Read Beowulf here, with side-by-side No Fear translations into modern English. She caused him pain in the same way that the Shaper’s songs once did. He was called Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, A valued shied-warrior, and man of the Scylfings, A kinsman of Aelfhere. Can you guess what happens next? Grendel starts "scripting" the dramatic adaptation of real events again. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. John Gardner, in addition to being the author of Grendel, was a critic who, in his controversial work of criticism On Moral Fiction (1978), took the position of a traditionalist arguing against the meaning and language games of his. Alliteration is the repeating of consonant sounds in a line of poetry. Grendel is a novel by John Gardner that was first published in 1971. 5 of 5. The dark presence that Grendel feels in the woods and the snake he mistakes for a vine foreshadow his meeting with the dragon. At the center of each kingdom is a mead-hall, a place of warmth, laughter, friendship, storytelling and celebration. A Tale of Two Cities Death of a Salesman Of Mice and Men The Kite Runner The Outsiders Menu. Evil. Perfect for acing essays, tests,. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Grendel is a novel by John Gardner that was first published in 1971. In the Battle with Grendel, Grendel had broke into Herot and attempt to kill all of the sleeping men, until he was seized by Beowulf. Instead, Beowulf grips Grendel’s arm with the strength of 30 men and rips it off his body all the way from his shoulder. Similarly, she is only able to express any affection for Grendel through physical gestures. In this regard, Wiglaf appears as a reflection of the young Beowulf. Grendel expresses the pain of his boredom and his apathy for the world around him before revealing the Shaper is sick. #2,045,568 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books. Grendel is a novel by John Gardner that was first published in 1971. Iago Vs Grendel Analysis 968 Words | 4 Pages. Chapter 1. Hrothgar rewards Beowulf with the bond of kinship as well as with treasure. by Gardner, John (ISBN: 9781586638184) from Amazon's Book Store. A famous ancient sword he finds on the sea bottom. An Inspector Calls As You Like It Death of a Salesman Frankenstein. 99/year as selected above. Grendel’s first description of the dragon includes many common features that come to mind when thinking of dragons except for one: his eyes. Beowulf has to swim for "part of a day" before he reaches lake bottom. Summary and Analysis. Beowulf Summary. The Shaper’s song has led to a religious philosophy among the Scyldings. Grendel is a deep thinker and a sensitive feeler, and he describes his state of adult existential anxiety with self-deprecating humor, poetry, and, at times, a violent rage that befits one of mythology’s most dreadful monsters. First, he fights Grendel when he attacks the hall of Heorot. In one of the poem’s most mournful moments, the narrator describes “some forgotten person” burying the collective riches of his entire, equally forgotten race. . Grendel Chapter 10. You are, so to speak, the brute existent by which they learn to define themselves. Section Three: The Battle between Grendel and Beowulf. Grendel was, in fact, the first and only Gardner volume to receive near-unanimous critical acclaim, though three of his novels— The Sunlight Dialogues (1972), Nickel Mountain,. His praise of God reflects Christian values. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. Next section Beowulf. Search all of SparkNotes Search. D. 1953. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. No one in the kingdom is convinced that the gods have life in them. Late that night, a group bursts into the dorm and tells the initiates to get dressed and meet at the train tracks. In the vast span of time, the entirety of mankind’s history registers little more than. Hrothulf, though polite, is sullen and withdrawn. Grendel's Mother's "hall" is an underwater cave, again emphasizing her outcast status. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. . Plot Summary. One can argue that this structure relates to the theme of the epic in that each monster presents a specific moral challenge against which the Anglo-Saxon heroic code can be measured. A corpse. The goat continues to climb, and Grendel shoves it down the mountainside and throws a rock at it, splitting its head. Its status as a symbolic object is renewed when we learn that Hygelac died in battle wearing it, furthering the ideas of kinship and continuity. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. 