How does grendel feel about his mother

Although his sword, Hrunting, loaned to him by Unferth, fails to penetrate the mother's hide, Beowulf discovers a giant magic sword in the cave and is able to kill the mother with it. The sword melts to its hilt after Beowulf uses it to decapitate the corpse of Grendel, which lies nearby. He returns to Heorot with a greater trophy, the head of the ogre, as well as the hilt of the magic sword.

Some critics feel that Grendel's mother receives inadequate consideration in the poem. Her motive is as human as it is monstrous as she seeks revenge for her defeated son and reclaims his arm, which from her point of view must seem a barbaric trophy. She has lived in the mere for a hundred years and was never the problem that her son was. Nevertheless, this is Beowulf's poem; the mother is just another monster in a heroic epic.

Other writers will have to enhance her tale. Previous Grendel. Beowulf allows one of his followers to be taken because he wants to give a sense of confidence to think that hes winning and that the people are scared. Higlac is both feudal lord to Beowulf, and his uncle. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, is one of the most important characters in the story. He is a wise, benevolent ruler, beloved by all. He looks upon Beowulf almost as his own son, and he it is who invites the brave and fearless Geat to Denmark to slay the bloodthirsty, vicious monster Grendel.

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LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better.

Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. Download this LitChart! Teachers and parents! Struggling with distance learning? Our Teacher Edition on Grendel can help. Themes All Themes. Symbols All Symbols. Theme Wheel.

Everything you need for every book you read. The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive. Unlike Grendel , his mother neither speaks nor questions the world. She spends most of her time in her underground lair and generally experiences the world in a purely physical way.

Similarly, she is only able to express any affection for Grendel through physical gestures. Grendel expresses disdain for his mother, but when he is danger he calls for her, and it is her that rescues him when he first encounters humans. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:. Chapter 1 Quotes.