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Monsters and the other beowulf
The symbolism of beowulf essay
The symbolism of beowulf essay
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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.
The first opponent Beowulf must face in the land of the Danes is Grendel, textually described as “a fiend out of hell … [a] grim demon / haunting the marches, / marauding round the heath / and the desolate fens” (Beowulf, line 100 – 104). The author also provides us with a moral description, explaining how Grendel is “merciless … malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (line 135-137). As we can see here, the author’s physical and moral portrayal of Grendel is rather unforgiving. We also resent Grendel further once we learn that he has wreaked havoc upon the Heorot hall for twelve years, “inflicting constant cruelties on the people / atrocious hurt” (line 165).
One may wonder ...
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...ts treasure, almost an obsession,” then can one really blame am animal acting through instinct and purpose? While destructive, it was indeed the greed and ignorance of man that brought the wrath of the dragon upon Geatland. “The intruder who broached the dragon’s treasure / and moved him to wrath had never meant to” (line 2215). “each antagonist struck terror in the other” (line 2565).
While the monsters of the poem are the antagonists of the poem, the author still manages to make the reader feel traces of sympathy for them. Grendel’s human depiction, exile and misery tugs at the heart of readers and indeed shows a genuine side to the figure, while Grendel’s mother and the dragon are sympathetic mainly because they were provoked into being attacked over things they both had a deep affection for. Their actions make us question whether they are as evil as they seem.
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
Beowulf is an epic poem written in Old English by an unknown author. The main character of the book, Beowulf, ultimately clashes with an evil monster named Grendel. However, before that battle, Grendel goes on a murderous rampage that spans fourteen years, and he continues it every night. Fueled by a hatred for the God-praising citizens of the town and the construction of a boisterous town hall right above his home, Grendel’s ensuing rampage earns him the reputation of a purely evil being. Although Grendel’s continued mass murder is not justified, the invasion of his home and unlucky birth make it understandable.
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 author makes evident what the evil is in the poem Beowulf. The evil dragon’s in Beowulf would be Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the final dragon who took Beowulf’s life. The author introduces Grendel in the beginning of the Poem. Grendel is the mon...
Although the novel is from Grendel’s point of view, his malicious intent still prevails against his innocence. As Grendel ponders on the past, he mentions that he “should have captured him, teased him, tormented him, made a fool of him” (Gardner 146). These evil thoughts are what cause the reader to think Grendel is “a fiend out of hell” (Beowulf 100). His willingness to do harm shows how he is the evil within society. The community shuns Grendel but puts Beowulf on a pedals stool in both works. Over the course of his ruling, the people believed that Beowulf “was one good King” especially since he was willing “’to perform to the uttermost [of] what [the] people wanted’” (Beowulf 11; 634-636). In difference to Beowulf, Grendel shows ownership of who is when “some evil inside [him] pushed out into the trees” (Gardner 54). Grendel stating this makes clear the difference between Beowulf and himself. Because of what Grendel thought was unnatural, “an evil idea came over [him] – so evil it made [him] shiver” (Gardner 83-84). The ways of the people have influenced Grendel’s horrendous thoughts. On the other hand, Beowulf’s goal in both works is to eliminate “the ultimate evil” and save the people of the town (Gardner 132-133). Because Beowulf is so determined to do this job, the people love and uplift him. However, the ultimate goal of Grendel is to “raised [an] attack [on] Beowulf” “and wrestle [] him”
Why should people feel sympathy for a monster who claims to have no conscious? I personally feel sympathy for the monster Grendel in John Gardner’s Grendel. The creature is portrayed as being a monster in Beowulf, but in Grendel, he seems like a child who is lost and confused.
Grendel and Beowulf are two feared beings who dislike each other, but are alike and different in many ways. Grendel was a powerful monster that lived in darkness and was feared by humans. He was evil, haunted the moors, and terrorized the Danes. He was not born as a human but as a demon/monster, and was described as something sent from Hell. The Harots singing awakened Grendel, which made him attack them every night. An angry Grendel made his way through the night seeking only to capture and feast on the Danes. Hrothgar and the sleeping Danes are in for a rude awakening.