4. Through success in battle he has become rich and mighty. The dragon provides Grendel with a glimpse of the true nature of time, which the dragon is able to see stretching out toward both its beginning and its end. Beowulf receives praise for his victory from all the men. The ethical code of ancient Scandinavian society valued strong warrior-kings who could protect their people from outside threats (primarily, other warrior-kings and their armies). Which quote from Beowulf contains a kenning used to rename one of the two main characters. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. 5,250+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries. The firesnakes scattered as if my flesh were charmed. They only think they think. Enjoying being out under the open night sky, Grendel walks to some nearby cliffs. Grendel’s first description of the dragon includes many common features that come to mind when thinking of dragons except for one: his eyes. What are examples of alliteration in Beowulf during the Battle with Grendel's mother? Alliteration: Alliteration is a type of figurative language that many poets use in their poems. However, John Gardner adopts Grendel, an inhuman monster, to simply depict the flaws in men. This epic poem was written in Old English and, like other Old English epics, celebrates the daring feats of a hero, as Beowulf defeats Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon. He commits extreme violence against a mountain goat. Beowulf introduces himself and requests to speak to the king. Why is the use of grotesque, exaggerated humor appropriate in the novel? 1953. Grendel's mother embodies the theme of revenge as she buries her grief in an assault on Heorot. E. The goat upsets Grendel because it represents the inexorable approach of death and because it causes Grendel to see his own pointless, self-destructive path mirrored in the goat’s interminable climb. Grendel anticipated a battle, but the king asked for a truce and offered Hrothgar gifts. His people give him a glorious funeral, but they have been left unprotected, and they foresee “enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles, / slavery and abasement” (ll. 2 of 5. 99/month or $24. Having strayed from the right, virtuous path of life, Dante finds himself in a dark landscape of. Chapter 1. R. The snakelike face indicates from the beginning that Beowulf is someone that Grendel should fear. Poem Summary. Then, Grendel tries to kill and eat Beowulf but does not succeed. Video Quiz Course 46K views. Grendel warns the goat to get away, but it won't obey; it just keeps climbing up the rock. 99/year as selected above. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. Grendel is extremely embittered. A great dragon lurks beneath the earth, jealously guarding its treasure, until one day a thief manages to infiltrate the barrow, or mound, where the treasure lies. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. It was their confidence, maybe—their blissful, swinish ignorance, their bumptious self-satisfaction, and worst of all, their hope . He notes that the weak humans observe the rituals, while the strong ones ignore them. Behind my back, at the world’s end, my pale slightly glowing fat mother sleeps on, old, sick at heart, in our dingy underground room. The listed critical essays and books will be invaluable for writing essays and papers on. The Shaper would tip his whitened head, blind eyes staring at the. He does not know how he strayed from the road or how he arrived in the woods, but he says that he will record his story. Hrothulf sees the injustice and poverty, and he hates knowing there is such a large divide between the rich class and the lower class. The main action of Grendel takes place in the last year of that war, but the novel skips back in time in order to illuminate the origins of the conflict as well as Grendel’s personal history. A summary of Part X (Section7) in John Gardner's Grendel. Wulfgar, impressed with the group’s appearance. The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf’s victory is also foreshadowed by his rhetorical defeat of Unferth in the mead-hall, and by the story of his defeat of the sea. As a symbol of his power and prosperity he builds a magnificent mead-hall, called Heorot, in which he and his loyal warriors can feast, drink, boast, and listen to the tales of the scops, the Anglo-Saxon bards. Suggestions. At the house of the Shaper, people come and go, solemn faced, treading softly, their heads bowed and their hands folded for fear of sending dreadful apparitions through his dreams. Section 1. The narrator also comments on the action, usually to draw out moral implications: “Behavior that’s admired / is the path to power among people everywhere” (ll. But the ram stays; the season is upon us. