What Are The Similarities Between Grendel And Beowulf

Object Equality

Though these two stories are told from opposite perspectives, Grendel and his counterpart from Beowulf are almost exactly interchangeable in both action as well as thought, since both characters’ main conflict, as well as the climax, are perfectly symmetrical. How could they not? They are both the exact same character, the same monstrous quadruped that terrorizes the same Danish kingdom. The amount of similarities present is insurmountable. Both renditions of Grendel go through isolation, are subject to insurmountable suffering, as well as sharing a sense of incredulous hatred towards mankind.

Though many similarities are present between these two transcriptions of Grendel’s story, the most pronounced has to be the sense of

isolation these two desolate creatures share. As we can see from Grendel, the monster states, “Pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows” (Grendel 6) while the epic poem Beowulf describes man-kind’s enemy as, “Shut away from men” (Beowulf 25). Supposing these two beasts are told from two separate points of view, this major aspect of both of their chronicles is thoroughly consistent. Both are remote, companionless, hermitical beings. Both are horrible, redoubtable creatures. All man fears them, therefore, as a consequence, whenever they are seen, man either flees from them or attempts to immolate.

Hatred.

Mankind’s first motive for murder. Grendel’s hatred towards mankind drives him to smother the life out of armfuls of men at a time. In the novel, Grendel is quoted as uttering, “It wasn't because he threw that battle-ax that I turned on Hrothgar. That was mere midnight foolishness... It wasn't until later, when I was full-grown and Hrothgar was an old, old man, that I settled my soul on destroying him—slowly and cruelly,” (Grendel 30). This quote allows the reader to understand why Grendel kills, why he is full of so much ignominy toward mankind. This is parallelized in Beowulf, with the poem enumerates “Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred, Grendel came, hoping to kill,” (Beowulf 269-271). Howbeit, while the latter quote speaks of animosity towards Grendel himself, the former deals with Grendel’s hatred outward, towards others. Regardless of this difference, the theme is tantamount, the hatred is continually

unfaltering.
Through isolation and hatred spawns suffering, the third aspect that both these characters share.

Grendel is a pitiful creature. He has no interaction with anyone other than his mother and the dragon. He is hated by man and alone, and he suffers. At just the beginning of Grendel, the monster declares, “And so begins the twelfth year of my idiotic war. The pain of it! The stupidity!” (Grendel 5). For over a decade he has been at war with the humans, for 4,383 days, he has been fighting mankind. He has suffered through his adolescence into the age where he is mature. He suffers due to his ancestors, which Beowulf explains nicely with the quote, “Murderous creatures banished By God, punished forever for the crime Of Abel’s death,” (Beowulf 21-23). Both examples of Grendel have only known suffering, their entire lives. If you were to put both of them in a room together, there would be more empathy between the two that thought imaginable. Grendel’s suffering at the hands of God, and mankind, is one of the utmost pronounced similarities between Grendel from Grendel and Grendel from

Beowulf.
Grendel and Beowulf are the same story told from two sides. The former being from the latter’s antagonist, and vice versa. Two stories will always have differences, since the devil is in the details, however, these two creatures have more in common (probably due to the fact that they are the same person!) than they do differently. Both go through bewildering isolation, feel and receive unparamount hatred, have suffered preposterously throughout their entire lives. It is a wonder Grendel didn’t start killing Hrothgar’s men earlier!