Abigail Larson-Barker
Ms. Peifer
English 10 IB
19 December 2011
Ms. Peifer
English 10 IB
19 December 2011
God-Cursed Brute
“So, after nightfall, Grendel set out/ for the lofty house, to see how the Ring-Danes/ were settling into it after their drink,/ and there he came upon them, a company of the best/ asleep from their feasting , insensible to pain/ and human sorrow. Suddenly then/ the God-cursed brute was creating havoc:/ greed and grim, he grabbed thirty men/ from their resting places and rushed them to his lair,/ flushed up and inflamed from the raid,/ blundering back with the butchered corpses./ Then as dawn brightened and the day broke/ Grendel’s powers of destruction were plain:/ their wassail was over, they wept to heaven/ and mourned under morning. Their mighty prince,/ the storied leader, sat stricken and helpless,/ humiliated by the loss of his guard,/ bewildered and stunned, staring aghast/ at the demon’s trail, in deep distress” (Beowulf, 115-130).
Between the lines 115-130, found in the story of Beowulf, this passage is significant because of the imagery and sensory detailed introduction it gives to the most horrific character Grendel. Not only does the passage bring personality to the dark and “grim”(Beowulf, 122) character, but the author of Beowulf, also explains Grendel’s “powers of destruction”(127) and how that power brings death among the people. This death that Grendel creates, introduces the strong element of Evil. This evil is contrasted by the Good of the warrior Beowulf himself, or in this particular passage, compared to the good prince of that land. This specific passage brings a strong emotional aspect of sorrow, pain, and pure darkness.
Grendel’s character is one to be feared when merely imagined, and in Beowulf the unknown author created a characterization of Grendel by using several literary devices such as, alliteration, symbolic diction, imagery and tone. Alliteration was used almost every four lines, creating a rhythm of dark emotion. Just after the break of dawn, as Grendel had murdered, the people were spoken to have “wept to the heavens and mourned under morning”(128-129). This alliteration not only enforced great sorrow within the text, but also created an enchanting yet eerie rhythm, by cooing the words “mourned under morning”, bringing darkness to the brightest time of day as an example of the destruction Grendel has brought.
One of the stronger literary devices used at the end of this passage was symbolic diction. At the end of the quotation, as the good prince is distressed because of what Grendel has done, Beowulf describes these actions as the “demon’s trail”(133). This symbolism brings definition to not only the emotion of the prince and his people, but also definition of Grendel’s personality by dramatic rendition. Grendel himself did not create a literal trail in which someone could follow, but less literally created a path of destruction. This destruction brought horror and fear among the people, leaving the prince in sorrow. These actions of Grendel explain his more inner self, because he is of pure evil, “insensible to pain and human sorrow”(119-120).
Imagery was the next literary device, powerful in bringing the image of Grendel and his horrid actions to life. As Grendel brings havoc among the people, he does not hesitate brutality, as the texts states, “he grabbed thirty men from their resting places and rushed to his lair, flushed up and inflamed from the raid, blundering back with the butchered corpses”(122-125). Describing for the sense of vision, the diction brings this imagery to life as you can see the brutally “butchered corpses” and the anger bestowed on Grendel's “flushed up and inflamed” features. This imagery empowers the danger and darkness of Grendel, as well as his fearful emotions that follow.
Tone was to be found in and along with the other literary devices, it created the fear that is to be interpreted along with the characterization of Grendel. As Grendel first sets out on his journey, the passage introduces Grendel, “The God-cursed brute was creating havoc: greedy and grim” (121-122). The words “God-cursed brute” right away bring a distressing and Gothic sound to the mere idea of Grendel. However, before the introduction of the paragraph concludes, the diction also exclaims that Grendel is not only greedy but also of a “grim” essence creating a haunting tone that cannot be ignored.
This passage is full of powerful descriptive diction, transforming the horrific character of the monstrous Grendel off the page and into detailed imagination. Though evil, Grendel is apart of the heroic Beowulf, he is the evil that contrasts and completes the good. Within this text, enriched alliteration that created a rhythm of darkness as well as powerful disturbing imagery created and characterize this evil, to the point of almost overwhelming emotion of; sorrow, pain, and darkness. Through many literary devices, this passage is apart from many others in the story of Beowulf, for it brings life to the demonic character of Grendel.
