flickering light of candles of a terrific hall can be seen. As Grendel walks closer, he realizes the noise is actually singing. Looking through the windows, he gazes at strange creatures singing a song of joyous times as they dance and clank their mugs together. Engulfed with rage, he swings the doors open so quickly that they nearly fall off the hinges, and
While reading Beowulf I thought Grendel was a horrible monster and by classification, he is considered a monster. I couldn’t understand why he would kill people just because “it was fun” but after reading Grendel I have a different opinion of Grendel. I personally don’t think Grendel is a monster. I say this because when Grendel was a “boy” all he wanted was a friend. The creatures in the cavern were older so he never had any real friends. Finally, one day he had enough of wondering what the world of humans was like and decided to go to the world of humans. After being in the world of humans for a little while he saw his first humans and described them as having “dead-looking eyes and gray-white faces.” (Ch.2, pg.23) I know when he saw them he was scared but wanted to speak but being a big and strong “monster” he knew he couldn’t speak. Though he hid
Beowulf, king of the Geats, engages in battles in order to protect his community from physical creatures while King Arthur’s knights engage in spiritual battles against evil temptation which lurks around every corner. Beowulf proudly displays his prowess before he must confront Grendel, the “God-cursed brute” when he declares with bold confidence that he “can calm the turmoil” (Heaney 11, 21). Beowulf boasts of his strength, pledging to kill Grendel with his bare hands. Grendel, the cursed descendant of Cain, enjoys death and destruction, ruining Hrothgar’s reputation with every attack on his kingdom. The monster kills one of his men, angering the Thanes and encouraging them to fight
Beowulf continued to listen about how this monster was described, he was interested and wanted to challenge this big bad monster to kill him. The king gave a room for Beowulf and his man to rest because tomorrow they would begin to plan their trap to kill Grendel. As everyone slept Beowulf stayed awake as he kept plotting for his trap to kill Grendel. The next morning Beowulf and this man were with the king they were given weapons to use against Grendel but Beowulf didn't know that no weapon could kill Grendel unless it was the big sword that was hammered by