Who Is The Monster In Beowulf

After the collapse of the Roman Empire in 410 A.D., the Anglo-Saxon Era began in England. Germanic tribes migrated to England and developed a tribal society that revolved mostly around war and agriculture. Tribal society often held traditions of storytelling and gathering in mead-halls to celebrate victories over a neighboring tribe. The first great story about a world-renowned hero is Beowulf. The main character, Beowulf, was a great warrior about whom people passed down spectacular stories of superhuman feats he had performed. The story Beowulf focuses on a battle between the hero and a terrible monster that harasses the mead-hall of King Hrothgar, leader of the Danes. Beowulf presents the monster, Grendel, as a horrific beast but by the 20th century, after hundreds of years of storytelling, his character seemingly evolves into a young, confused boy with psychological issues. The novel Grendel, written in 1971 by John Gardner, is a first person account from Grendel’s viewpoint. Grendel presents a different perspective than that in Beowulf because Gardner dives deeper into the psychology and motives of the monster rather than simply treating him as an animalistic devil. Although …show more content…
He does not speak of himself as a monster; rather, he acts as if men are evil. The reason for his meaningful poetry and plays is to give him some sort of significance in life other than killing people. He continues his raids every now and then, but the Danes still rebuke and hate him. Grendel ultimately finds himself in a bind with Beowulf. One night the men are sleeping in the mead-hall when Grendel enters; he is surprised that they are motionless. He is shocked to see that Beowulf breaks his pattern and tricks him: Beowulf was awake the whole time. He fights with him and is eventually defeated because he is tricked by a