21/01/13

Beowulf and Grendel: the fight

The extract we are going to analyze is from the epic poem Beowulf, the oldest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem. It was written by an unknown Christian author from the 8^th to the 11^th century. The action takes place in Scandinavia, but the poem was probably written in Northumbria.

The extract deals with the fight between Beowulf and Grendel, a demon and lord of Evil. The fight is set on the grounds of Hrothgar’s dwelling. Grendel attacks a sheer keep in which Beowulf and his warriors are.

The text is an epic poem, and it’s organized in paragraphs. The paragraphs have not the same number of lines, so they’re called sections. As this is a modern translation (by Leamus Heaney) I don’t know if the original version rhymed.

Analysis

·         The first section has the function to introduce the starting situation: Grendel is roaming near Hrothgar’s dwelling, he sees a sheer keep and he attacks it.

The section is full of long and close vowels, this makes the atmosphere of the section dark and full of gloom. The frequent alliteration of strong consonants like g, r, p suggests the strength and the endurance of Grendel. Grendel itself contains the combination gr and gives the sensation of something scratching, like his claws. The word order is altered, in order to underline some words or sentences, which are more relevant than others. For instance at line 6 “until it shone above him” , the verb, is put before the subject, “a sheer keep”, so the action is more important than the subject.

·         In the second section, the longest of all the extract, the attack is described. Grendel immediately kills and eat a man who was sitting on a bench and then he goes against Beowulf, who’s lying on the bed. Beowulf is grabbed by Grendel and cannot escape.

The section is characterized of a detailed descrition of Grendel’s attack. The list of body parts destroyed and eaten makes the reader feel sick, full of disgust; it shows the bestial, violent and hunter side of Grendel. The alliteration of the liquid sounds of b and l makes the reader feel the blood spraying and flowing. Grendel seems to be advantaged on the battle ground but the situation changes when the hero, Beowulf, grabs him harder than he has ever been grabbed. The monster is described as the “capitain of evil”, as the entire poem is a long struggle between Good and Evil. Now Evil is Grendel, and Good is Beowulf. Beowulf too, as the words itself suggest, as an animal side: like a wolf he’s a terrible hunter who scares his rivals. On the other hand he’s an hero and the combination of such characteristic makes him stronger than other men.

·         The third section describes the defense of Beowulf and his warriors. The try to strike the monster from every side but the acidic blood of the demon conjures every blade from the cutting edge. No sword can hurt and defeat him.

Beowulf and his warriors try to kill the demon using blade, and “seeking to cut straight to the soul”. He’s a demon, a monster, and his brutality deprive him of the word body as he’s something inhuman and unworthy to have a body. He has a soul, dark and evil, so the warriors try to kill his soul in order to defeat him. But Grendel is not like a normal opponent, he’s cursed and wicked: his blood is like an acid and corrode and destroy Beowulf’s warrior’s blades. He has both animal and supernatural powers.

·         The last section has the function to conclude the extract with the death of Grendel: fatally hurt the God-cursed is driven to his desolate lair.

The omission of the fight does not let us know how Beowulf defeats Grendel, but he did it. Now he’s a glorious winner and the monster is sick to death. Grendel corps is fatally hurt, and as rubbish he’s drugged to his fetid and desolate lair. In this section there is an alliteration of w and o sound, suggesting the sound of pain and screams of the dying Grendel.