The Portrayal of Grendel’s Horrific Nature In Beowulf In the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, the emphasis that the Beowulf poet places on Grendel’s horrific nature and his attacks on the Danish people can be shown through a biblical allusion in regards to his ancestry, describing his physical strength/power, and his association to the darkness. Grendel is a descendant of the biblical character, Cain. “He bore the curse of the seed of Cain/ Whereby God punished the grievous guilt/ Of Abel’s murder”. (65-67) In the story of Adam and Eve, their son Cain, ends up killing his brother, Abel. As a result Grendel exists as a remorseless monster, which is a punishment from God for the sin that Cain previously committed against his brother. Grendel is very strong and aggressive which is a contributing factor as to why he has attacked without being defeated for 12 years. He is described as being a “Grim and greedy gruesome monster,/Fierce and ferocious…/[Grendel]…show more content… Due to Grendel’s greedy persona, he wants nothing more than to strip the Danes from the jubilation that they experience, which in turn gives him joy. Grendel attacks the Danes inside of King Hrothgar’s mead hall known as the Heorot, at night. The dominant quality of evil that Grendel holds can be seen through his association with the night. Grendel is described “Like a dark death-shadow the ravaging/demon,/ Nightlong prowling the misty moors”. (120-122). During the night Grendel feels more in control to fight since everyone inside of the mead hall have fallen asleep. This gives him the advantage of fighting and killing without being seen. Grendel also casts spells on swords, so that they cannot hurt him. Due to these actions Grendel is a coward, as he prefers to engage in an unfair fight. A horrific nature can come in many forms, in this poem the Beowulf poet places emphasis on the fact that Grendel’s horrific nature comes from his advantage of being physically
