Close Reading
“The captain of evil discovered himself
in a handgrip harder than anything
he had ever encountered in any man
on the face of the earth. Every bone is his body
quailed and recoiled, but he could not escape.
He was desperate to flee to his den and hide
with the devil’s litter, for in all his days
he had never been clamped or cornered like this.
Then Hygelac’s trusty retainer recalled
his bedtime speech, sprang to feet
and got a firm hold. Fingers were bursting,
the monster back-tracking, the man overpowering.
The dread of the land was desperate to escape,
to take a roundabout road and flee
to his lair in the fens. The latching power
in his fingers weakened; it was the worst trip
the terror-monger had taken to Heorot.
And now the timbers trembled and sang,
a hall-session that harrowed every Dane
inside the stockcade: stumbling in the fury,
the two contenders crashed through the building.
The halls clattered and hammered, but somehow
survived the onslaught and kept standing:
it was handsomely structured, a sturdy frame
braced with the best of blacksmith’s work
inside and out.”
The lines 749-76 in the poem Beowulf illuminates the struggle between Grendel and the Hero. The passage calls Grendel “the captain of evil” highlighting the pain he brought to the entire Danish nation night after night, robbing them of joy and safety; while also emphasizing the greatness of the victory in his defeat as he was the ultimate face of evil. Grendel, who was able to kill thirty men at once, was now faced with the strength of Beowulf whose handgrip made Grendel want to flee from the mead hall. He was always lurking in the darkness and his mere shadow filled people with fear. In this deadlock, however, it is he who is filled with fear in the darkness of the great hall he once conquered.
Grendel, who was always viewed an evil monster void of an emotions, shows vulnerability here. He wants to go back in hiding, and not be present in this encounter with Beowulf. Grendel here, is viewed as an angry and lost child who acted on his pain and fury of being removed from society and its pleasures. His vulnerability is significant, as it almost humanizes his terrors but his defeat is still yearned and Beowulf delivering it is pompously celebrated for it.
The deadlock created a tension that seemed never-ending and was enough for the entirety of the great mead-hall to feel it. “The hall clattered and hammered, but somehow survived the onslaught.” (Beowulf, The Norton Anthology of World Literature) The handgrip was thus, not only affecting Grendel but also, Heorot; who somehow despite this force was able to keep standing. The benches were destroyed, so were the gold fittings, yet the grip remained. The grip is the climax of the first part of the poem.
The horrors created by Grendel and the agony felt by the Shieldings by his existence, all come to an end in this encounter. This scene highlights the recurring themes of “evil vs. good” and “monster vs. man” by the physical representations of Grendel who is a monster and evil, and Beowulf a warrior of good. Ultimately, good presides and evil is destroyed as Beowulf rips out Grendel’s arm and he runs away ending his days of terror.
The destruction of Grendel is also important, as it leads to the second part of the poem; the battle between Grendel’s grieving mother and Beowulf. These two battles are of utmost importance in defining’s Beowulf’s title of a hero, a saviour, and a warrior. It facilitates the idea of Beowulf being god-like and the protector against all evil. Thus, when the final monster arrives in the poem it is only obvious that only Beowulf can defeat the dragon and once again, bring safety back to his people.