Supernatural Forces In Beowulf

First, it is important to know the story Beowulf. Beowulf is a story about a monster named Grendel who goes around murdering the people of Herot run by the king Hrothgar. The character Beowulf is informed of what Grendel has been doing and decides to go stop/kill him. Beowulf is described as the strongest and bravest of all the geats. “”The strongest of the Geats-greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”

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.

Grendel, the offspring of Cain the outcast, is a demon. He is a scaly creature that lives in a swampy area. He is a reptilian human, with spikes on him. He is a human-like figure, in which the way he stands. He stands on two feet, and has arms. In the book Beowulf removes Grendel’s arm and shoulder, defeating him. This must mean he has a shoulder blade and can walk like a human. He also has razor-sharp talons as it says in the book “Venturing closer, his talon was raised to attack Beowulf where he lay on the bed” (Heaney 51). One night when he is prowling around, he hears the King and his kinsmen singing out to the Lord. He hears the songs of how great God is, and is outraged. As the outcast of God, Grendel despised of God. The songs and happiness, pushes him over the edge. He plans the downfall of the hall, in spite of their songs. He will attack at night, as everyone sleeps, and butcher them dead. He sneaks in at night, watching over the guards, ready to pounce. He rips apart the men eating them alive. “Suddenly then the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting place and rushed them to his lair” (Heaney 11). This shows just how When the king awoke the next morning he grieved for his men, but little did he know Grendel would attack every night for 12 winters. Once again Grendel sets of for a night of ravishing, but the king has a plan. He has set out more guards to keep watch over the kingdom, as he sleeps. When Grendel

The novel Grendel, by John Gardner, gives the reader an inside look on the “monster… demon… [and] fiend” (Beowulf, 99) who, in Beowulf (translated by Burton Raffel), seems only capable of destruction, sneaking around in the night and killing soldiers off by the dozen. Grendel is a non-human entity who possesses human characteristics; no one truly knows who or what he is. He is monstrously huge, absurdly strong, and insatiable (he has been murdering for approximately twelve years). He is a “[monster] born of Cain, [a] murderous [creature]” (Beowulf, 105-106). He lives with his mother in a swampy marsh that is secluded by a “pool of firesnakes” who guard “the sunken door” to the strange world of humans (Grendel, 16). Beowulf does not provide any information of where he came from or any history about him, except that he is a pre-cursed, wicked being with no conscience. This seems like a biased assumption because the story

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

Although Beowulf had the strength of thirty men put together but he still took the men to battle with him. No armor or weapons could hurt him so he defeated Grendel with his two bare hands by ripping off his shoulder. Grendel hurt and dying then retreated to his lair to die. He then later takes on Grendel’s mother by chopping off her head with a great big sword hanging on the wall. It was made by giants and no man’s strength can carry it except the Great Beowulf. He willingly went against a creature that no man could ever defeat so the Danish people could live fearless from the undefeatable Grendel. He was praised for the great deeds he had accomplished. Beowulf later on became a great King after his uncle Hygelac died. Hygelac had a son but he was too young to rule the kingdom. Beowulf didn’t take the throne at first and said he would monitor the young boy and protect him.

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that tells a story of a Geat hero named Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, and agrees to help his people defeat the monstrous Grendel. After successfully ridding the land of the beast, Beowulf eventually becomes the king of the Geats for quite some time until his own demise at the hands of another beast. The story was influenced by both pagan and Christian mythologies as it was written during a

The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic chronicling the illustrious deeds of the great Geatish warrior Beowulf, who voyages across the seas to rid the Danes of an evil monster, Grendel, who has been wreaking havoc and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land of a fiendish monster and halting its scourge of evil while the monster is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves to die because of its evil actions. In the epic poem, Beowulf the authors portrays Grendel as a cold-hearted beast who thrives on the pain of others. 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 set out to change the

Having multiple chapters of the poem dedicated to the monster Grendel, you would get the idea that he is of some importance in the epic poem. The poem storyline is majorly dedicated to monsters since the storyline is pretty much separated into three different story arcs. Grendel is described as a sin stained demon. “They have seen my strength for themselves. Have watched me rise from the darkness of war. Dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from earth, I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come.” (Beowulf page 36). Grendel was the first monster to be introduced in the story and from the time he was introduced and the time he was defeated by Beowulf, Grendel was killing and terrorizing the Danes every day and night. When Beowulf got their he told the danes he was there to defeat the mighty beast Grendel. The King of Danes Hrothgar welcomed Beowulf and threw him a big party of sorts through the night. That was when Beowulf has the

The story of Cain, and the murderous rage he inflicts on his brother Abel is one that many remember because of the curse Cain receives from God. After lying to God about killing his brother, Cain can no longer live a fruitful and successful life. He and his descendants are cursed to misery and torment for his transgression. Grendel, one of the unfortunate descendants of Cain, is a prime example of biblical allusion in Beowulf. “He was spawned in that slime, / Conceived by a pair of those monsters born / Of Cain, murderous creatures banished / By God, punished forever for the crime / Of Abel’s death” (19-23). This description of Grendel attaches a stigma to him without giving him any real characteristics. Before he has even

Beowulf was a good king. He wasn’t greedy or mean or selfish, he put his people first. And it’s evident in the fact that he went to fight the dragon himself, when he could’ve got some other “hero” to do it. “...he saw nothing to fear, thought nothing of the beast’s claws,

This method gives readers an even clearer idea of how fate overpowers free will than does Beowulf. Grendel is the monster that is introduced in the poem Beowulf. In the poem he is feared by the Danes and killed by the hero Beowulf, but this novella allows the reader to see how Grendel became a “monster”. Grendel is supposedly a cursed descendent of Cain, “he was spawned in that slime/Of Cain, murderous creatures banished/ By God, punished forever for the crime/ Of Abel's death.

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 seen as a christian figure sent in to rid the land of the evil monsters such as grendel who is seen to have a lucifer features. After grendel attacks the Herot killing 30 men,

This poem also uses a lot of religion throughout the story and so Beowulf is pretty much depicted as a god in the story. All he does is fight monsters and help people. The story is a combination of Christianity and warrior values. Beowulf is the amazing and well-known hero because of the battles that he’s been involved in and has won because he puts all of his own trust into the hands of god and that’s why he is such a good warrior. There are also some pagan values that Beowulf possesses which is things such as, loyalty, courage, strength, and just a good reputation among all the people that know him. Which makes him into such a great example of what a hero should exactly be like. Beowulf only survives through the protection he receives from god and throughout the entire story Beowulf countlessly acknowledges god as his one and only protector.