Grendel
Essays

A close examination of the epic poem Beowulf does much to illuminate the mentality of the people of the Anglo-Saxon era. This period was riddled with much anxiety and was as a result of the difficulty of survival and the real life predators that people had to deal with daily. Thus, one can read Beowulf as an account of the anxieties of the Anglo-Saxon era.

Heroism is not something simply defined. It is a word so over-used that it has lost its meaning. To the authors of "Beowulf" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" the term probably had a clear meaning.

A slime-filled abode in a stench-filled sea.

¶ … villains in Beowulf and the Song of Roland, I believe those in the last-mentioned work are more justified in their actions than those in Beowulf. This at least is true from the perspective of the 20th century…

¶ … Beowulf, Grendel, and Grendel's Mother Monstrous?

An analysis of the male relationships in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Young Goodman Brown. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu is created to restore or create balance in Uruk; Enkidu eventually inspires Gilgamesh to go on a quest for immortality and in the process contributes to his transformation; in Beowulf, Grendel is Beowulf's evil equal and must be destroyed in order to restore peace to Heorot--subsequently, Beowulf undergoes a transformation through each of his heroic quests that enable him to be a wise leader; in Young Goodman Brown, the Devil makes Goodman Brown realize that a balance of good and evil must be present in every individual in order to help them determine what is right and wrong, much to his dismay.

The Anglo-Saxon epic of Beowulf relies heavily on the use of good vs. evil. This can be seen in the mighty Beowulf's battle with Grendel and his evil mother. Good and evil are also symbolized in the locations.

¶ … Old English poem Beowulf offers a number of contrasts in telling the story of the hero Beowulf and his fight to save a community not his own first from the monster Grendel and then from Grendel's mother.

The heroic code of comitatus, as it manifests itself in the story of Beowulf, relates to the mutual respect and obligation between a ruler or leader and his followers (Tierney-Hynes).

The answers to these questions are grounded in literary history. This is not an essay as much as it is an exploration of some of the greatest tales that have been told (both in ancient times and modern) and why they still need to be remembered. The tales of the Norse, Tolkiens books and Beowulf are all considered in these questions as the author tries to critically analyze them.