Beowulf begins with the story of hrothgar, who constructed the great hall heorot for himself and his. Grendel s ancestor is cain, from the biblical story of cain and abel. It opens in denmark, where king hrothgars splendid mead hall, heorot, has been ravaged for 12 years by nightly visits from an evil monster, grendel, who carries off hrothgars warriors and devours them. Grendel is a 1971 novel by american author john gardner.
The 20thcentury american writer john gardner told the story of beowulf from grendels point of view in grendel 1971. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. Beowulf had a ship outfitted for the journey, then chose fifteen warriors to accompany him. Exiled to the swamplands outside the boundaries of human society, grendel is an outcast who seems to long to be reinstated. Literary analysis of beowulf and grendel beowulf and grendel are two different stories, and characters, who look at the same situation in polarized ways. With a band of warriors, beowulf traveled to hrothgars kingdom where the kings thanes met them. Beowulf s struggles to overcome the monster are thought to symbolize anglosaxon englands emerging christianity. The narrator of beowulf claims that grendel s motivation is hearing hrothgars bard sing songs about gods creation of the world, which rubs his demonic nature the wrong way whatever the reason, every night grendel slaughters more danes and. Every night, grendel attacks king hrothgars wealthy meadhall, heorot, killing danish warriors and sometimes even eating them. Hes an old man now, and he is not as strong as he was when he fought grendel. Sometimes only ideas or themes are taken from the story. Though he has many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seems to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses, and he shows more of an interior life than one might expect. During the battle beowulf breaks his sword against the dragons side. Jan 22, 2008 the story of beowulf from grendels point of view.
His fights against a fire breathing dragon, a monster called grendel and grendel s mother earn him the title of the strongest and bravest warrior at. Despite this, the film is one of the more faithful film adaptations and attempts to be somewhat accurate in costuming to the 6th century. Fortunately, a young geat warrior named beowulf travels to heorot hall. Once upon a time there was a very good king in a far away land, the king of the danes. Beowulf, heaney translation, lines 144150 the king owned a building over which he had no nightly control. The bloodsoaked tale of a norse warriors battle against the great and. How the water witch warred with the dane folk 28 vi. Beowulf s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around.
With hringur ingvarsson, spencer wilding, stellan skarsgard, ingvar sigurdsson. The people had a ruler who was, himself, ruled by a deadly monster. They meet king hrothgar, who needs a hero to slay grendel, a hideously malformed trolllike creature with appalling strength and cunning who attacked and killed many of hrothgars warriors during a celebration in the mead hall heorot. Grendel appears the night when beowulf arrives at heorot. As grendel struggles to escape, beowulf tears the monsters arm off. The anglosaxon story of beowulf is told in three short animations, covering his battles with the monster grendel and grendels mother. Beowulf spots a huge, heavy, ancient sword from the days of the giants. An anglosaxon epic poem is considered the oldest surviving old english poem, over three thousand alliterative verses celebrating the greatdane who protected king hrothgar, conquered grendel and was ultimately defeated by a dragon. So grendel waged his lonely war, inflicting constant cruelties on the people, atrocious hurt. Likely the poem s most memorable creation, grendel is one of the three monsters that beowulf battles. Beowulf goes to the cave where the dragon lives, vowing to destroy it singlehandedly. Remembering his reputation, beowulf throws his sword aside and fights grendel s mother with his bare hands. Free download or read online grendel pdf epub book.
Grendel, a monster who lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, is provoked by the singing and celebrating of hrothgars followers. Beowulf, heroic poem, the highest achievement of old english literature. Beowulf and grendel s mother wrestle and struggle together. The 20thcentury american writer john gardner told the story of beowulf from grendel s point of view in grendel 1971. This one goes too pc and, i dunno, canadian in pitching grendel as a poor misunderstood outsider wronged by the smug, kinda racist hrothgar. With the help of the young man wiglaf, beowulf kills the dragon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. In beowulfs bloody battle against grendel, the first part of the story reaches its climax. Beowulf and grendel is a 2005 of icelandiccanadian viking film directed by sturla gunnarsson that retells the story of beowulf in a somewhat revisionist manner. It is the fourth in the series of known space stories featuring crashlander beowulf shaeffer. Beowulf, a thane of hygelac, king of the geats, heard of grendel s deeds and resolved to come to the danes rescue. Beowulf tears grendels shoulder from its socket, and the monster retreats to his. The story is set in barbarous northern daneland denmark. Pdf grendel book by john gardner free download 174 pages.
