Sympathy in Beowulf Essay -- Epic Poems, Grendel, Anglo-Saxon

small-arm the classic battle between unspoilt and evil forces is a major(ip) theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may inquiry whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars much(prenominal) as Herbert G. Wright claim that the tophus, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf underside have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other (Wright, 4). However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and cerebrate that in that respect is something deeply human about the monsters (Orchard, 29). magical spell Grendel, Grendels aim, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts inwardly Beowulf that can in like manner lead a reader to believe that the monsters may not be so preposterous after all. In fact, the author of Beowulf represents the monsters within the poem with a full point of moral ambivalence. This ambivalence ultimately evokes tr aces of sympathy in the reader for the lease of these monster figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem.The first opponent Beowulf must face in the land of the Danes is Grendel, textually describe as a fiend out of hell a grim behemoth / haunting the marches, / marauding round the heath / and the desolate fens (Beowulf, line ampere-second 104). The author also provides us with a moral description, explaining how Grendel is merciless malignant by nature, he never showed remorse (line 135-137). As we can forgather here, the authors physical and moral portrayal of Grendel is rather unforgiving. We also resent Grendel further once we learn that he has wreaked havoc upon the Heorot dormitory for twelve years, inflicting constant cruelties on the people / atrocious hurt (line 165). matchless may wonder ... ...ts treasure, almost an obsession, then can one really blame am animal acting through instinct and mapping? While destructive, it was indeed the greed and ignorance of man that brought the wrath of the dragon upon Geatland. The intruder who broached the dragons treasure / and moved him to wrath had never meant to (line 2215). each antagonist struck terror in the other (line 2565).While the monsters of the poem are the antagonists of the poem, the author still manages to make the reader notion traces of sympathy for them. Grendels human depiction, exile and misery tugs at the bosom of readers and indeed shows a genuine side to the figure, while Grendels mother and the dragon are sympathetic mainly because they were provoked into being attacked oer things they both had a deep affection for. Their actions make us question whether they are as evil as they seem.