Beowulf Assessment

The epic of Beowulf reveals three monster archetypes, each one relates to an internal struggle Beowulf is facing. His battles between each monster eventually lead to his victory over each inner demon he is dealing with. Beowulf portrays this when he successfully defeats Grendel’s Mother “The water was calm and clean, the whole/ Huge lake was peaceful once the demons who’d lived/ in it/ Were dead.../They left the lake together.../Behind them the water slowly thickened/ As the monsters’ blood came seeping up”(ll. 1620-1631). As Beowulf walks away he assumes the battle is over, but the water begins to slowly thicken. This symbolizes how Beowulf is still struggling with his internal demons even though the initial victory against Grendel’s mother was won. This gives insight into how each battle plays a role into Beowulf’s internal struggle, as he soon discovers in order to overcome each demon he must first defeat the monster that represents this struggle. The first monster Beowulf encounters is Grendel. As a descendent from the biblical character Cain; it is assumed Grendel is pure evil due to the understanding that Cain was the first murder, forever casted out by God. This plays a role into Grendel’s hatred towards the warriors in the hall of Herot, during his attacks on the hall, he “came again, so set/ On murder that no crime could ever be enough,/ No salvage assault quench his lust/ For evil…./ Hate had triumphed…/ His misery leaped…/Grendel’s hatred began,”(ll. 135-151). Grendel’s actions demonstrates how he is driven by hate, this ultimately makes him the easiest monster to kill because as seen in his battle between Beowulf “The monster’s hatred rose higher, But his power had gone” suggesting that hatred was not enough to be Supreme Being and defeat Beowulf (ll. 814-815). When discussing the archetype hero Beowulf, it is revealed that he contains a similar conflict but instead of hating others he despises himself because he hasn’t achieved his ultimate goal,