Grendel: Monster, Fiend, or a beacon of good?
A monster stalks the night, terrorizing the brave and the weak, but who is this beast? Why it is Grendel! Who is this horrible monster that everyone fears and is he or it really so horrible? Grendel appears in Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic written to praise the heroic defeats of Beowulf the savoir of the King Hrothgar’s people. In Beowulf, Grendel is a monster who wages war on the Danes for twelve years. He is described as a grotesque creature that terrorizes and defeats anyone who dares challenge him. He assaults the great mead-hall of Herot every night killing many of king Hrothgar’s warriors. Beowulf portrays Grendel to be a representation of evil and the sin of early man. This is revealed by the motives of Grendel, his origins and the dramatic and colorful language of the text. Beowulf gives Grendel a motive for his actions. In the opening lines of the epic, the Danes are celebrating in Herot. Grendel “growled in pain, impatient, as day after day the music rang loud in that hall, the harp’s rejoicing call and the poet’s clear songs” He attacks the Danes because of what appears to be resentment and hatred (Lines 2-5). This depicts Grendel as a harsh and vicious creature. Grendel “relished his savage war” on the Danes (Line 67). This depicts Grendel as an evil creature who wages war for one reason or another on the Danes because of his nature. Yet, the epic gives a little insight of Grendel’s origins. Grendel was spawned of evil. He is the descendent of Cain, so this could have significant bearing on his motives as well. Grendel’s nature and particular enjoyment of war has established him in the epic as a sinister and evil being.
Grendel wages war on Herot for twelve years, killing every warrior who has dared to fight him. For Hrothgar, king of the Danes, this causes “twelve winters of grief” (Line 62). During his attacks, however, Grendel never dares “to touch king Hrothgar’s throne,” which is described as being “protected by God” (Lines 82-84).As evil it is assumed Grendel could not harm the king or touch his divine throne protected by God because of God’s curse which has passed onto Grendel. Grendel is a descendent of Cain, as is told the first murder and who God cursed with being the father of the world’s evil creatures and monsters Language is used to convey Grendel as evil in the epic as well. An example of this use of language to depict Grendel as evil without direct reference is, Grendel is called “that shadow of death” who hunts “in the darkness” (Line 74). Darkness is usually associated with evil. Grendel is clearly defined as evil with this text. Grendel is described as a monster yet again in the epic and is also given an origin, “spawned in that slime, and conceived by a pair of monsters born of Cain” (Lines 19-21). Grendel is descended from the first murderer, and is born and lives in a world of darkness. Evil seems to be Grendel’s only representation used to describe his character and actions. Grendel’s ties to Cain and his dark sinister existence have ultimately portrayed Grendel as forever evil in the epic. Grendel’s motivations, his actions, and the language of the epic all help characterize Grendel as the epitome of evil and the sin of man. Grendel may continue to terrorize the Danes for a period of time and could not touch king Hrothgar’s glorious throne, protected by God, is the representation of fear and the consequences of sin. However, the epic always conveys one of the known lessons that “good” always triumphs over “evil”. Beowulf’s eventual victory over Grendel is the representation of society overcoming fear. It is a representation of how eventually sin can be redeemed with the triumph of man defeating evil.
