John Gardner's Grendel and Henry Howard's Th' Assyrians' King with Fould Desire

People bring consequences on themselves when they make bad decisions and have bad desires. Invisible prisons are depicted in Grendel, by John Gardner, and in “Th’ Assyrians’ King, in Peace with Foul Desire”, by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. King Hrothgar feels like he is locked up with no escape through Grendel’s torturing and the Assyrian King also feels trapped. They both bring it on themselves and do not appreciate the consequences that come with their faults. In Grendel, Hrothgar feels tortured by Grendel because all of his warriors and people are being killed slowly by Grendel. All Grendel wants is to make Hrothgar pay for what he has done, such as letting his warriors run around free killing each other and leading them into war with enemies. Hrothgar never worried about anything even though his own warriors were dying, and all he did was sit back and eat. He never really felt pain or cared about cruel things happening around him like the scenes Grendel observed. Grendel never understood why humans could be so monstrous until he finally learned they cannot be converted. He decided to stop attempting to aid them and turn on them by killing them off. He decided not to kill Hrothgar so he can observe and finally feel pain from his wrath. Killing warriors and people slowly would be like slapping Hrothgar in the face and allow him to regret everything he has done. “Hrothgar says nothing, hoarfrost-bearded, his features cracked and crazed” (13). But there is no stopping Grendel from teaching Hrothgar a lesson. The sonnet by Howard describes a horrible king who “lost his honor and his right” and should just kill himself (Howard). The king described most likely knows he lost his honor and so feels trapped because he ca...

... middle of paper ...

...pt fighting. He had hope that someday the torture would end and he was right, Beowulf released him from his invisible prison. The Assyrian King on the other hand did not handle pain very well because once he felt it, he killed himself. He did not want to live up to his mistakes and overcome them. In a way he is weak because he took the easy way out from his invisible prison. There will always be consequences for your actions. Pain is always a factor, but it is how you handle it that reveals who you really are. If you ever feel trapped, do not just give in, stand there, and lose hope; fight back and learn from your mistakes and decisions! Grendel and “Th’ Assyrians’ King, in Peace with Foul Desire” are perfect example of what you should and should not do when you feel underwhelmed or trapped. Learn from the consequences you take in order to become a better person.