Symbolism Of The Lair Of Grendel And His Mother

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The Symbolism of the Lair of Grendel and his Mother The epic poem Beowulf, written by an unknown author, has three main antagonists. In this essay I will be focusing on the characters of Grendel and his mother and more specifically what their dwelling place represents in the time of the Geats and Danes. Throughout the story, these characters are viewed as innately evil monsters that exist only to bring pain and terror to the land of the Danes. They are what the people of the time viewed as those damned by God and fate alike. The place in which they live is said to be under water and very far down in the earth. The lair of Grendel and his mother represents hell, where true evil dwells and creatures that bear the Mark of Cain are destined to reside. …show more content…

Grendel is told to be an ape-like, giant monster. Through further reading, we learn he lives in isolation and hates the Danes of Herot for living good lives and being able to celebrate their good fortune. Grendel is said to bear the Mark of Cain. The mark represents Grendel as a descendent of the biblical character Cain who killed his own brother and was damned by God (Beowulf 20-21). He was conceived in Hell by monsters that bore the Mark of Cain. Grendel relieves his anger and hatred for the Danes by killing them. He torments them and enjoys the act. Eventually he is defeated by the hero of the story, Beowulf, the prince of the Geats, and his evil reign is ended abruptly. This introduces a character of great evil, the mother of

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