grendelbeo Epic of Beowulf Essay - The Evil of Grendel -- Epic Beowul

The Evil of Grendel in BeowulfThe tommyrot of Beowulf, written during Anglo-Saxon times, is a classic epic tale between nice versus evil. It is a horizontal surface that gives us insight into the values of the Anglo-Saxon people. The Anglo-Saxons glorified heroism and the control of evil. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the character of Grendel symbolically represents evil done his setting and heritage, his hateful attitude toward men, and his vicious acts of murder. Grendels heritage and setting be two things that attri providede to Grendels evilness. In the story the author tells us that Grendel was a descendant of Cain(the son of Adam and Eve, who was cursed by God for putting to death his brother Abel). The poet writes, Conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain(line 42-43). The author makes the conjunctive between the murderous Cain and the evil Grendel. Even Grendels lair is a the pits of gunk and filth. Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild ma rshes, and made his home in a hell not hell still Earth. He was spawned in that slime(lines 39-41). When the author uses lines like, in a hell not hell but Earth(line 40), it really helps to create this vivid image in your brainiac of this terrible lair that Grendel lives in. He not only lives in the swamp, but also thrives in the darkness of the night. Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty hills and bogs, intent Gods hatred, Grendel came, ...He moved quickly through and through the cloudy night, ...his eyes gleamed in the darkness, burn down with a gruesome light(lines 363-367378-380). The poet shows how Grendel travels in the darkness of the night. The night is apply to symbolically represent evil. The poets descriptions of Grendels evil and dark enviro... ...out legends, and that is why the story has survived through the ages. It tells us of a powerful, terribly evil monster. The descriptions of Grendel are so alarming and evil that we can all draw our o wn vivid attend of him in our mind. This monster represents all of the evil in the world, and the hero of the story represents everything good in the world. The story has survived because it is a story about good versus evil. It is a story that we can relate to even now in modern times. Sources Clark, George. Beowulf. Boston Twayne Publishers, 1990. Fry, Donald K. Introduction The Artistry of Beowulf. In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Robinson, Fred C. Grendels Evil. In Beowulf - Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. forward-looking York Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.