THE BATTLE OF GRENDEL

FROM BEOWULF

What is known about the author of Beowulf?

The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred

to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet". The story is set in
Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid
of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in
Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as
Grendel.

Plot of the story

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. Grendel tried to free himself, but Beowulf's grip was to strong. His only
thought was to escape Beowulf's grasp and flee back to his cave. They battled throughout Herot with
their bare hands. Beowulf then snapped Grendel's arm off and he was able to escape back to his cave,
where he laid to die. Grendel's mother soon attacks Herot in the avarice for her son. She carried off
Hrothgar's closest friend and Grendel's arm. Beowulf is awakened and called for again.

Assessment
The battle with Grendel took place in Herot, King Hrothgar's palace.

Beowulf:The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel,
Grendel's mother, and a fire-breathing dragon.

Grendel: one of three antagonists,Grendel is usually depicted as a monster or a Giant, Grendel is

feared by all except Beowulf.

First Geat: One of Beowulf's men who is devoured by Grendel in Herot.

Grendel's Mother: one of the three antagonists,is not as huge or as powerful as her son, but she
is motivated by revenge for the death of her son.

Grendel burst into Herot, breaks down the door and immediately grabs a Geatish warrior and
devours him, the reaches to snatch up Beowulf, but Beowulf gripped Grendel's arm and held him
down. Grendel was surprised and terrified by the strength of Beowulf. He trs to flee back to his
cave, but Beowulf wouldn't let go, he soon broke off Grendel's arm and Grendel runs away.
Grendel lays down in his cave bleeding, waiting to meet his demise. Soon after his death Grendel's
monstrous mother seeks revenge for the death of her son.
Summary of the Battle with Grendel

Once upon a time, there was a monster named Grendel. Every night, he attacks the place of King Hrothgar.
Beowulf volunteered to help the danes in fighting Grendel because his father owed King Hrothgar a bucket
of gratitude, especially, back when his father is still a king.

One night, Grendel came into the hall. He snatched a victim without knowing that there is a pair of eyes
watching for his next move. For his second victim, he didn’t know that it was Beowulf and when Beowulf
held the claws of Grendel , Grendel was surprised. He thought that he haven’t meet anyone who is
stronger than him.

He wanted to escape and flee back to his den and instead, waited as hell welcomes him after his death.
Beowulf defeated Grendel. All the princes and other people went where the battle took place in order to
see the claws, shoulder of Grendel hanging on the wall. They didn’t have any doubt and was indifferent
when Grendel died at the edge of the lake. Grendel's blood boiled together with the water so they didn’t
see his body, mainly due to the bubbles coming from the lake.

As the people went back to the palace, they kept on saying about what happened, especially, the heroism
of Beowulf . Despite of what Beowulf has done for them; they didn’t say that Beowulf is better than King
Hrothgar. For them, King Hrothgar is the best among all kings.

Characters in the story

Some of the main characters in the story are:
Grendel
Beowulf
King Hrothgar
Themes of the story

The themes of the story are:

Heroism
Bravery

Vocabulary

threshold
a strip of wood, metal, or stone forming the bottom of a doorway and crossed in entering a house or
room

"Tore its iron fasteners with a touch and rushed angrily over the threshold."

talons
giant claws
"His mind was flooded with fear - but nothing could take his talons and himself from that tight hard
grip."

writhing
twisting and turning in pain

"That trip to Herot was a miserable journey for the writhing monster!"

taut
pulled tight

"In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain and defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel's taut throat,
hell's captive caught in the arms of him who of all the men on earth was the strongest."

sinews
a piece of tough fibrous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone; a tendon or ligament

"He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscles and bone split and
broke."

heaving
to cause, to rise or fall, at a swelling motion

"He leaped into the lake, hwould not wait for anyone's answer; the heaving water covered him over."

blunted
make or become less sharp

"On his back, and her stabbing blade was blunted by the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest."

massive
big and solid, bulky

"And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons but so massive that no ordinary man could lift its
carved and decorated length."

scabbard
cover or case for a sword or dagger

"He drew it From its scabbard..."

hilt
handle of sword

"He drew it From its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt, And then, savage, now, angry, And desperate,
lifted it high over his head."
MAIN IDEAS KEY FACTS

Full Title · Beowulf

Author · Unknown

Type Of Work · Poem

Genre · Alliterative verse; elegy; resembles heroic epic, though smaller in scope than most classical
epics

Language · Anglo-Saxon (also called Old English)

Time And Place Written · Estimates of the date of composition range between 700 and 1000 a.d.;
written in England

Date Of First Publication · The only manuscript in which Beowulf is preserved is thought to have been
written around 1000 a.d.

Publisher · The original poem exists only in manuscript form.

Narrator · A Christian narrator telling a story of pagan times

Point Of View · The narrator recounts the story in the third person, from a generally objective
standpoint—detailing the action that occurs. The narrator does, however, have access to every
character’s depths. We see into the minds of most of the characters (even Grendel) at one point or
another, and the narrative also moves forward and backward in time with considerable freedom.

Tone · The poet is generally enthusiastic about Beowulf’s feats, but he often surrounds the events he
narrates with a sense of doom.

Tense · Past, but with digressions into the distant past and predictions of the future

Setting (Time) · The main action of the story is set around 500 a.d.; the narrative also recounts historical
events that happened much earlier.

Setting (Place) · Denmark and Geatland (a region in what is now southern Sweden)

Protagonist · Beowulf

Major Conflict · The poem essentially consists of three parts. There are three central conflicts: Grendel’s
domination of Heorot Hall; the vengeance of Grendel’s mother after Grendel is slain; and the rage of the
dragon after a thief steals a treasure that it has been guarding. The poem’s overarching conflict is
between close-knit warrior societies and the various menaces that threaten their boundaries.

Rising Action · Grendel’s attack on Heorot, Beowulf’s defeat of Grendel, and Grendel’s mother’s
vengeful killing of Aeschere lead to the climactic encounter between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother.

Climax · Beowulf’s encounter with Grendel’s mother constitutes the moment at which good and evil are
in greatest tension.

Falling Action · Beowulf’s glorious victory over Grendel’s mother leads King Hrothgar to praise him as a
worthy hero and to advise him about becoming king. It also helps Beowulf to transform from a brazen
warrior into a reliable king.

Themes · The importance of establishing identity; tensions between the heroic code and other value
systems; the difference between a good warrior and a good king

Motifs · Monsters; the oral tradition; the mead-hall

Symbols · The golden torque; the banquet

Foreshadowing · The funeral of Shield Sheafson, with which the poem opens, foreshadows Beowulf’s
funeral at the poem’s end; the story of Sigemund told by the scop, or bard, foreshadows Beowulf’s fight
with the dragon; the story of King Heremod foreshadows Beowulf’s eventual ascendancy to kingship.