Grendel’s relation to religion
In the poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, there are many different meanings and ideas expressed. Beowulf is an allegory because of its religious meaning. In particular, the meaning is demonstrated by its relationship with Christianity when talking about Grendel and Cain. Grendel has religious meaning and represents evil and greed because of his relation to Cain.
The classic story about a dragon slaying hero also has another religious meaning that represents evil and sin by portraying the character Grendel. Religion plays a big role in the story. The Christian belief in God is depicted in each fight scene and Grendel can be expressed as evil for being a member of Cain’s clan. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, who the Creator outlawed for killing Abel. Grendel represents the evil because he is related to a man that killed his brother. Cain's punishment was that “Cain got no good from committing that murder because the Almighty made him anathema and out of the curse of his exile there sprang ogres and elves and phantoms and giants too who strove with God time and again until He gave them their
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reward” (Heaney 9). One of these creatures is Grendel. Grendel can be shown as an enemy to God because after Grendel and Grendel’s mother are defeated Beowulf says “If God had not helped me, the outcome would have been quick and fatal”(Heaney 115), showing that God is in Beowulf’s favor.
Once Beowulf arrives at Heorot, Hrothgar says “ Now Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him here to the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel”(Heaney 27). The quote ultimately proves that Beowulf can be represented as the good because of his faith in God and Grendel can be represented as evil. Grendel can also be related to evil because of his inability to feel remorse for the many gruesome murders he committed, for example, “he’d come to slaughter the sleeping troops, fifteen of Hrothgar’s house-guards surprised on their benches and ruthlessly devoured, and as many again carried away, a brutal plunder” (Heaney
109). Since Grendel can be related to the devil and evil, the lake represents hell: Over churning water and bloodstained wave. Then for the Danes was the woe the deeper, The sorrow sharper for Scylding earls, When they first caught sight, on the rocky sea-cliff, Of slaughtered scher's severed head. The water boiled in a bloody swirling With seething gore as the spearmen gazed. The trumpet sounded a martial strain; The shield-troop halted. Their eyes beheld The swimming forms of strange sea-dragons, Dim serpent shapes in the watery depths, Sea-beasts sunning on headland slopes; Snakelike monsters that oft at sunrise. (Heaney 63) The quote indirectly relates the lake sounds to hell when talking about the blood swirling and mysterious beasts that lie below the surface. The cave alone is a much different world than Heorot; with Grendel being a descendant of Cain, everything inside is dark and full of evil and is described as “some hellish turn-hole” (Heaney 105). The epic Beowulf has ways of expressing the ideas of religion by making Grendel represent the evil and demon in the world because of his relation to Cain and hell. Grendel has malicious characteristics and lives in a place that closely represents hell, with its very dark and unpleasant representation. Grendel is also an enemy to God making him represent evil and making Beowulf represent good.
Grendel, as a character, has a much more complex identity than just a monster and a human. Some, such as Ruud, classify him as a mixture of three different characteristics, but alone, they tend to conflict with each other. By making the connection that Grendel represents immorality, the previous idea makes more sense, while simultaneously incorporating more aspects of the character into the analysis. In either case, Grendel represents much more than meets the eye, and provides a fascinating insight into
Grendel is the spawn of the greatest sin in the Anglo-Saxon era -- fratricide. Fratricide is the slaying of one's own brother. Cain was cursed by God, forced to have hardship in tilling the soil and was given a mark on his head. God's wrath would not allow Cain to abandon his sin, by death, and his curse carried on throughout the life of mankind. To read the complete story of Cain and his brother Abel, click here The sin of fratricide did not only mean blood-related family, but applied to the murder of kinsmen.
