How Does The Medieval Period Affected Medieval Literature?

In the Epic Poems Beowulf, by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, and Grendel written by John Gardner, Grendel, regardless of what he does, has been seen as unsafe to man. Grendel, perceived as treacherous, is just misunderstood and an outcast to society. The back story of Grendel is crucial to the reader’s understanding of Grendel becoming a monster. Grendel’s life experiences of his environment, men and meeting a dragon contribute to the drastic change.

In the epic of Beowulf, one of the warrior’s biggest adversaries is a creature from the swamp named Grendel. Although the character of Grendel is present for only a short portion in the story of Beowulf, Grendel signifies one of the important messages in the text about humanity. In Beowulf, Grendel is called a ‘monster’. However, if observed closely, analyzing the meaning behind the story, it is easy to see that Grendel is not a typical monster, in fact, it doesn’t seem like he is a monster at all. There is much evidence within the short period of the text where Grendel is present, which indicates he is

In Beowulf, the clash between good and evil is the poem's main and most significant focal point. Although the epic poem Beowulf utilizes many characteristics of Christian themes, the violence in the poem relates to paganism. By exploring the characteristics of “good vs. evil” such as Cain, Grendel and Beowulf, this paper will explore the elements of Beowulf in such a light.

While many pagan influences appear in the poem, Christian overtones dominate. Many of the characters exhibit Christian characteristics. Beowulf has a Christ-like behavior in his good-heartedness and charity. Beowulf understands the plight of the Danes that are being oppressed by the evil monster Grendel just as Christ knew of the oppression of the Jewish people. Both set out on a venture to save their people. To free themselves from the monster, the Danes need a savior, and Beowulf, through his desire to disperse their suffering, comes to save them. When Beowulf battles Grendel, he exhibits a sense of fairness when he refuses to use a weapon. The idea throughout the poem of living right, of loyalty, and of being a good leader can all be seen as traits of Christ. Just as Beowulf exemplifies Christ, Grendel mirrors Satan. Beowulf and Grendel represent the Christian beliefs of good verse evil. Grendel is referred to as a descendant of Cain, whom Satan tricks into sinning and committing the first murder. He is the image of a man fallen from grace through sin. Like Satan who is jealous of the happiness and joy that Adam and Eve have in the Garden of Eden, Grendel is jealous of the happiness and joy in Heorot. Grendel, as with Satan, is an adversary of God and poses a great challenge to Beowulf. Grendel lives in an underworld as Satan lives in hell. Grendel is referred to in the poem as "the guardian of

Beowulf displays Christian influences in the description of Grendel especially through the allusion to the Old Testament. Initially, Grendel is presented as a monster that simply kills without any justification in why he decides to act in such fashion. However, as one alludes to the Old Testament specifically to the Book Genesis and the Book Wisdom, the reasoning behind Grendel’s actions become clear. Grendel’s tendency to kill out purely out of rage, provides a parallel to the biblical story of Cain and Abel, which explores the preposterousness of Grendel’s human aspects. The monster Grendel, who is heavily influenced by Cain’s

The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic, chronicling the distinguished deeds of the great Geatish warrior, Beowulf, who travels across the seas to rid the Danes of the evil monster Grendel, who has been inflicting destruction and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land fiendish monsters and stopping the scourge of evil, while the monster, Grendel, is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves death for its evil actions. However, many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel, sets out to change the reader’s perception of Grendel and his role in Beowulf by narrating the story through Grendel’s point of view. John Gardner transforms Grendel, once perceived as an evil fiend in Beowulf, into a lonely but intelligent outcast who is actually quite similar to humans, due to his intelligence capacity for rational thought and his real, and at times irrational emotions. Gardner portrays Grendel as a hurt individual and as a victim of oppression, ostracized from civilization. Although the two works revolve around the same basic plot,, the themes and characters in Beowulf and Grendel are often different and sometimes contradictory.

In the story of Beowulf you get a glimpse of many different themes throughout this epic. Those themes range from good and evil to those of death and glory. The story itself depicts a period in history when life was lead "blind" through the teachings of the book of the lord and his spoken words. At this same period in history traditional pagan religious practices and beliefs have slowly given way to the ideals and philosophy of Christianity. Many of the themes held within the pages of Beowulf stem from the proverbs and fables recited and practiced in the Old Testament, while concurrently adding pagan beliefs of monsters, demons, and multiple gods. The most striking of these biblical comparisons is viewed between Grendel

The story of Beowulf is an ancient one, and one that has been passed down for generations. The ideals and themes are traditional and its message is clear throughout the entirety of the epic poem. Beowulf is told from the third person omniscient point of view, his conflict was always what one would call “the bad guy” or “the villain,” and though he died in the end, he won gold and victory for his kingdom; all bad guys defeated. John Gardner, author of Grendel, decided to take the classical story of good and evil, and tell a new story from the villain’s perspective. Grendel explores varying literary elements which exposes the character of Grendel to readers along with various themes represented throughout each page.

