Elements Of Evil In Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

In times before printed books were common, stories and poems were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. From such oral traditions practice great epics such as Englands heroic epic, Beowulf. In Beowulf, the monster Grendel serves as the sinister character acting against the poems hero, as shown by his unnatural strength, beast-like qualities, and alienation from society.One of the first responses from a reader of Beowulf is their surprise at Grendels unnatural strength, one quality marking him as an evil character. His great strength is shown first in his ability to carry enormous amounts of weight. There occur several instances in the story where Grendel lifts great amounts of weight. In Grendels first raid of Herot, a great mead-hall, he snatched up thirty men, smashed them . . . and ran out with their bodies to his lair (ll. 59-62). This amount of weight equals nearly 5,000 pounds a act that no normal man (or creature) could accomplish. In addition to his abili ty to lift huge amounts of weight, Grendels unnatural strength appears in his merciless killing of humans. He proficiently tears his victims apart before devouring them. Moments before the monsters demise, Grendel grabs a sleeping Geat and ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws (ll. 393-394). Only a force of evil could accomplish an act so gruesome, with such facility. One earmark of an epic evil character is their unnatural strength, and Grendel certainly fits the bill for ...