Beowulf · Chapter
Grendel the Murderer explained
Grendel attacks Heorot at night, slaughtering thirty thanemen and continuing his murderous raids for twelve winters, causing great sorrow for King Hrothgar and his people, who turn to heathen practices in desperation.
What happens
Grendel attacks Heorot at night, slaughtering thirty thanemen and continuing his murderous raids for twelve winters, causing great sorrow for King Hrothgar and his people, who turn to heathen practices in desperation.
Themes in this chapter
Good versus Evil
Grendel is depicted as a monster of evil, a foe of mankind, who opposes God and brings suffering to the Danes.
Monstrosity and the Other
Grendel is described as a horrible hermit, a death-shade, and a spirit accursed, emphasizing his monstrous and alien nature.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Then he found there reposing many a noble / Asleep after supper; sorrow the heroes, / Misery knew not. The monster of evil / Greedy and cruel tarried but little, / Fell and frantic, and forced from their slumbers / Thirty of thanemen; thence he departed / Leaping and laughing, his lair to return to, / With surfeit of slaughter sallying homeward.”
Grendel found the warriors sleeping after their feast, unaware of the coming horror. Without hesitation, the greedy and cruel monster seized thirty thanemen from their beds, killed them, and gleefully carried their bodies back to his lair.
Describes Grendel's first attack on Heorot, slaughtering thirty men.
“So ruled he and strongly strove against justice / Lone against all men, till empty uptowered / The choicest of houses. Long was the season: / Twelve-winters’ time torture suffered / The friend of the Scyldings, every affliction, / Endless agony;”
Grendel tyrannized the hall, fighting alone against all men, until the finest building stood empty. For twelve long winters, Hrothgar endured endless suffering and affliction.
Highlights the duration and severity of Grendel's attacks over twelve years.