Beowulf Response

“Beowulf ” is an epic poem that has been translated by Burton Raffel. It marks the beginning of English literature. This epic is filled with many amounts of action pack scenes. “Beowulf ” is set around the Anglo-Saxon period, also known as the Dark Ages. It tells the tale of a magnificent hero, Beowulf, who travels to another’s kingdom to conquer evil forces. As Beowulf gets older, he somewhat loses his luster and is defeated in his last standing battle. His death may have been tragic, but he left a wonderful legacy as a king and heroic figure. The features of the poem that brings it to life for me are its characters: Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and Beowulf. First of all, Grendel enhances the poem into actuality for me. On occasions when I indulge myself into a book or story, there’s always a character that I get a strong dislike for. In this epic, it so happens to be Grendel. As I see it, Grendel portrays himself as a miserable bully. Hearing the constant noise of happiness made Grendel very miserable in the lines: “A powerful monster, living down/In the darkness, growled in pain, impatient…” (“Beowulf ”1-3). As night falls and …show more content…
In my personal opinion, Grendel’s Mother can be compared to a human mother. They are quite a few factors that give me this impression, but I will just share a few. She tries to seek justice for the death of her son by killing who she thinks is responsible: “She killed a glorious soldier, cut/A noble…”(“Beowulf ”416-417). The mother of this powerful monster risks her own life to avenge her son’s death: “To save her life she moved still faster/ Took a single victim…” (“Beowulf ”410-411). Also, Grendel’s Mother takes her son’s arm to grieve in her lair: “She had carried off Grendel’s claw” (“Beowulf 421). She inspires me to be a mother with the same qualities, but to think with a clear conscious and not a grieving heart when injustice is