Monsters In Beowulf

The things that go bump in the night. Monsters, a figment of our imagination; A distorted reflection of who we are.The same could be said about the Anglo-Saxon and their monsters;Their monsters reflect their culture’s downfalls rather than its heroes and their strengths. In Beowulf, an anglo-saxon poem, grendel and his mother reflect their society’s problems.
The anglo-saxon in general were boastful, distrusting, and war-lusting people. They were open with personal affairs and quick to accuse. These are their downfalls. It is most likely because of this a dethroned queen, grendel's mother, has become a monster. In Beowulf the author does not directly state she is a queen, but one can tell she is due to the way she is strategic in the sense that she strikes politically and first in battle. The author states in beowulf’s battle against grendel’s mother that , “...all at once the greedy she-wolf .../ ...welcomed him in her claws” ( from beowulf ln. 574-578). Proving that she strategically struck first for her own benefit, and wouldn’t back down like her son in his battle. …show more content…
The problem that the anglo-saxon face with grendel in beowulf is exclusion and bravery; from the danes excluding him, grendel, has formed a deep hatred for his old brethren and so he feeds on the men of the tribe at night to gain revenge and as punishment. The punishment is not only for the men, but for grendel because as he has committed a sin he must relive it over and over in his “ … home in hell / Not hell but earth” ( from Beowulf ln. 18-19). In grendel’s fight with beowulf, he is constantly trying to run away. In doing this “ He twisted in pain/ deep in his shoulder/ snapped, muscle and bone split/ and broke” which is another reason I believe the danes pushed him away, because to run away from your fate is shameful no matter how scared you are (From Beowulf ln.