Grendel in the Epic of Beowulf is portrayed as a monster, a creature that has no thoughts on who he kills.While in the movie Beowulf and Grendel(Gunnarsson 2005); he is much more human-like. In parts of the movie, thoughts are led to believe that in fact he is not out to kill random people he only harms those who have “hurt him”.This, in fact, leads to believe that Grendel from the film really wasn’t the bad guy:it shifted towards the fact that Hrothgar was the bad guy for killing Grendel 's father This ties to the fact that as we modernize we tend to need a reason to do things, most people will not endure things if in the end the end result they won 't benefit from it. Nevertheless, the film has changed the perspective and/ or natural view that one as a reader would have taken from the
The first opponent Beowulf must face in the land of the Danes is Grendel, textually described as “a fiend out of hell … [a] grim demon / haunting the marches, / marauding round the heath / and the desolate fens” (Beowulf, line 100 – 104). The author also provides us with a moral description, explaining how Grendel is “merciless … malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (line 135-137). As we can see here, the author’s physical and moral portrayal of Grendel is rather unforgiving. We also resent Grendel further once we learn that he has wreaked havoc upon the Heorot hall for twelve years, “inflicting constant cruelties on the people / atrocious hurt” (line 165).
hough the story of Grendel and Beowulf is a good versus evil story in the original epic poem, John Gardner shows another side to Grendel in his novella, Grendel. Throughout this novella, Grendel is seen still as a monster, but a monster with a story to tell. He is a character one can empathize with, especially when he states things such as “My heart was light with Hrothgar’s goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways (Gardner 48)” which show that he has a conscience under his fearsome look. That being said, Grendel is influenced by many characters throughout the novella, the two most notable being the dragon and the Shaper. The Shaper was the most influential in Grendel’s story because of Grendel’s first reaction to the
Grendel represents Paganism. The killing of Grendel and his mother, represents the ending of Paganism and the beginning of Christianity. The cause of Beowulf’s pride and self-centered personality may come from the belief in the afterlife. Literary critic, Alfred Bammesberger supports this claim by stating, “The poem focuses on the royal glory… on the heroic achievements of Beowulf” (Bammesberger). All glory would carry over into the afterlife, meaning that the deeds that he performs will follow him into the afterlife. All the conflicts come back to those beliefs. In addition, Beowulf displays characteristics of pure pride, as well as carelessness, while battling the external conflicts which leads to his death. To conclude, “Beowulf” has many distinct conflicts and even more hidden meanings and
Grendel, the monster terrorizing Heorot, is introduced as being estranged from the rest of the world. He is described as an outsider, a descendant of “Cain’s clan” (107). Grendel’s outcast status leaves him living in darkness, his envy growing the more he hears the celebrations of the Danes. Envy and social status motivate Grendel’s cruelty, filling him with anger towards those who are human. When Beowulf and the Geats arrive, it is not solely out of honor that Beowulf vows to kill the beast. Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow, had an unpaid debt at the time of his death. Beowulf’s pledge that he would kill Grendel was a repayment, as well as an honorable feat. However, as Beowulf is introduced, the boasts he makes of his heroic feats and his “awesome strength” (29), only prove his barbarity. He boasts that “they had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes” (419-422). He goes on to blame the enemies for the vengeance that he wrought upon them. Beowulf dehumanizes his enemies, states that they were foul beasts who tainted the land, and he purified it. This is a sadistic view of life and battle, contrasting cruelty for the
According to Henry Bosley Woolf, “News of the evil wrought among the Danes by Grendel is carried across the seas” (86). When Beowulf, who is in his home in the land of Geatland, hears about the tragic attack that Grendel has caused the Danes, he announces his plan to sail to Heorot and help King Hrothgar with Grendel (Beowulf 45). Beowulf, by helping King Hrothgar, is showing great signs of honor because Beowulf feels as if it was the right thing to do since he had been successful in his past deeds. In return, Beowulf expects no reward for his action but rather just being able to put another notch in his
It is common opinion that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. This was probably true because at the time when it was written, most of the few people who knew how to read and write were in the clergy. There are various references within the poem to elements of the Christian religion. However, the story is about Pagan people and certain aspects of their culture are even glorified. The ambiguity of Beowulf’s religious content has caused confusion as to what significance religion had in inspiring the author and in what manner the author meant to inspire or influence his audience. I do not think that Beowulf is a Christian allegory because Beowulf had very little in common with the Biblical figure of Jesus Christ. I think that religion was not the primary thematic concern of the writer. Although there are discrepancies between the two styles of thinking, Beowulf seems to praise values which were considered moral and good among all humanity, both Christian and Pagan.
