Grendel Responsible For The Death Of The Shaper

“He is dead. I should have captured him, teased him, tormented him, made a fool of him. I should have cracked his skull midsong and sent his blood spraying out wet through the meadhall like a shocking change of key. One evil deed missed is a loss for all eternity” (146).
Soon after the death of the Shaper, Grendel expresses his feelings to the reader, saying that he should have been responsible for the death of the Shaper. This point in time is critical, as Grendel has a realization of the ‘real’ world, which alters his Nihilistic view of the people and his surroundings. These words spoken by Grendel provide insight into how Grendel is ‘born again,’ the death of the Shaper contradicts Grendel’s Law; Grendel’s law follows a system of balance,

maintaining good and evil in moderation, this restricts Grendel from going all out and fulfilling all of his desire overnight, thus leaving his future with nothing to live for, however, his regret for not being responsible for the death of the Shaper hints towards Grendel’s craving for destruction, which in turn, leads to his attempt to destroy the meadhall upon the arrival of Beowulf.

Personal Response:
The relationship between Grendel and the Shaper is the main reason as to why Grendel was supposedly killed by Beowulf.

Grendel’s hatred towards the Shaper is interesting because Grendel is more jealous than angry, Grendel wishes that he could believe in the ‘incongruous world’ that the Shaper has created, this connection between the Shaper and Grendel also results in Grendel’s resentment towards the Dragon since the Dragon is responsible for clarifying the way the world works. Even though Grendel seems to believe that what the Shaper says is not true, Grendel still, inevitably creates his own ‘illusion’ of the world. Throughout the story, Grendel imagines situations such as the Dragon and Beowulf to challenge his beliefs; he tries to become the Shaper himself in a way, all whilst trying to break free of the hold that the Shaper has on him. The death of the shaper however, was the last straw for Grendel, this made Grendel realize that there was nothing preventing him from coming out of his shell, expectedly, Grendel’s subconscious breaks free of the spell he was under. This suggests that whilst Grendel was busy explaining how humans were inferior and he was vastly different from them, he never stopped to realize that he himself was under the control of the Shaper, this, to some extent, portrays the Shaper as

God.

Literary Response:
Hrothgar’s meadhall; Hart, represents the place that Grendel’s born again version carries out all of his major emotional phases. Beginning with the birth of the ‘new’ Grendel; the destroyer, all the way to the death of the Shaper, and eventually to Grendel’s demise (enlightenment). The meadhall also shows us Grendel’s excitement when the Geats arrive, the feeling of disdain towards his risk-free eternity upon finding out he is inviolable, and it also characterizes Grendel’s insight into the way the world actually works. The meadhall could be considered the heart of the story, hence the name Hart, as it revolves around Grendel’s accomplishments, failures, and his emotional state—all of which contribute towards Grendel’s life, eventually modeling his future.