Monstrosity In Beowulf

In both stories, Grendel and Bisclavret are physically portrayed as different as they are not human. This difference is explicitly stated when Bisclavret tells his wife he is a werewolf. On the other hand, the author of Beowulf neither identifies Grendel as a different animal nor do they provide a great amount of imagery regarding his physical appearance. Nevertheless, certain descriptions the author uses to describe Grendel, including “unholy creature” (Beowulf 120) and “ruthless and cruel” (Beowulf 122), allow the reader to develop an image of Grendel that is not human. Because both Grendel and Bisclavret are not human, it becomes easier for the human characters in both stories to demonize them, creating stories that may or may not be true about each character. For example, soon after learning that Bisclavret is a werewolf, Bisclavret’s wife immediately began to make “plans to get right out” (Bisclavret 3), demonizing him in her mind and disregarding all of his previous actions in their marriage. In Beowulf, the Danes view Grendel as a monster after he attacks Heorot, however, the Danes do not think about how they might be disturbing him with the noise from Heorot.

In the poem he is a monster, fearless and heartless in his attacks on the thanes and geats. He is a terror, and an unstoppable horror until Beowulf comes along. In the movie, Grendel seems unstable and he looks like a mentally unstable monster. He is powerful and strong, but looks timid. In the poem Beowulf goes to collect Grendel’s head from the mothers cave and cuts it off, but in the movie Grendel’s mom cuts the head off herself.

In both John Gardner’s novel Grendel, and the Epic Beowulf, there is one recurring major character, Grendel. While the same in name, Grendel is illustrated in different lights between the two texts. The character exemplifies some of the same traits between the two texts, but is also shown to have some major differences.

It’s not every day that you read a paper that defends a seemingly psychopathic monster. However I believe that Grendel is so much more than that. If you just read Beowulf’s point of view than yes he would just be that. However the book Grendel shows us how human-like Grendel really is. It shows him growing up and changing, it shows us his thoughts and emotions, and it explains why he does the things he does.

In Beowulf, we hardly know anything about Grendel. His name is barely mentioned and instead he is given an abundant amount of kennings. In Grendel, we learn

Sit back and think of what a monster looks like for a moment. Are you thinking of Godzilla? Something hiding under your bed? Or maybe even a killer clown? But did you ever think of yourself? In the story Beowulf, there is a confliction between the people being a monster and Grendel. While Grendel does express many horrific acts so do the people in the story. Grendel's horrific acts, ripping Grendel's arm off, and protecting the people are different views that are seen throughout the story. Grendel is the real monster is this story.

Beowulf has always been able to defeat the bad guys, but Grendel has trumped all the others. He is an absolute man slaughterer. This is going to be the very first fight that will actually be a challenge and that is what terrifies Beowulf. A competitor of this fierceness is absolutely crazy. Beowulf is staring at what he believes is certain death, but cannot admit that

Grendel is seen by other people in Beowulf as a monster and a fiend even before his name is mentioned the narrator refers to him as a “powerful monster, living down in the darkness” (line 1). But the most common thing that comes to mind when most people think of Grendel is fear, it’s what Herot did was fear him. The final opinion I gathered was one of respect, for Beowulf fights Grendel with no weapon or clothes because

Beowulf is more noble than Grendel because he doesn’t complain about things like for instance, when he lost the swimming race to Breca in the ocean he didn’t complain that he lost because it was unfair of the monsters he had to fight, he just accepted it. Instead he talked himself up more by saying, “Time and again, foul things attacked me, lurking and stalking, but i lashed out, gave as good as i got with my sword. My flesh was not for feasting on,” (Beowulf 39). By accepting his losses he showed courage in himself that he trusted enough of his victories to overrule the rest. Courage is also the first of the nine noble virtues.

Grendel, is thus seen as the descendant of an individual who epitomizes resentment and malice in Beowulf. The author states Grendel lives in exile and is seen as “mankind’s enemy”(Raffel, 22). Grendel is the representation of all that is evil and he is declared to be the “shepherd of evil and the “guardian of crime”(Raffel, 33) by the Danes in Beowulf. The author describes Grendel to be an evil, cruel, apathetic creature who’s pleasure lies in attacking and devouring Hrothgar’s men. The author describes Grendel’s malice by painting a gruesome picture of Grendel’s countless attacks on the mead hall in which he exhibits Grendel as a heartless, greedy, and violent being who mercilessly murders the men at the mead hall by tearing them apart, cutting their body into bits and drinking the blood from their veins. The author describes Grendel’s greed by stating Grendel’s thoughts were as “quick as his greed or his claws”(Raffel, 21). He describes Grendel’s as having eyes that “gleamed in the darkness and burned with a gruesome light”, swift hard claws and great sharp teeth which paints a picture of Grendel’s frightening appearance in the reader’s mind. In contrast to the traditional story of Beowulf, Grendel in John Gardner’s novel, Grendel is not depicted as a monster but as an intelligent creature capable of human thought, feelings and speech. John Gardner portrays Grendel as an outcast

Grendel was fascinated by Beowulf because his strength and things that he could do in battle.

In Grendel, the story is told from Grendel's point of view. Therefore he is not viewed as a killing machine. In Beowulf however, it is the exact opposite. Grendel is seen as a monster who is terrorizing Hrothgar's people. The way Grendel is portrayed in Grendel is different from the way he is portrayed in Beowulf regarding his initiative and purpose. Grendel is portrayed the same in both stories when it comes to his actions and his nature.

In Beowulf, we hardly know anything about Grendel. His name is barely mentioned and instead he is given an abundant amount of kennings. In Grendel, we learn

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

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.