In most stories, it is easy to determine who the monster is. Dementors from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Scylla from Homer’s Odyssey, and the Balrog from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings make it easy to see who the hero is and who the monster is. On the other hand, the anonymous poet of Beowulf does not make this distinction as clearly. The poet creates an ambiguous feeling throughout the epic that makes it unclear whether Beowulf is the hero of men that he is praised to be or a monster in disguise that uses his unnatural strength to murder his enemies. In Beowulf, the line between humanity and monstrosity is blurred as Grendel and his mother take on human attributes, while Beowulf takes on monstrous ones.

John Gardner offers an alternate interpretation of the old english epic “Beowulf” by narrating the experiences of the monster Grendel, after whom the book is named. Grendel conveys himself as a homicidal, ravenous beast, only capable of destruction and chaos. Therefore, one can conclude that Grendel is indeed evil, and that he well deserves the cessation of his existence. However, depending on the philosophical ideologies and the relative perspective one finds self in, they may conclude differently. Nevertheless, the reader may likely to find one’s self both sympathizing with, and scorning Grendel, because, as the 10th century old english monster says, “balance is everything”.

John Gardener’s ‘Grendel’ depicts the monstrous Grendel, previously portrayed as the vicious villain in ‘Beowulf, journeying through his life, attempting to achieve some kind of self-realization. Spending much of his time observing humans, Grendel develops a great disdain for religion. Gardener reinforces Grendel’s with anti-religious quotes from poets and philosophers, like William Blake and Francis Nietzsche. As his spiritual void increases, Gardener slips into an existential despair, fueled by the talk of the Shaper, who’s strangely persuasive words confuse Grendel’s underdeveloped mind. Finally, as Grendel slowly recognizes he is separate from men, his encounter with the dragon drives him to the self-realization that he is a monster

In the story Beowulf, many of the themes are derived from the proverbs and fables practiced in the old testament, while pagan beliefs of monsters, demons, and multiple gods are added. The most popular of the biblical comparisons is viewed between Grendel, enemy of Beowulf, and Cain, evil brother of Able. Grendel and his mother are both described as decedents of Cain. The figure Cain is used as a metaphor during the period to represent the disorder and evil. In the classic story of Cain and Able, Cain viciously kills his brother in a outbreak of jealously and anger. For Cain’s sin, he was banished from the Garden of Eden by God and left only to

Human beings have always loved a well-told story. Whether it be fiction, non-fiction, or a shady mixture, there has not been a time when people did not pass along accounts of adventures. There is one common and essential element in each. It can be nature, another human or creature, or the protagonist himself, but there must be a bad guy. In order for any story to complete a purpose or make a point, it must have some monster to war against. The villainous characters in Beowulf and the Second Shepherd’s Play contrast in almost every conceivable way. The culture and time periods of both these stories affect not only the monsters’ physical manifestations, but also their relationships to the protagonists’ purposes. They are separated further by

The narrator of “Beowulf” introduces us to the monster that is Grendel in the very first lines of the poem. The speaker describes “a fiend from hell” and speaks of “a cursed creature” whom God has condemned as he is “the kin of Cain”. Grendel’s description immediately aligns him with sin and the darkness of human nature found in the old biblical tale. As the poem goes on Grendel attacks Hrothgar’s hall because of the singing of praise to God. Grendel cannot bear to hear the praise as he is said to “live in the land of monsters since the Creator cast them out” (pg. 39).

Beowulf is an epic dense with imagery derived from Anglo-Saxon Pagan culture and Christianity because it is was written in England during the 8th century, a period of Christian migration, growth, and conversion. From the sea where he loses a fight but fends off evil sea-monsters, the forests, and specific animals such as the raven, Beowulf blends nature, mysticism, and reality seamlessly. The descriptions of nature are general and vague which makes it hard to tell exact locations and lets the reader form their own, personalized visualization of the area; likewise, the role of nature in the lives of the Anglo-Saxon culture and Pagan religion remain unclear at best. Provided with many images of nature in Beowulf, this analysis will extract a deeper understanding of how the Anglo-Saxons used their Paganistic view of nature to help shape Beowulf.