Echoes of MonstrsitiesBeowulf
Every society has demons and monsters that the members of that society are fearful of. Those fears are only reflections of the society that are seen in that monster. In the long epic poem, Beowulf, there are three monsters that reflect aspects of Germanic warrior society. Grendel is portrayed as a vicious flesh-eating monster, yet the Germanic warrior fear of loneliness resides within him. Grendel’s mother harshly revenges the death of her son, which exactly relates to the code of blood revenge in the warrior culture. The last of the monsters in the poem is the fire-breathing dragon that is an echo of the ultimate hlaford and symbolizes the circle of life. All three of the monsters symbolically represent aspects of the Germanic culture. Grendel is characterized as the embodiment of evil, and his narrative function is to parallel Cain or Satan. Throughout the introduction of Grendel’s character, there are countless references to the devil and hell to illustrate him. “…A fiend out of hell, began to work his evil on the world (ll 100-101).” “ Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts (ll 106-107).” He is also described as a “God-cursed brute (l 121)”, and “
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1089
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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