P2 - KQ Beowulf

first introduction to Grendel

‘ellengæst’ – bold demon (86)

‘feond on helle’ – a fiend from hell (101)

of ‘Caines cynne’ - Cain’s kin/lineage (107)

‘feond mancynnes’ - a foe of mankind (164)

temporal setting of Beowulf - quote + criticism

‘Geardagum’ (1) - bygone days

·       Beowulf ‘appears to be a reflex of an ancient and universal plot’ (14, Liuzza intro)

Heorot burning down foreshadowed

‘heaðowylma bād’ – it awaited hostile fires (82)

Opening description of Beowulf (in contrast to Grendel)

First introduced as someone ‘þone God sende folce to frofre’ – whom God sent as a solace to the people (13-4)
Named ‘Higelāces þegn’ - Hygelac’s thane (194) - described in relation to paternal lineage

spatial alienation of Grendel upon entry

-       ‘on wanre niht’ - in gloomy night (702)

-       ‘under misthleoþum’ – in a blanket of mist (710)

Grendel fulfils the monstrous image articulated of him

He ‘mynte’ – intended (712, 731)

‘besyrwan’ – to ensnare (713) - mankind

critical quote on ambiguity in distinction between Grendel/Beowulf in the dark hall

‘the confusion in the darkness is mirrored in the language of the narrative’ - Mitchell and Robinson (1998)