Critical Introduction

Grendel looms large in the narrative of Beowulf and in many modern critical discussions of the epic poem. The monster is called a “mearcstapa” in the poem, which literally means “border-walker.” This monster, who lives with his mother in an underground cave, has been of such interest that there is a novel retelling the story from his perspective (John Gardner's Grendel), an opera (Grendel, directed by Julie Taymor, which premiered in New York in 2006), and even an Australian animated television miniseries (Grendel Grendel Grendel, 1981, directed by Alexander Stitt). Given all this modern interest, it might be something of a surprise to learn that there is virtually no physical description of Grendel within the poem. It tells us a few things: he is shaped like a man, but larger, has glowing eyes, has hair, and bears talons. This is about all that we can glean about his appearance from the text, and while the Wonders of the East in the same manuscript is heavily illuminated, there are no images to accompany Beowulf, which survives in only this one medieval copy. Many modern illustrators, though, have taken up the challenge of visualizing Grendel. Here are four attempts, spanning the twentieth century from 1910 to 1999. Given the scant visual details in the poem, it is not surprising that they are quite different, but their differences are interesting and reveal assumptions about the monster, and about the humans who fight it.

Viewing Questions

How do these four artists grapple with the information provided in the poem? Are there similarities among the images? How do the images differ?