Each battle have their own purpose and struggles, each one comes with its own feeling of obligation, fame, and struggle. In the book Beowulf there is a demon named Grendel who kills thirty men a night for the past twelve years and nobody is willing to go up against him until now. Beowulf has the strength of thirty men and volunteers to fight Grendel only to discover what seemed easy came with more struggles than anticipated.
As the great king Shield passed away Hrothgar took over for Shield and reigned as king. Wanting to build a monument for his success Hrothgar builds a mead-hall he calls Heorot. Grendel a descendent of Cain heard about Heorot and came to listen to the entertainment. When he heard the songs sung about God he became angry and killed thirty men a night for twelve years. Hrothgar’s men powerless against the beast cannot do anything to stop the monster. Beowulf hears of the demon and wants to fight it. He gathers men to help fight the demon. When they arrive they go to Heorot to prepare for battle that night Unferth challenges Beowulf with the swimming challenge against Brecca. The night comes and Grendel arrives to kill his thirty men like he does every night not knowing he was in for a surprise. Beowulf wakes and fights Grendel hand to hand no sword or armor. They lock wrists and after a while Beowulf his able to rip of Grendel’s arm killing him. While he was fighting the demon his men were trying to slay the demon with their swords only to discover Grendel had placed a spell on all swords so they cannot kill him. Beowulf and his men thinking they were done and helped Denmark gain back its freedom they begun to prepare to leave. Only to discover their journey has just begun.
Grendel’s death angered his mother so she set out to avenge his death. She goes to the mead-hall and takes back Grendel’s arm that was displayed as a trophy and she snatches a sleeping man. Hearing the noise it awakes the others and Grendel’s mother flees taking Aeschere and the arm with her to her lair. Beowulf not staying at Heorot was not able to fight Grendel’s mom. Feeling obligated to fight her and goes to her lair. Swimming across the water that scares animals away he arrives to her lair. He battles Grendel’s mom this time with a Hrunting from Unferth and also wears armor.
He lives in solitude in a cave at the bottom of the lake and is angered by the parties in the mead hall. To further emphasize the archetype, he is said to go on raids only during the nighttime. This shows more of his loneliness because he can not show his face in broad daylight. When his arm is ripped off, Grendel runs away. This shows his cowardice since he runs instead of finishing the fight on the spot. For the Anglo-Saxons, death in battle was the most glorious type of death, Thus Grendel running away would have been mocked by the crowd and re enforced the quality of courage. When the battle itself begins, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel bare handed. His comrades however stay to help him fight. This reveals the theme of loyalty. This theme is prominent during the main battle because Beowulf is shown to be, “Surrounded closely by his powerful thanes” (98). This ties into the theme of loyalty to one’s kin because although the weapons do no damage, Beowulf’s brethren stay by his side to help. This is also used to emphasize the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture, the battles serve as a way to show the listener the deep cultural significance of the kinship of the warriors. They are treated as one group,
The character Beowulf, “a man of great strength and bravery” (Magill 388), is a hero in the way he defends his neighboring country, Denmark. When the word that a hostile creature, known as Grendel, was killing tons in Denmark, Beowulf set sail to help defend the people and rid them of the hideous monster.