Christian symbolism in Beowulf is extremely obvious and prominent throughout the entirety of the poem. The author utilizes the Christian religion to symbolize the elements of good and evil and Heaven and Hell to help the spread of understanding of the religion throughout time.
The character Grendel portrays the fallen self, which will assert itself violently if neglected, and must be overcome throughout life. The monster Grendel mirrors the part of our fallen state. Grendel's ancestry leads to the biblical figure Cain, to which all evil can be attributed. Grendel represents the hidden evil of Beowulf. Rollo May describes this in his metaphor "the dragon or the Sphinx in me will often be clamoring and will sometimes be expressed"(174). Grendel represents Beowulf's Sphinx, that lashes out on others.
Beowulf begins with Grendel attacking the Danes out of vengeance and hatred. Grendel is the relative of Cain which means that he is outcast to eternal darkness as punishment for the crime of Cain killing his brother Abel. Therefore, when Grendel hears laughter in the hall named Heorot, he is angry and a little envious, so he goes on a killing spree in order to put an end to the warriors’ happiness. Because of Grendel’s attack upon the Danes, Beowulf arrives in order to put an end to the killing spree: “And now alone I shall settle affairs with Grendel the monster, the demon” (Donaldson, p.8). The author offers no other solution to solving this issue with Grendel but battle, and after the battle is fought and Beowulf wins, Grendel’s hand is preserved as a trophy. Beowulf is rewarded with gifts for his courage, and now the Danes are at peace.
Beowulf contains multiple instances of the usage of symbolism to Christianity. Symbolism is portrayed through the characters and situations in the epic poem. According to the Danes in the epic, Beowulf is viewed as a savior. Staver states, “Jesus is the young warrior who comes to earth to fight with Satan” (Staver 155). This means that Beowulf is a symbol of Jesus for the way Beowulf leaves his home to embark on a journey to rescue Herot by defeating Grendel, and it shows the way the Anglo Saxons projected their faith in Christianity through Beowulf. Also, Grendel is used in Beowulf as a symbol of Christianity as a representation of Satan or a spawn of hell. In the modern English translation of Beowulf, Rafeel writes:
In Both Grendel and Beowulf, there is conflict. The conflict is betwixt the themes of light and dark, Paganism vs. Christianity, and Man vs. Beast. Grendel, the main character in Grendel and the secondary character in Beowulf, faces external battles but the most important battle take place internally. John Gardener recognized the basis for Grendel’s predicament which is “his [Grendel] stubborn cling to skepticism and cold, hard reason. . .” (Grendel’s Geis). Though there are many different themes present in both stories, there is one theme that remains consistent throughout out both. This theme is the lack of acceptance. Grendel’s in-acceptance is rooted in his lack of understanding of the world and its functions. As a result of the many things that have taken place in Grendel’s life, he is perceived as evil yet, not because he wants to be. He is misunderstood and not accepted. Much of Grendel’s evil wrongdoing comes as a result of lack of acceptance, lack of communication, and his ignorance.
The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic chronicling the illustrious deeds of the great Geatish warrior Beowulf, who voyages across the seas to rid the Danes of an evil monster, Grendel, who has been wreaking havoc and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land of a fiendish monster and halting its scourge of evil while the monster is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves to die because of its evil actions. In the epic poem, Beowulf the authors portrays Grendel as a cold-hearted beast who thrives on the pain of others. Many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel set out to change the reader’s perception of Grendel and his role in Beowulf by narrating the story through Grendel’s point of view. John Gardner transforms the perceived terrible evil fiend who is Grendel into a lonely but intelligent outcast who bears a striking resemblance to his human adversaries. In Grendel, John Gardner portrays Grendel as an intelligent being capable of rational thought as well as displaying outbursts of emotion. He portrays Grendel as a hurt individual and as a victim of oppression ostracized from civilization. The author of Beowulf portrays Grendel as the typical monster archetype as compared to John Gardner’s representation of Grendel as an outcast archetype.