The water of the swamp is “infested with all kinds of reptiles. There [are] writing sea-dragons and monsters,” but Beowulf, determined to avenge the evil done to the Danes, “[dives] into the heaving depths of the lake” (1426-1427, 1494-95).This shows Beowulf’s determination to complete his quest. True to the Anglo-Saxon pattern of a hero’s quest, Beowulf experiences a crisis when fighting the monster. In the midst of the battle, “the shining blade refuse[s] to bite” and thus “fail[s] [Beowulf] in his need” (1523-1525). However, Beowulf eventually prevails and slays the second monster and takes the treasure of glory but “carried no spoils from those quarters” (1612) because he did not embark on such a quest for anything other than to avenge the Danes and for the glory of the defeat. Beowulf completes his second quest by departing from Denmark and returning back to his home in Geatland. After fifty years of ruling over Geatland, Beowulf embarks upon his final quest to defeat a dragon that is wreaking havoc upon his kingdom. Despite his old age, Beowulf is brave enough to pursue the fight against the dragon for the “glory of winning,” thus aiding his lifelong quest for glory and fame
In the epic poem of “Beowulf”, the protagonist of this story, Beowulf, can be compared to a modern day hero because he battles good and evil. As seen in this story, Beowulf can potentially exemplify the good because he acts selflessly by leaving his homeland and is willing to risk his life to protect others. The three monsters that Beowulf fights; Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon, are representations of evil. In this poem, Grendel is being symbolized as evil. This great poem describes Grendel as “a fiend out of hell, began to work his evil in the world” (Beowulf 43). As the reader continues with the story, it is seen that Grendel is being compared to that of the Biblical figure of Cain who killed his own
Reading the Beowulf story again from Grendel’s perspective is totally different, in Grendel’s point of view, the wickedness of human nature exposes to readers that makes reasonable for Grendel to become what he is. From Grendel’s perspective, we as mankind start to recognize and see what we really are despite the hero figure describes in Beowulf. It arouses reader’s sympathy and compassion to Grendel by the fact that human is partial responsible for Grendel’s brutal behaviours.
This passage emphasizes how the Geats viewed the dragon, who was simply trying to retrieve a stolen cup, as an angry merciless monster who would stop at nothing to kill them all. To them, there is nothing eviler than a creature that destroys everything from their homes to their lives. Yet, that is the exact method that many of the warrior kings use to conquer neighboring towns. In essence, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are all harshly judged by humanity to be evil creatures because of the death they
Once Beowulf arrives at Heorot, Hrothgar says “ Now Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him here to the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel”(Heaney 27). The quote ultimately proves that Beowulf can be represented as the good because of his faith in God and Grendel can be represented as evil. Grendel can also be related to evil because of his inability to feel remorse for the many gruesome murders he committed, for example, “he’d come to slaughter the sleeping troops, fifteen of Hrothgar’s house-guards surprised on their benches and ruthlessly devoured, and as many again carried away, a brutal plunder” (Heaney
Cruelty and chaos against man is a universal theme in works of literature everywhere. The epic, Beowulf, is perhaps best known for being the oldest poem in the English language. The still unknown author of this work tells a story of a pure and benevolent hero who faces, and overcomes, the savage outside forces to protect not only his people, but the people of another nation. The main outer obstacles are the demon Grendel, the final dragon, and the conquering nations. Each outside abuser is cruel in their own ways, but no less ruthless. The outside threats faced by Beowulf and his society are barbaric.
In his essay Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J. R. R. Tolkien argues that the dragon, and possibly all the monsters in Beowulf, is "a personification of malice, greed, destruction […] and of the undiscriminating cruelty of fortune that distinguishes not good and bad" (17). He also argues, however, that the dragon is not purely allegorical either. This essay will explore this argument on the example of Grendel's mother.
Grendel is the first opponent Beowulf faces, and is the most human of the three. As a descendant of Cain, Grendel was condemned to exile, and he did not enjoy it ¨he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters¨(104-105),