King Hrothgar once again looks toward Beowulf to take care of another monster. To get ready for this battle Beowulf wears armor and uses the Horting sword which has never lost in battle. Once again Beowulf shows his courage by deciding to go to the bottom of the monster filled swamp and fight alone. Fighting off monsters on his way down, Beowulf reached the bottom where he was met by Grendel 's mother. He tried to cut her head off with Horting, but she is too strong. Beowulf takes a sword made for giants off the wall, and uses his super strength to cut the mother 's head off. As a trophy of this battle Beowulf finds the body of Grendel in a corner and decides to take his head back to the mead hall. Hrothgar celebrates another victory by once again throwing a large celebration where they gave more gifts to Beowulf and the Geats. After two battles, Beowulf decides it is time for him and his men to head back to their homeland. Continuing to show courage, honor, and strength Beowulf states that if the Danes ever have anymore problems with monsters he will help protect
Beowulf is a epic retold for many generations from father to son, warrior to child, and it serves its name very well, epic! It starts off by explaining a newly built mead house, created by the lord of the Danes, Hrothgar. This mead house is massive and used by all of the Danes. But these people are now plagued by a terrible force, Grendel, a terrible monster who comes into the town and massacres its people. In a distant land, a prince hero Beowulf, hears of this terrible monster and decides to prove his worth by fighting and destroying it. Beowulf comes to the land of the Danes, and meets with Hrothgar to ask permission to slay the beast, it is then granted. When Beowulf first meets Hrothgar, he strips down taking off all of this armor that he wears for protection in battle and states that he will kill Grendel without his armor to prove his worth. That during the mead hall celebration, Grendel arrives and strikes a few of Beowulf’s soldiers dead, but then grabs a hold of Beowulf. Grendel then is scared for his life, for he has never felt that much strength in one human being, he struggles throughout the fight and soon Beowulf gains the upper hand, literally. He pulls Grendel’s arm out of its socket, ripping it free from his body. Mortally wounded, Grendel retreats back to his cave where he then dies. In the second part of this epic, it is Grendel’s mother who is the monster who comes for revenge of her son’s death. By this time Beowulf has left the land of the Danes and is going back home to the Getes when he finds that he is needed again by Hrothgar. He ventures back, and pledges to kill Grendel’s Dom just as he did with Grendel, just with protection this time. He goes to h...
“Beowulf,” a heroic epic passed down by word of mouth until the 6th century, tells of a brave soldier who gained glory by defeating different beasts. Beowulf, King of the Geats, chased riches and treasures every chance he got. His pride and desire for glory led him to Denmark to defeat the dreaded Grendel- a demonic beast who seeked vengeance for the intrusion of the Danes. Beowulf
Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all but his last where he lost his life. In his argument with Unferth, Beowulf explains the reason he lost a swimming match with his younger opponent Brecca. Not only had Beowulf been swimming for seven nights, he had also stopped to kill nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean. Beowulf is also strong enough to kill the monster Grendel, who has been terrorizing the Danes for twelve years, with his bare hands by ripping off his arm. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s mother, who is seeking revenge on her son’s death, he is able to slay her by slashing the monster’s neck with a Giant’s magical sword that can only be lifted by a person as strong as Beowulf. When he chops off her head, he carries it from the ocean with ease, but it t...
In the beginning of the novel, Beowulf takes interest in the plight of Hrothgar, King of Denmark, and wants to help him fight Grendel. Grendel is a large monster that has been harassing members in the mead-hall of the Heorot. Beowulf owes Hrothgar a favor, due to the fact that Hrothgar saved his father in years past. Hrothgar is honored to have Beowulf attempt to fight the swamp monster, and decides to hold a feast in his name. When Grendel shows up to the feast, Beowulf illustrates his bravery by fighting Grendel without any armor. When Beowulf wins the battle by ripping Grendel’s arm off, everyone in the mead-hall praises Beowulf for his acts of courage. In this scene, Beowulf proves that he is a hero by fighting off a monster that everyone else was afraid of. This made him look
Grendel’s mother was both bigger and stronger than Grendel. She sought out Danish blood for the revenge of her fallen son. She killed Hrothgar's closest friend along with many other soldiers. After her first attack Beowulf knew he had to defeat this savage killer or she would continue to return for more blood. He tracked where she had traveled through the woods. He found her lake where her evil lair lay in the depths of the boiling hot water. “Again lies with you; Grendel's mother; Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place; You’ve not seen yet. Seek it if you dare! Save us,” (56). Beowulf plunged into the depths of the uncharted waters aware of the fate that could possibly be before him. He challenged the sea witch even though his measly sword had no effect on her enchanted skin. His sword shattered and all odds were against him but even then he did not fear dying. He continued to fight the beast even when his ending was closer than ever. Beowulf scoped her lair in search of a possible weapon. To his surprise he found a magical sword made by giants. This was the only weapon powerful enough pierce her impenetrable skin. Beowulf spent hours under the water fighting the monster. The Danes lost hope and thought he had been defeated. Beowulf surfaced from the water showing that he has not meet his fate in this
Beowulf begins with Grendel attacking the Danes out of vengeance and hatred. Grendel is the relative of Cain which means that he is outcast to eternal darkness as punishment for the crime of Cain killing his brother Abel. Therefore, when Grendel hears laughter in the hall named Heorot, he is angry and a little envious, so he goes on a killing spree in order to put an end to the warriors’ happiness. Because of Grendel’s attack upon the Danes, Beowulf arrives in order to put an end to the killing spree: “And now alone I shall settle affairs with Grendel the monster, the demon” (Donaldson, p.8). The author offers no other solution to solving this issue with Grendel but battle, and after the battle is fought and Beowulf wins, Grendel’s hand is preserved as a trophy. Beowulf is rewarded with gifts for his courage, and now the Danes are at peace.
