The Three Monsters In Beowulf By Burton Raffel

What actually happens when three monsters terrorize a city and there is only one guy to save the city? It is quite an easy answer to this question. Although, to understand what happens, the three monsters have to be analyzed. The three monsters. Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon, in Burton Raffel’s epic, Beowulf, are unique to their physical attributes, capabilities, living quarters, attack methods, and motives.

Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon have different physical attributes. Grendel has the stature of a man but mightier according to the text. “One of the devils was a female creature\ the other, they say, walked through the wilderness\ Like a man-but mightier than any man” (Beowulf 416-418). This quote describes what Grendel looks like according to Hrothgar’s men. How Burton Raffel tells us that Grendel is just like a man but mightier gives him the illusion that he is

Grendel always hunts at night when the soldiers are sleeping. “Seeing how Grendel hunted when they slept” (Beowulf 56). The fact that he hunts at night is mentioned many times throughout the epic. It seems as though Grendel does not want to be seen or have to fight anyone. Although, his mother goes for the fight. She uses her claws to attack her opponent. “She ripped\ and tore an clawed at him” (Beowulf 498-499). She uses her strength to fight and does not give in. Grendel’s mother has incredible strength to back up her claws and she mainly uses her claws to fight. Although, the dragon has a different way to fight. He uses his fiery breath to attack Beowulf. “Its breath came first.\ a streaming cloud pouring from the stone” (668-669). When the dragon is battling Beowulf, he mainly uses his breath to melt Beowulf’s shield. However, the dragon is the only monster thats attack is strong enough to defeat Beowulf. All three monsters have unique attack methods to try and defeat Beowulf and his