Examples Of Evil In Beowulf

In times before printed books were common, stories and poems were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. From such oral traditions come great epics such as England's heroic epic, Beowulf. In Beowulf, the monster Grendel serves as the evil character acting against the poem's hero, as shown by his unnatural strength, beast-like qualities, and alienation from society.

One of the first responses from a reader of Beowulf is their surprise at Grendel's unnatural strength, one quality marking him as an evil character. His great strength is shown first in his ability to carry enormous amounts of weight. There occur several instances in the story where Grendel lifts great amounts of weight. In Grendel's first raid of Herot, a great mead-hall, "he snatched up thirty men, smashed them . . . and ran out with their bodies to his lair" (ll. 59-62). This amount of weight equals nearly 5,000
Of course no one wants a beast-like creature with unnatural strength living in their community; Grendel's banishment from society points directly to his evil character status in Beowulf. From the onset of the story, Grendel is shunned by society. He is described as "spawned . . . by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever . . ." (ll. 41-44). Grendel's evil is so overwhelming he is alienated from society from the moment of creation. Another sign of Grendel's alienation from society is the location of his home. Instead of living with the Danes, he is forced to live in the wilderness. " . . . his den, his miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh" proves to be the monster's home-sweet-home. Grendel's lair is located in a habitat so remote and inhospitable he is the only creature living there. The signs of Grendel's alienation from the rest of society further illustrate him as Beowulf's evil