He wakes up and sees all his man hanging from the ceiling, on the flood, all over the place dead, full of blood. Beowulf is not sure of what is happening, until he is told that it could only be Grendel’s Mother. Once again Beowulf wants to fight her, confront her and put an end to all of it. Grendel’s Mother symbolizes revenge, love, weakness, difference. As stated in Jane Chance’s essay “But unlike most mothers and queens, she fights her own battles” (Page 154). Grendels Mother shows us that after all Beowulf is weak. When it comes to fighting Grendel’s Mother, Beowulf wants to wear his
Grendel has been attacking the people of Heorot for a very long time. For twelve long years everyone has been in a panic and gossiping about the monster, Grendel. Over time the stories have bled into the land of the Geats. Beowulf hears this and feels that it is his duty to protect the Danes
Beowulf is now involved with two battles because of the King’s lack of vigor. Similar to the slaying of Grendel, Hrothgar request to kill Grendel’s mother in return for a reward, “I will compensate you for settling the feud/as I did last time with lavish wealth” (1380-1381). This time, the battle seems to be more personal because Hrothgar’s “true mentor,” “Aeschere is dead” (1323-1325). He speaks of Grendel’s mother with antipathy and describes her as a “killer” who “slaughtered” a “wise man and a friend” (1329-1331). Ironically, he refers to her as “force for evil, driven to avenge her kinsman’s death” (1339-1340). Differing from the previous battle, he warns Beowulf because he knows the strength the mother possesses from her anger and need of vengeance, “Seek if you dare.” He also says, “If you come back,” which stresses the difference between this battle and the one with Grendel. Readers can conclude that Beowulf’s fight with Grendel’s mother is more personal and risky. Beowulf, in return, advises to the king, “do not grieve. It is always better/to avenge dear ones than indulge in mourning,” which contradicts Hrothgar’s depiction of Grendel’s mother as an “evil force” because she is “driven to avenge her kinsman’s death” (1384-1385). Hrothgar finds the killing of Grendel acceptable, but not the killings that Grendel’s mother commits. Both actions were motivated by
Beowulf looked over on the wall next to them and saw a magnificent sword hanging on the wall adorned with beautiful carvings, it was blessed with magic. No normal man could ever have lifted that sword, but Beowulf was no normal being. He waited for the right moment to go and retrieve the sword, and when he found the perfect opportunity and he ran straight towards the wall. He pulled the sword down with great force and began running towards Grendel’s mother. Beowulf took in a deep breath as he leaned back and heaved the sword forward. Beowulf had sliced straight through Grendel’s mother’s scaly neck, blood began to pour everywhere and he heard her bones cracking as the sword passed through her.
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.
Beowulf is called upon again to defeat this monster. Beowulf puts on his armour and takes the sword Hrunting and descends into the monster’s lair. Grendel’s mother quickly grabs Beowulf and takes him to the battle arena. Once there, Beowulf fights and finds his sword cannot pierce the monster’s hide. So once again, Beowulf throws his sword aside and fights hand-to-hand. Yet, he could not defeat her with his hands alone. Then Beowulf sees, “hanging on the wall, a heavy, Sword, hammered by giants, strong And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons.” Taking the sword and holding it high above his head he strikes the monster in the neck cutting deep into the skin, breaking bones and all. Thus ending his second heroic battle with a mythical beast and proving that he is indeed worthy of praise. Yet, this is not the greatest of his deeds.