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Grendel’s mother lives with Grendel in a cave in a vast underground realm. "Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend/Grendel who haunted the moors, the wild/Marshes, and made his home in a hell. All three monsters are charismatic and mysterious, and readers have disagreed about what they represent. Five people arrive at the house to investigate the scene of a crime, including the county attorney, George Henderson, the local sheriff, Henry. Crucially, Grendel is never clearly. The poem’s narrator has access to the interior thoughts and feelings of all the characters, even the dragon. 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. It was a cold-blooded lie that a god had lovingly made the world and set out the sun and moon as lights to land-dwellers, that brothers had fought, that one of the races was saved, the other cursed. Starts a fire. Life-bloated, baffled, long-suffering hag. Later, the symbol of the corpse is echoed in the. 1586638181. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. After twelve years of continued aggression, the great Geatish warrior Beowulf comes across the ocean to rid the Danes of the beast. The action. It is also an example of metafiction, a work of fiction based on another work of fiction. A great hero who slew a dragon. Grendel observes Hrothgar, noting how drastically his face has changed over the years. When two hunters from different bands came together in the woods, they would fight until the snow was slushy with blood, then crawl back, gasping and crying, to their separate camps to tell wild tales of what happened. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. After defeating the monster, Grendel’s mother attacks the hall, causing Beowulf and his band of warriors to hunt her down; he ultimately kills her in her lake lair. ”. A summary of Chapter 10 in John Gardner's Grendel. Chapter 5. Grendel is thought to symbolize. The dragon is cut altogether. 99/month or $24. A suggested list of literary criticism on John Gardner's Grendel . His name might be related to the old Norse grindill, meaning "storm," or grenja, "to bel-low. Beowulf does appear to be the fulfillment of the Scyldings’ prayers for a Destroyer to come and rid them of Grendel. A great, bearlike monster, Grendel is the first of three monsters defeated by the Geatish hero Beowulf in the sixth-century poem Beowulf. Take a quiz about the important details and events in Chapter 8 of Grendel. The corpse expands in significance, becoming not only a symbol of man and Grendel’s twinned fate, but also of Grendel’s desire to be accepted by the human community with which he has so many similarities. Villains are not born, they’re created. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. Search all of SparkNotes Search. ”. Next. Jay Rudd, "Gardner's Grendel and Beowulf: Humanizing the Monster," in THOTH, Spring/Fall, 1974, pp. In the first scene, Wealtheow welcomes Hrothulf to Hart. His night-work pleased him, his deed and its honor. While Grendel's psychology is not explored in detail in Beowulf, there is a sense. /Not hell but hell on earth. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. John Gardner: True Art, Moral Art. As an outsider, Grendel observes and provides. Chapter 8. If the ideas of art were beautiful, that was art’s fault, not the Shaper’s. I snatch a time when I crouched outside the meadhall hearing the first strange hymns of the Shaper. Grendel's mother (sometimes called his "dam") is not as huge or as powerful as the son, but she is motivated by revenge. Grendel shouts and mocks the cliffs, from whose height he could fall and die. In his youth, Grendel explores his vast underground world with childlike abandon. In the original Beowulf epic, Grendel displays nothing but the most primitive human qualities. From ravage had rescued the roving stranger Hrothgar’s hall; the hardy and wise one had purged it anew. Important quotes from Chapter 11 in Grendel. 99/year as selected above. His praise of God reflects Christian values. Grendel’s villainy is characterized by his desperation to find purpose and meaning in a cruel world that isolates him. Beowulf and Grendel, 2005. He was the mightiest man of valor in that same day of this our life, stalwart and stately. . Yet he, the old Shaper, might make it true, by the sweetness of his harp, his. " Page 26. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. The dragon claims that time is like a black hole, eventually destroying everything in the universe. The villagers, of course, are encouraged toward good, while Grendel is characterized as an agent of evil. Time and again, Grendel’s intellect is overcome by the emotional response he has to the Shaper’s art. At the house of the Shaper, people come and go, solemn faced, treading softly, their heads bowed and their hands folded for fear of sending dreadful apparitions through his dreams. 