Saturday, January 11, 2014

What causes Grendel to attack the mead-hall in Beowulf?

Grendel is the spawn of Cain, purely wretched by nature. His entire being is devoid of joy. Some think that when he hears the jubilant parties that take place at Herot he is filled with intense jealousy because he has never experienced anything happy. This jealousy may also be interpreted as hatred, which seems to present Grendel as pure evil, a rather one-sided view of the story. Some scholars prefer to present Grendel as a creature filled with bloodlust, but presenting him as a sad being without love experiencing envy seems to present a more complex story with more realistic emotions. 

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