The geat the story of beowulf and grendel paperback. Beowulf, the good hero, saves a kingdom from a mean monster named grendel, his mother who wants revenge or to get back at a person, and a dragon. After recounting the story of his battles with grendel and grendel s mother, beowulf tells king hygelac about the feud between denmark and their enemies, the heathobards. The sword melts to its hilt after beowulf uses it to decapitate the corpse of grendel, which lies nearby. Oct 17, 2018 there one of king hygelacs retainers, beowulf, heard the story of hrothgars dilemma. Some critics feel that grendel s mother receives inadequate consideration in the poem. Similarities between grendel and beowulf 786 words 4 pages. Grendel is a maneating demon never a good sign that lives in the land of the speardanes and attacks king hrothgars meadhall, heorot, every evening.
In denmark, during the 6th century, danish king hrothgar and his warriors kill a troll whose son, grendel, vows revenge. The story of beowulf and grendel by john harris paperback book the the geat. After grendel s death, grendel s mother avenges his death by returning to the hall. The beowulf quotes below are all either spoken by grendel or refer to grendel. A descendant of cain, grendel is described as a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of god, the. Each character has their own story that is written from different time periods.
In his old age, he proves a wise and effective ruler. When he heard the story of grendel, he vowed he would cross the sea and deliver hrothgar from his enemy, for beowulf feared no one. After easily defeating grendel with his bare hands, beowulf saves the geats and they celebrate his triumph. It is a retelling of part of the old english poem beowulf from the perspective of the antagonist, grendel. It tells the story of the hero beowulf, and his battles against the monster grendel and grendels mother, and against an unnamed dragon. Beowulf manages to surprise grendel and grabs his arm. What is the moral lesson taught in the story of beowulf. The protagonist of the epic, beowulf is a geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendel s mother, and a firebreathing dragon. Beowulf quiz that tests what you know about important details and events in the book. The battle with grendel 8 out from the marsh fro, m the foot of misty hills and bogs, bearing gods hatred, grendel came, hopin g to kill 395 anyone he could trap on thi trisp to high. The book has been awarded with mythopoeic fantasy award. Grendel is a character in the anglosaxon epic poem beowulf ad 700.
Hrothgar presents beowulf with more treasures, and they embrace, emotionally, like father and son. Beowulf learns more about grendel from selma the witch and seer, who tells beowulf that grendel will not fight him because beowulf has committed no wrong against him. The story of beowulf has often been told in books, plays, and films. The anglosaxon story of beowulf is told in three short animations, covering his battles with the monster grendel and grendel s mother. Beowulf 1999 film beowulf and grendel 2005 film grendel 2007 film. Grendel s arm is hung in the mead hall as a symbol of victory.
He returns to heorot with a greater trophy, the head of the ogre, as well as the hilt of the magic sword. While the movie takes a few things from the poem e. The novel reflects upon grendel s twelve years at war with hrothgar and his people, with each chapter focusing on a different philosophical school of thought under consideration by grendel. Beowulf 1999 film beowulf and grendel 2005 film grendel 2007 film eaters of the dead, a book by. In 507, the legendary geatish warrior beowulf travels to denmark with his band of soldiers including his best friend wiglaf. The th warrior, which this occasionally imitates, is a much better recasting of the beowulf story. The poet chooses to relate much of this struggle from grendels. How grendel the ogre warred with the dane folk 1 ii. The novel deals with finding meaning in the world, the power of literature and myth, and the nature of good and evil.
He is one of the poems three antagonists along with grendels mother and the dragon, all aligned in opposition against the protagonist beowulf. Grendel is an english language science fiction short story written in 1968 by larry niven. Hrothgar had once done a favor for beowulf s father, ecgtheow, and so, perhaps feeling indebted, and certainly inspired by the challenge of overcoming grendel, beowulf determined to travel to denmark and fight the monster. Sometimes the full story is told, sometimes just parts of the story. The ogre is vulnerable because beowulf uses no weapons, and the hero has the strength of 30 men in his grip. A descendant of cain, grendel is described as a creature of darkness.
That night, grendel attacks beowulf and his men while they sleep in hrothgars great hall, killing the geat who desecrated his fathers head and then, revenge satisfied, leaps out from the second story, but is caught in a trap by beowulf, leaving grendel hanging by his right arm. And for a blood and iron epic tale it drags a lot, which the original poem never does. Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now hes an old king and cant seem to protect his people. Beowulf, however, is wakeful, eager to meet his enemy. The short story was originally published in neutron star 1968, and reprinted in crashlander 1994. His fights against a fire breathing dragon, a monster called grendel and grendels mother earn him the title of the strongest and bravest warrior at. At this banquet hrothgar promises beowulf many riches and treasures if he can slay grendel. Both of the pieces of literature, grendel and beowulf, contain the same story. It stars gerard butler as beowulf, stellan skarsgard as hrothgar, ingvar eggert sigur. King hrothgar, the ruler of the danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon named grendel. Grendel, the monster, is seized with hateful jealousy. Tales of grendel s evil spread across the sea and reached the ears of a young warrior prince named beowulf. The story of beowulf and grendel by john harris paperback book the. Beowulf heroically slays grendel and becomes the target of his mother.
