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Symbolism in the epic story Beowulf
Symbolism in the epic story Beowulf
Symbolic meaning of beowulf
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The Symbolism of the Lair of Grendel and his Mother The epic poem Beowulf, written by an unknown author, has three main antagonists. In this essay I will be focusing on the characters of Grendel and his mother and more specifically what their dwelling place represents in the time of the Geats and Danes. Throughout the story, these characters are viewed as innately evil monsters that exist only to bring pain and terror to the land of the Danes. They are what the people of the time viewed as those damned by God and fate alike. The place in which they live is said to be under water and very far down in the earth. The lair of Grendel and his mother represents hell, where true evil dwells and creatures that bear the Mark of Cain are destined to reside. …show more content…
Grendel is told to be an ape-like, giant monster. Through further reading, we learn he lives in isolation and hates the Danes of Herot for living good lives and being able to celebrate their good fortune. Grendel is said to bear the Mark of Cain. The mark represents Grendel as a descendent of the biblical character Cain who killed his own brother and was damned by God (Beowulf 20-21). He was conceived in Hell by monsters that bore the Mark of Cain. Grendel relieves his anger and hatred for the Danes by killing them. He torments them and enjoys the act. Eventually he is defeated by the hero of the story, Beowulf, the prince of the Geats, and his evil reign is ended abruptly. This introduces a character of great evil, the mother of
Rudd cites various sections of the poem, describing Grendel as a “night-monster of the border lands” (Rudd 3), and the translation of the poem says that Grendel was, “...Conceived by a pair of those monsters born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God…” (Raffel 42). Rudd also gives evidence for Grendel being seen as demonic, and reasons that Grendel attacks the Danes out of “...not mere thirst for gore, as we might suspect… but rather… envy of the Danes’ happiness- and envy was a chief characteristic of the medieval devil.” (Ruud 5). He then ties this devilish persona to Grendel’s humanistic aspects, stating Grendel has a heathen soul, and therefore he must be human. Ruud also notes, however, that there are critics who question the validity of portraying Grendel as this three-sided figure, asking questions such as, “How can Grendel be a devil when he has a physical body? How can he be a man when he is so manifestly bestial?” (Ruud 7). Ruud believes that the original poet of Beowulf is doing this for effect rather than consistency, but a more reasonable explanation that encompasses all three characteristics is that Grendel represents the evil in
Grendel is a horrid monster filled with evil and bloodthirsty rage; Grendel terrorizes the men of Heorot when he deems them as being too loud in the meadhall. He snatches them up with his bare hands and devours them. Grendel murders fathers and sons, brothers, and uncles. As far as anybody can see, he will never
Grendel, the monster terrorizing Heorot, is introduced as being estranged from the rest of the world. He is described as an outsider, a descendant of “Cain’s clan” (107). Grendel’s outcast status leaves him living in darkness, his envy growing the more he hears the celebrations of the Danes. Envy and social status motivate Grendel’s cruelty, filling him with anger towards those who are human. When Beowulf and the Geats arrive, it is not solely out of honor that Beowulf vows to kill the beast. Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow, had an unpaid debt at the time of his death. Beowulf’s pledge that he would kill Grendel was a repayment, as well as an honorable feat. However, as Beowulf is introduced, the boasts he makes of his heroic feats and his “awesome strength” (29), only prove his barbarity. He boasts that “they had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes” (419-422). He goes on to blame the enemies for the vengeance that he wrought upon them. Beowulf dehumanizes his enemies, states that they were foul beasts who tainted the land, and he purified it. This is a sadistic view of life and battle, contrasting cruelty for the
Grendel has an evil of his own. He was out casted because of his lineage. It was said he was a descendant of Cain, a Satan-like being. “... from Cain there sprang/ misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel,/the banished and accursed” ( 1264-1265)This, and the fact that they were “fatherless creatures” , made him resentful of the warriors in the mead-hall (1355). To get back at the warriors, he began the killing spree, also attracting Beowulf. Grendels resentment, led him to his
Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.
