Grendel
Grendel tells the story of Grendel and Hrothgar's interwoven fates leading up to the arrival of Beowulf. The novel reflects upon Grendel's twelve years at war with Hrothgar and his people. Each chapter focusses on a different philosophical school of thought under consideration by Grendel. The overall plot is Grendel's search for meaning and identity in, what appears to be, a meaningless world.
Characters
Grendel - The protagonist/narrator. A huge, bearlike monster, Grendel is the first of three monsters defeated by Beowulf. In the novel Grendel is a lonely creature who only seeks an understanding of the, seemingly, meaningless cosmos. He observes and provides commentary on the human civilization he battles. In Beowulf Grendel is portrayed as one with primitive humanlike qualities, however, in Grendel he is an intelligent monster capable of rational thought with bursts of outbursts of rage.
The Dragon - A cranky, vulgar beast that rules over an extensive treasury. The dragon is a representation of a world that is meaningless and empty, the concept that Grendel struggles with all throughout the novel. Throughout the novel Grendel is deliberating between the bleak words the dragon and the bewitching words of The Shaper. Although only visited once in the novel, the dragon is a huge character in the novel because his presence is felt throughout and it is one of the very concepts Grendel is struggling to comprehend.
The Shaper - The Shaper is a harpist and storyteller in Hrothgar’s, king of the Danes, court. The Shaper gives the Danes an image of the world that is essentially undivided and purposeful—an image that Grendel finds incredibly seductive, despite his awareness that the glorious stories of Hrothgar’s court are built on a foundation of lies. The Shaper represents the power of art and imagination to create meaning in a meaningless world.
The Dragon - A cranky, vulgar beast that rules over an extensive treasury. The dragon is a representation of a world that is meaningless and empty, the concept that Grendel struggles with all throughout the novel. Throughout the novel Grendel is deliberating between the bleak words the dragon and the bewitching words of The Shaper. Although only visited once in the novel, the dragon is a huge character in the novel because his presence is felt throughout and it is one of the very concepts Grendel is struggling to comprehend.
The Shaper - The Shaper is a harpist and storyteller in Hrothgar’s, king of the Danes, court. The Shaper gives the Danes an image of the world that is essentially undivided and purposeful—an image that Grendel finds incredibly seductive, despite his awareness that the glorious stories of Hrothgar’s court are built on a foundation of lies. The Shaper represents the power of art and imagination to create meaning in a meaningless world.
Themes
Art is a falsehood - Grendel struggles with the ideas of what he knows and what he wants. Grendel sees the world as a place with no important structure or meaning. But, he knows of all the beauty the Harper sings, but as an intellectual creature he knows these things of beauty are merely a projection of the chaos in the world.
Works Cited
Wu, Frank. "Grendel by Frank Wu." Grendel by Frank Wu. N.p., 2001. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://frankwu.com/grendel.html>.
Wu, Frank. "Grendel by Frank Wu." Grendel by Frank Wu. N.p., 2001. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://frankwu.com/grendel.html>.