99/month or $24. In the early part of the century, writers such as T. I listened, felt myself swept up. A summary of Chapter 5 in John Gardner's Grendel. I hammer the ground with my fists. It is Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who killed his mother in order to avenge her murder of his father. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The poem’s narrator has access to the interior thoughts and feelings of all the characters, even the dragon. The next night Grendel repeats his raid. She is also an indomitable force in the academic field of seventeenth-century poetry (particularly the sonnets of John Donne) and a professor in a university English department. A summary of Chapter 11 in John Gardner's Grendel. Grendel anticipated a battle, but the king asked for a truce and offered Hrothgar gifts. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. In the first scene, Wealtheow welcomes Hrothulf to Hart. Grendel laughed as man after man attacked him, shouting about honor, Hrothgar, and God. Grendel, an outsider who spurns society, and Beowulf, an outsider who joins the Danes in fellowship, battle. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. SparkNotes SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. Throughout Grendel, the Shaper and his beautiful though fictional systems are presented as an alternative to the cynical, fatalistic outlook of the dragon. The revolutionary leaders spoke with the confidence of people who knew they would have significant historical legacies, but at the same time they had no idea if their experiment would succeed. A close analysis of. com you can find used, antique and new books, compare results and immediately purchase your selection at the best price. The blade slices cleanly through the Grendel’s mother’s neck, and she falls dead to the floor, gushing with blood. Tone Grendel attempts to maintain a satirical, mocking distance throughout the novel, but often finds himself slipping into an impassioned. The watchman guides Beowulf and his men from the coast to the mead-hall, Heorot, where he takes his leave. A wicked queen of legend who punishes anyone who looks at her the wrong way. The idea that violence and shame would make Hrothgar calm seems contradictory. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the. 99/year as selected above. Chapter 7 Summary. In Grendel, he is a lonely creature who seeks an understanding of the seemingly meaningless world around him. His defeat of Grendel and Grendel’s mother validates his. Only the priests were upset, and the icons were rebuilt. The poem’s overarching conflict is between close-knit warrior societies and the various menaces that threaten their boundaries. 4 of 5. Wiglaf, one of Beowulf’s kinsmen and thanes, is the only warrior brave enough to help the hero in his fight against the dragon. Get the entire Beowulf LitChart as a printable PDF. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Buy Spark Notes: Grendel (Sparknotes Literature Guides) Study Guide ed. I know only that it had a strange effect on me: it no longer filled me with doubt and distress, loneliness, shame. The alliteration helps emphasize the descriptive nature of the words. Yet he also says that Beowulf followed his destiny, and won the gold as was his fate. Explanation of the famous quotes in Grendel, including all important speeches, comments, quotations, and monologues. However, after years of being attacked by Grendel with no way of stopping him, Hrothgar seems resigned to. Choose an astrological sign and follow it through its associated chapter. No one in the kingdom is convinced that the gods have life in them. Hrothgar hosts a great banquet in honor of Beowulf. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Under this code, warriors were expected to. Search all of SparkNotes Search. Analysis. He lives in Geatland, a realm not far from Denmark, in what is now southern Sweden. Grendel’s Mother. Her steward, Antonio, has just returned from a visit to. Chapter 10. Director: Sturla Gunnarsson. Beowulf comes to the assistance of the Danes (Scyldings) for complicated reasons. Beowulf is divided into three main parts, each of which centers on the hero’s struggle against a particular monster—first Grendel, then Grendel’s mother, then the dragon. She enters the poem as an “avenger” (l. What is the sign’s relevance? What does it come to signify in Grendel as a whole? 5. The poet chooses to relate much of this struggle from Grendel’s. Grendel Quotes. Get the entire Beowulf LitChart as a printable PDF. Get access to this full Study Guide and much more! 6,350+ In-Depth Study Guides. Learn how they relate to the themes and symbols of the novel, and how they challenge the. Grendel knows it is because spring has come and the ram is now fueled by lust. In this regard, Wiglaf appears as a reflection of the young Beowulf. After establishing the novel’s linear plotline in Chapter 1 —namely, the twelve-year battle between Grendel and the Danes—Chapter 2 takes us an unspecified number of years into the past to tell the story of Grendel’s first exposure to the human world. And the fact that Grendel remembers his face from a forgotten dream hints that Grendel may know. Lines 837-1062. 