I agree to Vaught’s argument that Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother is more exciting and important to show Beowulf’s heroism in the poem than is his earlier battle with Grendel because the development of the story shows the development of Beowulf’s heroism. The fight with Grendel could be regarded as a precursor to show Beowulf’s overall heroism in the poem, just as “his successful introduction to the king”, because the description of this fight is relatively shorter than that of the fight with Grendel’s mother. Furthermore the fight with Grendel works as a means to show Beowulf’s characteristic feature that “is not with animalistic instincts of rage or fear, but with something potentially heroic and particularly human” which differs
