Beowulf & Grendel

Grendel: The Controversial Character Beowulf (Heaney) is the name of an epic written in between the 9th and 11th centuries. One of the first stories written in the nascent language of English, the epic contains three “episodes” involving the heroic Geat character, its namesake, Beowulf. In the first of these “episodes”, Beowulf, the protagonist, has to slay a savage monster named Grendel, the obvious antagonist, whom the author depicts as the scourge of the earth, the most evil being in all…

The Joy of Grendel “Is it joy feel?”(Gardner 173). These were the some of the last words uttered by Grendel before his demise. Why does Grendel feel this joy? Grendel had suffered inwardly all his life. Why is at this time, when Grendel is defeated Beowulf, does he feel joy? Perhaps, Grendel is feeling joy because this was the end of his struggle the two beliefs he encounters in the novel. At Grendel’s death, he has a revelation that he should have had while he was still living. In the…

The poem Beowulf by Seamus heaney portrays the heroic events that helped mold the nobel persona of Beowulf, but on the other hand the novel Grendel by John Gardner reveals a perspective that the poem Beowulf ______. In the poem Beowulf Grendel is seen as a killing machine, while in the novel Grendel, Grendel is portrayed as a lonely and curious outcast. The purpose of the poem is to tell the tale of the heroic man Beowulf, but the purpose of the novel is to tell the story from Grendel’s…

purpose to describe what is a monster, and in the Epic poem Beowulf, the author gives us two characters that are judged by society in totally different ways. What readers don't get is that the author has shown us two characters that the old culture has judged as monsters and heros, but he wants us to determine what both of them really are based on their actions and characteristics. The unknown author does a great job using Beowulf and Grendel to help describe two different archetypes, and have…

Religion: Beowulf the Epic vs. Beowulf and Grendel “They swim only out of fear.” “But still, they swim.” Beowulf (Heaney. 2000) is a classic epic where the protagonist Beowulf, a great warrior, embarks on heroic adventures and kings reward him plentifully with gold and praise. However, in the recent Canadian movie adaptation -Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson. 2005)- the director alters the epic, in particular Beowulf’s views concerning religion and fate. This movie takes the classic Beowulf,…

In the poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney and the novel Grendel by John Gardner both characters demonstrate characteristics of a monster, while also demonstrating human qualities. Such as their actions and thought processes making them both guilty for having some inner monster with a hint of being like a human. Beowulf is represented as a hero throughout the book because of his action, but in other character eyes he’s consider a monster. Beowulf resembles a monster by his large body structure,…

Beowulf, Grendel Compare and contrast. In story telling there are often two sides to the story such as how it is shown throughout Beowulf and Grendel. Beowulf is a story from the viewpoint of the danes and favors them in their story, but in Grendef it is in favor of the young monster named Grendel. In this paper I will talk about the similarities and differences between the two stories, Beowulf, which is a book about a mighty hero that sets out to slay monsters and Grendel, which is the same…

Who killed Beowulf? Beowulf is an old epic story that tells the story of a young warrior who comes to help king Hrothgar’s kingdom that is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. There is a movie and a textbook version of Beowulf. In the movie Grendel was king Hrothgar son; however Grendel was not related to king Hrothgar in any form in the text book version. Grendel’s mother was a very hideous looking person in the book; but in the movie she was portrayed as this beautiful woman made of…

The book of Beowulf (Heaney) and the movie Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson) have much in common; however, they definitely contain more differences because of shifts in culture that have taken place over the last 1300 years. The epic, more unrealistic and fanciful than the movie, reflects a more medieval mindset when it comes to understanding the relationship of good and evil. When cultural values come into play in the epic and the movie, so many changes and differences exist since time has made…

Grendel: Direct and Indirect Characterization Beowulf, an epic poem written by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, is a story about an epic hero named Beowulf who comes to the Danes to fight many monsters and save the people of the Danes. The first enemy Beowulf fights is a creature named Grendel. Grendel is described as a large non-human creature with large claws. That’s mostly all that is directly given about Grendel’s appearance, leaving the reader to picture Grendel as they like. Besides…