ENG Assignment 1 Draft

need original title

Beowulf is an epic poem comprising of 3182 lines. The poem is about

Beowulf, a great hero who was a king of the Danes. In a part of the poem, Heorot is

attacked by a monster which is known as Grendel. After slaying Grendel, the mother

of the monster becomes furious due to the loss of her son and attacks Heorot. There

are several roles which are portrayed by Grendel’s Mother.

Grendel’s mother is a monster who possesses several characteristics. First of

all, she shares similar characteristics like her son. She is gruesome, terrifying and also

evil. Furthermore, the poet of the poem has made Grendel’s mother to possess human

characteristics. We are told that she can walk upright with two legs and hands. We are

also told that her eyes were bulging out and from her black hair stands a sprouting

horn. On her body, scales cover her making her possess amphibian-like creature. The

poet states that her scales are hard as a diamond that she can withstand swords from

hundred of males. She also has a deep and rough voice which intensifies every word

that she speaks. Her odor is the wet sea-water, and the smell can be detected from a

significant distance.

Villagers were not sure if the cave where had one or two monsters. This means

that Grendel’s mother was not terrorizing the village as much as her son. But all this

changed when they killed her son, Grendel. Grendel’s mother showed mother

characteristics based on her action when she learned that her son is dead. Every

woman would like to avenge anyone who attacks their son. That is what Grendel’s

Comment [1]: always  in  italics   Comment [2]: composed  when?  by   Whom?  do  we  know?  

Comment [3]: push  your  thesis  further  –   what  kind  of  roles  does  she  fit  into?  

Comment [4]: good,  but  I  need  to  see   quotes  from  the  poem  as  evidence  to  prove   your  argument!!!  

mother decided to do. When the villagers were celebrating the death of the monster

which has been terrorizing them, Grendel’s mother appeared and killed two men.

Furthermore, her motherly characteristics are seen when she went after the hand of her

son. This showed how she cared for her son that she felt humiliation when she

witnessed the hand of her son hanging on the roof of the hall.

Grendel’s mother is automatically placed in the evil category and a natural

enemy of Beowulf and his people when the poet stated that Grendel and her son are

descendants of Cain. Grendel’s mother is a monster due to her being a descendant of

her Cain. The poet placed Grendel’s mother in a position which makes her the enemy

of Grendel. As a result, she becomes the avenger of Grendel’s death. Hrothgar states

that “she had taken up the feud/because of last night, when you killed Grendel.”

(1333-4, 1340) See if you can add another sentence here that works to analyze this

quote further – can’t have a quote end a paragraph

The poet placed Grendel’s mother in a position that made her to be in the

maternal category. The poet described the earlier reason for wanting revenge. : But

now his mother/ had sallied forth on a journey, / grief-reached and ravenous,

desperate for revenge” (1276-8). After Grendel’s mother kills the counselor of

Hrothgar, Beowulf states that “it is always better /to avenge dear ones than to indulge

in mourning (1384 – 5). With these two context, there are two people who are after

revenge. Beowulf was revenging for Hrothgar whereas Grendel’s mother was seeking

revenge for her son.

Unlike Hildeburh, Grendel’s mother has no men who can act on behalf of her.

One confusing fact that that as a female character, she should be taking revenge.

However, she is the only kind which is at alive in her species.

Roles of Grendel’s mother

First of all, Grendel’s takes the role of a mother. Grendel is still a son to his

mother. When her son died, she showed a lot of pain, who was the only close relative

that she had. Furthermore, she went and avenged the death of her son, and took the

hand which was placed in the hall. She showed supporting characteristics to her son

and a lot of pain when she died. Living in the cave with her son also, showed how he

comes back home, there is someone there for them.

Another characteristic which I feel that Grendel’s mother possess was evilness.

The poem begins by stating they are descendants of Cain, the first person to kills

person. Cain being the person who killed his brother, it means that there are sort of

evilness in the poem. She hates the Danes only for one reason. They killed their son

and thus must avenge her.

 

Comment [5]: use  stronger  verbs     I  argue  

Comment [6]: is  this  your  conclusion?       You  are  being  a  bit  repetitive  in  this  essay,  see   if  you  can  be  more  focused  and  to  the  point,   cut  out  paragraphs  if  you  think  you  already   proved  your  point.    ithink  these  lines  of   argument  would  work  in  your  introduction   and  then  your  essay  uses  quotes  to  prove   these  points.