This illustrates an inner problem of a suppressed evil side to society. Beowulf and other men that battled Grendel had trouble defeating him with weapons. They all had to tussle with Grendel and everyone except for Beowulf failed at this challenge. Symbolically meaning that that evil side to society will always be there no matter how much people try to fight it. Grendel also plays the role of envy. Imagine him being an outcast with no joy in his life hearing the mead-hall at night and all the laughter, he must have felt envious and longed to be a part of that world. Another symbolic role is revenge. Upon learning that Beowulf has hurt her only child Grendel’s mother becomes angered and seeks revenge. Her and Beowulf battle it out and the mother loses the battle. Relating this back to Cain, Grendel’s mother wants to kill Beowulf and get revenge and just like Cain, she faced her punishment, for her it was
John Gardner’s Grendel delicately betrays the humanity of a monster. The reader is pulled into the story of Grendel’s life, his rather philosophical journey, and his ultimate downfall. Remarkably, the tale of a creature who, in Beowulf, is a simple force of evil, becomes a complex, storied protagonist. However, this complexity must not be mistaken for righteousness. No, even Gardner’s Grendel remains evil, but in a way that is more relatable, more human. He is cognizant of his wrongdoing, and he even attempts to break his own cycle of destruction, but in the end surrenders to a dark and thankless fate. Grendel’s inherent evil is revealed as he disregards preexisting morals, embraces
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
The motif of darkness helps Gardner to emphasize Grendel’s old life. In Grendel’s old life, he is depicted as a monster who lives in a dark and gruesome underground cave with his mother and dozens of cold, unmoving creatures. Seeing the larger world after entering human society, he is constantly reminded of how he can never fully possess or participate in the hopeful and beautiful things, though he can clearly lift his mind to them. And that makes him bitter. The motif of darkness is identified to symbolize the evil resides within himself that haunts him since his
While the classic battle between good and evil forces is a major theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may question whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars such as Herbert G. Wright claim that “the dragon, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf can have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other” (Wright, 4). However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and believe that there is “something deeply human about the ‘monsters’” (Orchard, 29). While Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts within Beowulf that can also lead a reader to believe that the “monsters” may not be so monstrous after all. In fact, the author of Beowulf represents the “monsters” within the poem with a degree of moral ambivalence. This ambivalence ultimately evokes traces of sympathy in the reader for the plight of these “monster” figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem.
Time after time he charges into Herot Hall, slaughtering the warriors like sheep, and feasting on them. Denmark trembles in fear and grief as Grendel terrorizes their land. The people live in fear for their family and friends. Grendel is the Anglo-Saxon embodiment of what is dark, terrifying, and threatening. Grendel is an enemy of God. He can not know God’s great love. He is a powerful ogre that resides in the dark, wet marshes. He is a shadow of death that grows impatient with the Danes. He delights in their slaughter. No crime or savage assault would quench his thirst for evil. For evil can never be quenched. Grendel is a shepherd of evil and a guardian of crime. Grendel exhibits his envy towards the warriors as Cain did to his brother. Jealousy breed loneliness.
Grendel's mother, unknown to the Danes or Geats, is plotting to avenge the death of her son. After the celebrations are over in Heorot and everybody is asleep, Grendel's mother appears out of her dwelling place, the swamp.
Even if Grendel 's mother were wife to Cain, instead of mother, the connection to Eve is still questioned. Because when Cain murdered Abel it was the first murder ever committed, Cain is the first man to be cursed by God besides Adam and Eve. Than assuming Grendel was Cain 's one-time wife, she gives birth the child of a God cursed man when she gives birth to Grendel. Grendel is "a fiend out of hell" (100), a "grim demond/haunting the marches"(103-104). As Eve was the first to give birth to a human child, Grendel 's mother gave birth to a demon child. Even if Grendel’s mother and Eve is not the same person, they are the first women of their kind, and are very much
Grendal, a descendant of Cain, is one of the main antagonist of the poem Beowulf. He lives under an inherited curse and is denied God’s presence. Throughout the story Grendal causes enormous grief and fear to the people of Herot. After so much pain and agony the king of Herot, Hrothgar, sends for the protagonist of the poem, Beowulf. He is a Geat and the epic hero of the poem. The wide variety of distinctions between Grendal and Beowulf is what develops the climax of the composition. Beowulf kills Grendal, so he is honored by the people of Herot for his heroic act. Since Grendal and Beowulf play opposite roles in the poem, Beowulf, they let the reader know how contrasting characters can develop the plot of the story.
Little opportunity for exposure to good provides Grendel, “a fiend from hell” (101), with the motive for evil. Not only is Grendel seen as evil for his ancestry, but he is clearly depicted as the devil throughout the epic battle between Beowulf and himself. “It was well-known to men / that the demon foe could not drag them / under the dark shadows if the Maker did not wish it” (705-707). Grendel represents this “demon foe” who is literally dragging away the Danes’ beloved friends from Heorot. Grendel feels no sorrow for the evil he has set upon the Danes: “but the very next night he committed / a greater murder, mourned not at all / for his feuds and sings—he was too fixed in them.” (135-137). Grendel’s, as the devil, only concern is that he tempts the people of Danes to shy away from their Christian religion in search of an answer to his demonic ways. Therefore, the condemnation of Grendel to a hellish life causes one to recognize the symbolic aspect of Grendel as not only sin, but the devil and all of his temptations.