Grendel's Power In The Epic Of Beowulf

A great deal of power is exemplified by both epic heroes through their individual overcome of their enemies. The most substantial display of Beowulf’s power can be seen in his defeat of the descendants of Cain. Grendel, the mother of Grendel, and the dragon were all formidable opponents that put Beowulf’s strength to the test. Grendel’s strength is best depicted in lines 122-123, “…grabbed thirty men/ from their resting places and rushed to his lair, / flushed up and inflamed from the raid, / blundering back with the butchered corpses.” Even though it isn’t stated directly in the text, the scale of Beowulf’s strength can be gauged equal to that of his opponent, potentially even more powerful as he defeats his opponent. So, after defeating Grendel

Hubris is an overarching trait that is also contained by both characters. Both characters’ overbearing pride produces negative connotations that deems them flawed epic heroes. The authors of Beowulf were said to be Christian, which had a major influence on Beowulf who was a pagan character. As said by Scheub, Beowulf “…contemplates his destiny from one vantage or the other.” In the background of the epic it’s already known that Beowulf was originally a pagan character, but for the sake of the Christian writers they made him believe in God. Now with a monotheistic viewpoint on religion, throughout the epic we see Beowulf make statements in which he leaves his fate up to God. However, Beowulf continuously dooms himself the more he fights for himself. The act of Beowulf’s pride starts towards the beginning of the epic where because of his lineage, he ventures off to the Danes. On lines 262-263, “In his day, my father was a famous man, a noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow” (896), Beowulf feels entitled to go and handle a neighboring tribes problem just because his family has a history of being great warriors. Furthermore, whenever Beowulf goes to battle his