Myth and Folklore

You may have heard the tales of Cinderella , of Snow White , and of Beauty and the Beast .   This tale of romance takes inspiration from these but do not expect the dainty princess and charming prince.   This is a clashing of man and beast – lovers who are hearty and monstrous, trained in warfare and battle, to fight without grief or remorse.   This is the tale of Beowulf and to the beast, which he gave his heart: the monster called Grendel… The first time Beowulf heard of the mysterious creature haunting the hall of Hrothgar, he sat in mountainous Geatsland only two seats down from King Hygelac.   Queen Hygd, the Wise and Fair, took her place beside his favored nephew.   Tales of the North were rare and he looked forward to the bard’s sweet-voice and song.   With only a nod from the greying king silence swept across the merry feast.   Even the children hushed, staring with awe-struck eyes at the figure standing at the King’s side. After bei...

Beowulf This time I chose both Grendel Attacks Firstly, this is the first time Grendel is really really seen in all his monstrous glory.  My favorite part of the beginning is how the fog closes back up behind him, making "a sucking sound."  The imagery there is fantastic and I really want to use it in my own retelling if possible.  When Grendel arrives at Herot he casts a spell that makes those already asleep sleep deeper.  Which is a nice sentiment if he hadn't then eaten a bunch of people. Beowulf finally sees Grendel, which will have a different tone in my version, but here is what the original describes: " And now, at last, Beowulf saw what manner of thing this Grendel was. His legs were like the trunks of trees, and they were covered with a kind of gray dry scale that made a noise like paper as the fiend moved this way and that. The body of the beast was shaped like that of a man, but such a man as no mortal eyes had ever before beheld, and the...

For the twelveth week, I chose the Beowulf unit.  I really loved the story of Grendel by John Gardener so Beowulf is also really interesting to me.  I've never actually read the story of Beowulf , which is what Grendel is based on, so it's nice to be able to look into his ballads/stories. The Wanderer's Song is really awesome.  It starts off with this little bit of imagery that I feel has a whole lot of symbolism: "...there was no sound in the whole length of the vast hall save the spluttering of the flares upon the walls and the snarling of two dogs over a chunk of meat on the earthen floor." First of all, the King Hygelac makes an entire hall of people go silent with a gesture - which gives him the characteristic of not only having a powerful role but being a powerful ruler.  The two dogs fighting over the meat also stuck out to me, because it seems to represent the struggle between Beowulf and Grendel. The minstrel's description begins him as ...