Theme Of Monsters In Beowulf

Throughout the Old English poem Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon were better known as the antagonists/monsters. The saying is “beauty is only skin-deep”, but in this case, it was more than their appearances that confirmed the definition of their behaviors. Much has been written on the roles, functions, descriptions, and underlying motivations and sources of the "monsters" presented in Beowulf. With a brief overview of the three, readers will be able to identify the nature of the monsters in the poem and compare their characteristics to the narrative.

The first monster that Beowulf battled was Grendel. He was presented as a coward and an insensitive beast. He was also referred to as "spawned in that slime” that was born into exile. With this, he was compared to biblical character Cain, “Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend/Grendel who haunted the moors, the wild/Marshes,

He was spawned in that slime/Of Cain, murderous creatures banished/ By God, punished forever for the crime/ Of Abel 's death." (26). Despite Grendel’s evil motives, he is determined to be the best and overcome any obstacle that interfered with what he wanted to conquer. Grendel was large in size and maintained strength of many. However, he was a coward. Grendel is shown as somewhat of a coward because he only attacked at night when the guards of the mead hall were asleep to avoid any form of physical manipulation. One night, he saw sleeping soldiers in the hall, which meant for him, it was his time to act. He grabbed a soldier near him and tore him to pieces with claws and teeth stuffing the dead man down in mouthfuls. When he went for another soldier, another hand met his, and it was indeed Beowulf. His finger joints began cracking and he had never felt such power between his fingers. He wanted to run back to find his own home. He was unsuccessful of getting away