5 of 5. Grendel. Ah, ah, it must be a terrible burden, though, being a hero. Debbie Park Mrs. I stamp. Grendel tries to scare it away, eventually howling so terrifyingly that the water nearby freezes, but the ram doesn’t react. 99/year as selected above. A few nights later, Grendel raided Hart again. Gardner’s twist on the tale is his choice to narrate the story from the. PLUS. 99/year as selected above. The play opens with Pythia, the priestess of Apollo, preparing to perform her morning prayer. John Gardner and Grendel Background. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof. Grendel sees the companionship of another as something higher (at least at the moment) than some abstract set of principles by which to live his life. Her sisters Rita and Anna also married white men, and her sister Minnie has passed away recently due to a “peculiar wasting illness. A Tale of Two Cities Death of a Salesman Of Mice and Men The Kite Runner The Outsiders Menu. Quotes. Search all of SparkNotes Search. 99/year as selected above. Grendel is a postmodern novel as well as prose poem modeled after the 6th century Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, on which it is modeled. Best summary. The monster Grendel has been attacking the Danish king Hrothgar and his mead-hall, Hart, for twelve years. Grendel finds himself in the presence of a huge, red-golden dragon that lives in a cave filled with gold and gems. Along with Grendel, Unferth represents the theme of envy in the epic. The play opens on the scene of an abandoned farmhouse. Huge and exceedingly strong, Beowulf is cold and mechanical, showing little emotion or. A suggested list of literary criticism on John Gardner's Grendel . The goat continues to climb. I thought they were only in poetry. 1973. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem written anonymously around 975 AD. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Hometown Loyalty. And so begins the twelfth year of my idiotic war. A summary of Part X (Section10) in John Gardner's Grendel. In Beowulf, treasure simultaneously has an eternal and an evanescent quality. " -Graham S. The Golden Torque. One of the central themes of Beowulf, embodied by its title character, is loyalty. A great, bearlike monster, Grendel is the first of three monsters defeated by the Geatish hero Beowulf in the sixth-century poem Beowulf. A wicked queen of legend who punishes anyone who looks at her the wrong way. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Beowulf, a warrior from another Germanic tribe called the. Important quotes from Chapter 7 in Grendel. A furious dragon seeking revenge for treasure stolen from him. Grendel, a large bearlike monster, has spent the last twelve years locked in a war against a band of humans. Chapter 9. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Grendel study guide contains a biography of John Gardner, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Amidst the general veneration of treasure, though, come some discordant notes. THEN from the moorland, by misty crags, with God’s wrath laden, Grendel came. Take a quiz about the important details and events in Chapter 11 of Grendel. ”. Chapter 5 Summary. "The Eumenides Summary. 99/year as selected above. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. It was a cold-blooded lie that a god had lovingly made the world and set out the sun and moon as lights to land-dwellers, that brothers had fought, that one of the races was saved, the other cursed. Our cover-to-cover analysis of many popular classic and contemporary titles examines critical components of your text including: notes on authors, background, themes, quotes, characters, and discussion questions to help you study. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. The stranger watches Grendel make his. The poem begins with a genealogy of the Danish royal family. 4:37 The Battle with Grendel; 5:37 Analysis; 6:46 Lesson Summary; Save Timeline Autoplay Autoplay. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Find all books from John Gardner. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. He has a son named Beow (called Beowulf ), also called a great. Grendel is profoundly bored and sick of the scent of the dragon that is around him, accompanying his protective charm. 1258), seeking redress for the death of her son at Beowulf’s hands. In Grendel, he is a lonely creature who seeks an understanding of the seemingly meaningless world around him. 4 of 5. