Grendel, written by John Gardner in 1971, is perhaps one of the most intriguing remediations of Beowulf to date. While the novel stays true to many aspects of the original poem, it also embodies several notable differences when compared to Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf. The most jarring difference is the perspective the novel is told from. Gardner tells the epic tale of Beowulf through the eyes of Grendel, one of the three monsters that Beowulf battles in the original poem. Furthermore, the novel also explores Grendel’s life before meeting Beowulf, and ends when Grendel dies, whereas the original poem encompasses the battles Beowulf goes on to fight. Other notable disparities between the two texts are Grendel’s description, and according
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Evidence to support this claim stems from the use of words like “I” and “me” throughout the novel in moments where Grendel describes his actions, or speaks to other characters within the novel:
“She tasted of urine and spleen which made me spit. Sweet mulch for yellow blooms. Such are the tiresome memories of a shadow shooter, earth- rim roamer, walker of the world’s weird wall. ‘Waaah!’ I cry…” (Gardner 7).
The original Beowulf manuscript is told in a third person omniscient point of view which comes off as being “God-like” (Crossman) and makes the audience “aware of everything going on in the world as well as the past, present and future” (Crossman). More importantly, a third person point of view is effective because it allows the readers to know more about the characters, settings, and conflicts within any given story, whereas a first person point of view is limited to the information received by the character whose eyes’ the story is being told from. However, by using a first person point of view, Gardner is able to introduce his readers to new ideas on why Grendel acts as he does, and even how Grendel felt during his final moments alive. As a result, readers see a side to Grendel they are not able to see by reading the original. Grendel is presented as being evil in Beowulf, however the extent to his evilness isn’t as effectively portrayed …show more content…
Upon discussing his youth, Grendel begins to talk about his mother and states, “[She] stared at me as if to consume me, like a troll. She loved me, in some mysterious sense I understood without her speaking it. I was her creation” (Gardner 18). Grendel’s relationship with his mother is not explored depth in the original text, and the way he feels about himself is not touched upon at all. Gardner offers readers Grendel’s inner feelings in his novel when he writes (from Grendel’s perspective:
I was intensely aware of where I sat, the volume of darkness I displaced, the shiny smooth span of packed dirt between us, and the shocking separateness from me and my mama’s eyes. I would feel, all at once, alone and ugly, almost - as if I’d dirtied myself-obscene. (Gardner 18)
Much of Grendel’s appearance is speculated by readers of the original poem due to the fact that there is little information pertaining to his facade. On the other hand, the novel provides an abundance of information on Grendel’s appearance; all of which comes from Grendel’s own perspective. Words like “crafty-eyed”(Gardner 17) and “hairy” (Gardner 1) are used to describe
Evidence to support this claim stems from the use of words like “I” and “me” throughout the novel in moments where Grendel describes his actions, or speaks to other characters within the novel:
“She tasted of urine and spleen which made me spit. Sweet mulch for yellow blooms. Such are the tiresome memories of a shadow shooter, earth- rim roamer, walker of the world’s weird wall. ‘Waaah!’ I cry…” (Gardner 7).
The original Beowulf manuscript is told in a third person omniscient point of view which comes off as being “God-like” (Crossman) and makes the audience “aware of everything going on in the world as well as the past, present and future” (Crossman). More importantly, a third person point of view is effective because it allows the readers to know more about the characters, settings, and conflicts within any given story, whereas a first person point of view is limited to the information received by the character whose eyes’ the story is being told from. However, by using a first person point of view, Gardner is able to introduce his readers to new ideas on why Grendel acts as he does, and even how Grendel felt during his final moments alive. As a result, readers see a side to Grendel they are not able to see by reading the original. Grendel is presented as being evil in Beowulf, however the extent to his evilness isn’t as effectively portrayed …show more content…
Upon discussing his youth, Grendel begins to talk about his mother and states, “[She] stared at me as if to consume me, like a troll. She loved me, in some mysterious sense I understood without her speaking it. I was her creation” (Gardner 18). Grendel’s relationship with his mother is not explored depth in the original text, and the way he feels about himself is not touched upon at all. Gardner offers readers Grendel’s inner feelings in his novel when he writes (from Grendel’s perspective:
I was intensely aware of where I sat, the volume of darkness I displaced, the shiny smooth span of packed dirt between us, and the shocking separateness from me and my mama’s eyes. I would feel, all at once, alone and ugly, almost - as if I’d dirtied myself-obscene. (Gardner 18)
Much of Grendel’s appearance is speculated by readers of the original poem due to the fact that there is little information pertaining to his facade. On the other hand, the novel provides an abundance of information on Grendel’s appearance; all of which comes from Grendel’s own perspective. Words like “crafty-eyed”(Gardner 17) and “hairy” (Gardner 1) are used to describe