Beowulf Essay

Anthony Scalia

            Throughout the history of literature, evil creatures are often described as mystical and inhumane, but are they simply metaphors for the evil made by real people? In the classic Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, the main character with the poem’s title name, is a hero who travels to slay a monster, Grendel, who killed thirty people. While it is never specified in the poem, the monster is often referred to a “beastly” and “inhumane” which leads the reader to believe that he is not a human, and a descendent of magical beings. While battling, Beowulf does not kill the monster, but instead takes off his shoulder and arm so the monster can suffer. While the official author of the poem is unknown, it written by an Anglo-Saxon poet, who most likely lived the experiences of having incompetent kings rule over much poorer areas.

            It is quite possible that Grendel is strictly a metaphor for these kings who lived in wealth while watching others in poverty. In history, Beowulf was recited for kings for entertainment purposes which is ironic because if the metaphor connection is true, kings would hope for the hero’s victory while not noticing that they were the monsters. In the poem, the monster slays thirty people after he is disturbed by their noise which could be representative of decisions that kings would make if they were disturbed by the common people. When Beowulf only takes part of the monster’s arm it is symbolic that you cannot destroy true evil completely. The character takes his arm as a sign of victory and hangs it up, which represents the power one has when they obtain a small victory. Yet, evil is still alive, no matter what form it is in. Even if you destroy one evil person, (Grendel) another one (his mother) comes along, and so forth.

            Evil cannot be destroyed, it will always exist. It can only be explained as the other half of one’s feeling because all human obtain the power to be evil; it is the person’s choice to use it.