Beowulfs struggles to overcome the monster are thought to symbolize anglosaxon englands emerging christianity. He cannot brook the sounds of joyance that reach him down in his fen. This epic poem describes the exploits of beowulf who is a scandinavian geatish hero. Grendels mother whips out a huge knife and stabs at beowulfs shoulder, but the chainmail turns the blade and saves his life. The joy of king and retainers is, however, of short duration. Once upon a time, in the far north of what is now called europe, there was a kingdom known as geatsland, and its ruler was named hygelac. Unexpectedly, young beowulf, a prince of the geats of southern sweden, arrives with a small band of. Suddenly, beowulf catches sight of grendel s mother again, and swings his sword down onto her head with a blow of great force. The main characters of this fiction, fantasy story are beowulf, grendel. Though its authorship is unknown, the poem was written between 925 and 1025, preserved as the nowell codex, badly.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Beowulf shows a sense of honor by first getting permission from his king to. Beowulf telleth how he warred with the sea folk 15 iv. In many ways, grendel is the most interesting character in the epic. Grendel moves in and out of a series of hallucinations in which he sees beowulf. In that story, cain killed abel and was outcast because of it. Grendel is described as afiend from hell, enraged from the laughter and merrymaking coming from the hrothgars meadhall, and goes on a terrible and destructive.
The giant claw later hangs from heorots roof as a trophy. The source of the beowulf story is located at the british library, in london, ms cotton vitellius a xv, f. The first edition of the novel was published in 1970, and was written by john gardner. The bloodsoaked tale of a norse warriors battle against the great and murderous troll, grendel. Beowulf and his men take the place of hrothgars followers and down lie to sleep in herot. His name was hrothgar he was very powerful and he had a hall called herot that was the most awful place always so joyful and filled with loud noisy music people always sang and never stopped shouting and. Beowulf is an epic oratorical poem depicting the heroic beowulf defeating the hideous creature that haunts the halls of herot. He is one of the poems three antagonists along with grendel s mother and the dragon, all aligned in opposition against the protagonist beowulf. Most scholars read beowulf as a multisectional poem, with the first being the story of heorot, where the danish warriors celebrate their heroic deeds in song until the attacks by grendel begin. Beowulfbeowulf preparing to cut off the head of the monster grendel. Grendel nearly took the advantage, but before he could seize beowulf, the lord of geatsland had fastened both mighty hands upon the monsters arm, and with a sudden twist that forced a groan of agony from grendel s lips, leaped behind him, forcing the imprisoned arm high up grendel s back, and the beast fell prone on the floor. The narrator of beowulf claims that grendel s motivation is hearing hrothgars bard sing songs about gods creation of the world, which rubs his demonic nature the wrong way. Ensure you watch the beowulf episodes to assess their. Grendel tells the story of grendel and hrothgars intertwined fates leading up to the arrival of beowulf.
The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 174 pages and is available in paperback format. Tidings of grendel s attacks reached the country of the geats. A hero of the geats in sweden, beowulf renders aid to the king of the danes, hrothgar. Likely the poems most memorable creation, grendel is one of the three monsters that beowulf battles. Grendel is a vicious, aggressive, bloodthirsty, and dangerous monster who appears in danish poem beowulf, as one of the three main antagonists, living in a subterranean cave with his mother, rampaging through the kingdom of hrothgar. Grendel, refusing capture, escapes by hacking off his own arm. Beowulf and grendels mother wrestle and struggle together. Tales of grendels evil spread across the sea and reached the ears of a young warrior prince named beowulf. Hrothgars mead hall has been attacked by grendel, a powerful monster, and his mother. Grendel moves in and out of a series of hallucinations in which he sees beowulf sprouting an enormous pair of wings. Knowing the essentials of a number of traditional stories, and armed with a. Wiglaf, the new king, is tempted by grendals mother. The beowulf poem was written way back before the tenth century. Maybe that is why the tale of beowulf and grendel has survived for at least a thousand years.
Hrothgar, king of the danes, or scyldings, builds a great meadhall, or palace, in which he hopes to feast his liegemen and to give them presents. The friesians attack, wanting to kill the legendary beowulf for glory. As they struggle, grendel slips on a pool of blood, and beowulf gains the upper hand. During the banquet unferth, a danish soldier, doubts beowulf s past accomplishments, and beowulf, accuses unferth of being a brotherslayer. Beowulf simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Which tells something of the youth and early manhood of beowulf, how he heard of the monster grendel, and of daneland.