Is Grendel A Hero Or A Villain Essay

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“As there is a use in medicine for poisons, so the world cannot move without villains”- Ralph Waldo Emerson. Every epic poem needs to have both a hero and a villain. Without villains, heroes could not exist. In the epic poem Beowulf, the hero must go against the most villainous creature terrorizing Herot Hall: Grendel. Grendel is a murderous creature who has been killing off the Danes for 12 years without any mercy. He has caused great strife for the King of the Danes, King Hrothgar, and cannot easily be defeated. To be such a successful villain, a character must possess certain qualities. Although he does not survive his battle with Beowulf, Grendel is a masterful villain because he has superhuman qualities, he has repulsive physical characteristics, and he shows no mercy towards his victims. The first reason Grendel makes a great villain is his superhuman qualities. For example, Grendel has the strength to smash men’s heads with his bare hands. In his first night’s attack in Herot, he kills 30 men within minutes. No Dane had a chance to even fight back. Another example is found in lines 372- 375: “ they could hack at Grendel/from every side, trying to open/a path for his evil soul, but their points could not hurt him”. This is explaining that no weapon could pierce through Grendel’s skin. As the poem further explains, Grendel put a spell on all weapons which shows…show more content…
It is evident that Grendel meets all the requirements of a villain. He had powers that were beyond human, he was a character that “looked” the part, and he killed ruthlessly without feeling any guilt. The villain of every story is just as important as the hero; often, the villain is more vital to the success of the story. Although people may not admit it, there is a certain intrigue in finding out what evils lurk in the night. Grendel will be a villain that will haunt our thoughts

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