this is from the Epic Poem "Beowulf"
2006-09-25 06:49:11 · 5 answers · asked by Brandy P 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Is it that Grendel sleeps all day?
2006-09-25 06:53:14 · answer #1 · answered by cancelcodeyellow 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's something I wasn't aware of.
"There are a number of aspects of fear apparent in Beowulf that an audience in the present generation wouldn’t understand. There are incidents in the poem that relate to events which took place around the time that the poem was written and so today’s audience wouldn’t understand them. For example, Grendel’s attacks took place at night and in Viking law an attack at night was considered murder. "
and
"Men and Monsters 10: Monsters, including the dragon, Grendel's mother, and Grendel, can only attack and eat men in their mead-halls at night. Related to light and dark imagery, their power is derived from evil, and functions in the dark. In contrast, all heroes and warriors leave to fight the monsters in daylight, when the Lord reigns."
2006-09-25 06:54:47 · answer #2 · answered by johnslat 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Grendel is a monster who represents evil. Evil is often represented as a gloomy stress, the darkness of nighttime holding many terrors. In a time at the same time as lighting fixtures changed into crude, and inspite of the suitable torches and lamps you should only see some ft contained in the darkish, it changed into organic to intensify the suspense through Grendel atacking at nighttime.
2016-11-23 20:55:15 · answer #3 · answered by Erika 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you ever read John Gardner's "Grendel?"
I think that Grendel feels lonely, and seeing all the warriors gathered in Heorot at night angers him. He might attack at night --under the cover of darkness-- because he feels guilty. Grendel has a moral consciousness, although he's a monster.
The second answerer had some interesting points.
2006-09-25 07:12:15 · answer #4 · answered by mtnlady 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
natural fear of the dark...
dark deeds in the dark of the night
evil comes out in the dark...
fear of the dark and the evils therein seems to have been-and continues to be-a natural fear....even back then....
witness most ancient myths....the world is in chaos until the light of the sun/moon/stars give order to the universe....
2006-09-25 06:53:44 · answer #5 · answered by Gemelli2 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