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Lines 1-193. I had hung between possibilities before, between the cold truths I knew and the heart-sucking conjuring tricks of the Shaper; now that was passed: I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings! This passage occurs in Chapter 6 , just after Grendel has bitten off the. Then we will move to know the Spark History. 2 of 5. Grendel is a novel by John Gardner that was first published in 1971. She began writing The Outsiders at the age of fifteen, inspired by her frustration with the social divisions in her high school and the lack of realistic fiction for high school readers. Point of View. Grendel’s mother is evil, not because she seeks sorrowful revenge but because she is a creature of hell who hungers for death. Read an in-depth analysis of Beowulf. —There woke from him. It was decorated with the antlers of stags; the name means "hart [stag] hall. Gorter and Grendel's membrane theory (1920) Diagram of the arrangement of amphipathic lipid molecules to form a lipid bi-layer. Vandergrift British Literature H. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Having spent his life working in the. This is more than an awkward moment for the hosts. At the conclusion of the feast, Beowulf pledges to Queen Wealhtheow that he will either defeat Grendel that night or die in his efforts to do so. Modthryth’s story is told in order to contrast her cruelty with Hygd’s gentle and reasonable behavior. Chapter 5. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Moved Permanently. Here, “bone-house,” meaning “body,” is an example of a “kenning. Grendel is oddly protective of his space and attempts to shoo the goat away, although the goat remains standing after Grendel rolls a tree at it and. The rivalry between Unferth, a Danish warrior, and Beowulf has formed a subplot of the story since Beowulf’s first appearance at Hrothgar’s hall, when Unferth challenged the hero’s claims. I know only that it had a strange effect on me: it no longer filled me with doubt and distress, loneliness, shame. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. I no longer remember exactly what he sang. Analysis. The boredom is more than he can take. Fortunately, a young warrior named Beowulf shows up. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. The Consolation of Philosophy Summary. From the creators of SparkNotes. Grendel observes Hrothgar, noting how drastically his face has changed over the years. Herot and the Emergence of Grendel. . We will start with an introduction to Apache Spark Programming. In his prime, Hrothgar built the Scyldings into a powerful military and social entity, symbolized by the erection of his great mead-hall, Heorot. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. In his youth, Grendel explores his vast underground world with childlike abandon. She is a lady I have watched with the greatest admiration. Video Quiz Course 46K views. A summary of Chapter 11 in John Gardner's Grendel. Grendel is based on the sixth-century Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, a work in which Grendel is a grotesque, violent monster who terrorizes a small community of Danish warriors. The Outsiders is a novel by S. Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1971. The eyes slanted downward, never blinking, unfeeling as a snake’s. Beowulf’s antagonists are the three monsters: he literally combats them, and these three fights form the three major episodes of the poem. The dragon provides Grendel with a glimpse of the true nature of time, which the dragon is able to see stretching out toward both its beginning and its end. The collar or necklace that Wealhtheow gives Beowulf is a symbol of the bond of loyalty between her people and Beowulf—and, by extension, the Geats. Beowulf Summary and Analysis of Lines 1-193. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Summary. He laughs obscenely and points out that Grendel’s reaction to him is just like the humans’ reaction to Grendel. Beowulf is speaking these words as he nears the end of his life, after he has defeated the fiery dragon who guarded an ancient hoard of treasure. He lives in Geatland, a realm not far from Denmark, in what is now southern Sweden. 99/month or $24. Grendel is evil because he is a demon from hell and thus a “foe of mankind. Character Analysis Grendel's Mother. Beowulf is told from a third-person omniscient point of view. Grendel’s encounter with the dragon is one of the most important events of the novel. Yet I was swept up. Chapter 1. What keeps climbing up the cliff, even after Grendel kills it with stones? 18 . Shortly after Beowulf's arrival, Unferth, full of mead, insults the guest at a banquet.