Reflection In The Language Of The Grendel

In the clash between the “captain of evil” (Beowulf 749) and the “earl-troops leader” (Beowulf 790), Grendel and Beowulf, the author’s meticulous word choice in the excerpt serves as amplifiers for the two characters’ distinct traits and abilities. As one of the literary tools for amplification, the kenning employs figurative language in place of names throughout the text. The kenning is more commonly utilized for the character of Grendel, otherwise known as the “shadow-stalker” (Beowulf 704),“terror-monger” (Beowulf 765), and “dread of the land” (Beowulf 761); these epithets explicitly magnify the mysteriously supernatural evil that Grendel embodies. From the beginning of the excerpt to line 750, the vivid imagery creates and develops Grendel’s

2. The poet used distinctive language to differentiate Grendel and Beowulf’s movements. During their battle these differences seem to set them apart in terms of glory. The poet describes Grendel’s movements in a grotesque and stark way. “Grendel came greedily loping,” (line 711) and “… he grabbed and mauled a man on his bench… and gorged on him in lumps,” (lines 740-2) are examples of how the poet uses specific language to describe Grendel’s movement. However the poet describes Beowulf’s movements in an almost glorified way. “… he had

In lines 522-523, “They gaped with no sense of sorrow, felt no regret for his suffering.”, the Danes were not expected to mourn the death of Grendel, who has been terrorizing them, these lines show the bravery of Beowulf and the irony of the Danes relief from his death. This can heighten a readers’ fear due to the casualty and emotions towards the beast that had been causing multiple problems for them, their strange behavior can be eerie and unnatural.

The poem does not give this insight of what happens before, or from Grendel's point of view. Seeing this scene in the movie gives the audience a better understanding of why Grendel and also his mother attack the Danes. Later in the movie Beowulf says, "He's no more human than you and I", which is true. If the Danes didn’t kill Grendel's father, the outcome of the story could have possibly been changed because Grendel would have had a different life and not seek revenge on the Danes, specifically the one who Grendel had seen kill his father. In the poem Grendel fights Beowulf, rather than avoiding Beowulf most of the time in the movie. In the poem, Grendel is seen as an evil monster that kills and eats the Hrothgar warriors and cannot be penetrated by weapons, rather than just human, or troll, like the movie. When the battle with Grendel occurs in the poem, it is said that Beowulf had cut off his arm to defeat him. While in the movie, Grendel finds himself stuck hanging, and must cut off his own arm to escape from Beowulf and his men. Both the movie and poem result in the death of Grendel, eventually leading to the revenge of his mother.

In this passage, the story teller employs situational irony and imagery to demonstrate the tables turning on Grendel due to the hands of Beowulf. Had Grendel had the wisdom to actually check upon who was in the hall, he would never have been stuck in this predicament of the hunter becoming the hunted. With the usage of the quote “Grendel’s one thought was to run”, situational irony is extremely apparent. Grendel is now being hunted by Beowulf, instead of him hunting the inhabitants of Herot. To describe the suffering of Grendel, the author employs the use of various lines with adjectives, such as “In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain”. With the severity of Grendel’s pain having been stressed by imagery, we can now infer that he regrets not having the wisdom to avoid entering the mead hall. The theme of wisdom being a more valuable weapon than strength is not directly, but indirectly demonstrated by the fact that Grendel could have avoided defeat at the hands of Beowulf if he had

“So Hrothgar's men lived happily in this hall till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend, Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in a hell (line 101).” During the winter season, everyone slept in Mead Hall because of the warmth. Everyone was happy, until Grendel came. Beowulf finally has his chance to repay his father's debt. Vengeance against Grendel. For the many months it took for Beowulf to travel to the Danes, Grendel has been wreaking havoc, killing many men in Mead Hall. Vengeance is what binds tribes together. Helping Edgetho escape the Wulfings became a very great deed. Without Beowulf repaying his father's debt, Grendel may have never been defeated. “The victory ,for the proof, hanging high from the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monster's arm, claw, and shoulder and all (line 835).” The bloody battle ended with Beowulf tearing the arm from Grendel. This was the victory trophy that ended Grendel terrorizing the Danes. The tribe was bound together once again. Beowulf’s victory against Grendel was great for the Danes, but not everyone was happy about his

In John Gardner 's Grendel, Grendel states, "Tedium is the worst pain" (138). Grendel views boredom as an expression of his painful, purposeless existence. Perpetual boredom has steadily increased and intensifies in chapter ten leading Grendel to be anxious for something to happen. Ironically, Grendel claims nothing is happening, and all is boring, yet filled with longing and expecting for something big to happen soon. Grendel’s search intensifies and becomes desperate at the event of the Shaper’s death. He feels utterly alone and isolated. It seems Grendel can only talk to himself. In Chapter ten Gardner examines the significance of the astrological sign Capricorn, the

In the morning, warriors look for the body of Grendel by following his bloody trail. They cannot find his body and turn back. Hrothgar’s men finally think that they no longer will be plagued with the presence of the monster and that now they can sleep in peace.

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

In the beginning, the Danes show provocation towards Grendel’s harsh acts. Healfdane’s son, calls for a courageous warrior to defeat hell’s captive. This warrior’s audacious behavior, sacrifices one of his men to watch Grendel’s behavior. As the poem continues, inflammation occurs between the Geats and dragon. King Beowulf, seventy, marched to protect his kingdom against the ferocious beast. During his final battle, Beowulf is fatally injured. He tells Wiglaf to build him a Tower with a tomb, so all sailors will remember his name. Without these tones, Beowulf would not be as great as it

The author uses Grendel to demonstrate Beowulf's courage and bravery in a crisis. The ruler of the Danes, Hrothgar, was

“Grendel came came hoping to kill anyone he could trap on his trip to high Herot.” (l. 3,4). does grendel really think this does the author write this to make us think grendel is a vicious , bloodthirsty monster from the start?In the Anglo Saxon Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel, different points of view cause a change in the story’s style and diction. The difference in literary purpose behind the two writings also affects the narrative presence and the narrative attitude.

The epic starts in a clever way beginning Beowulf’s tale with an extremely powerful and cunning opponent, for it immediately becomes intriguing. Both the link between man and beast, and the driving force of hate behind his assaults, and his reaction to these feelings make Grendel extremely important in this book.

This epic poem written by an anonymous writer takes places during the medieval times in Heorot. The town of heorot is being troubled every night by a gruesome appearing creature by the name of Grendel. Grendel raids the mead hall of the Danish warriors and brutally kills them. Beowulf is called upon by the king of heorot, Hrothgar, to fight Grendel and save the Danish people from any more destruction. Beowulf, along with his following warriors, travel overseas to help the town. He ultimately wins however the battle is not yet over. After defeating Grendel Beowulf then has to face his overprotecting mother which he also defats later on in the story in her cave under a nearby lake. After this battle,

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.