defines Grendel as a symbol of evil and corruption. In addition to using Honor and wealth to define a characters character, the story-teller(s) have incorporated alternating Biblical and Paganistic motifs in the epic-poem. The original Epic was obviously Paganistic due to the time period of its creation. But, as time wore on, the rewriting and touching up of the manuscripts by various sources including religious monks, caused the characters to have slight Christian characteristics. These Christian themes have become very important to the epic to add am element of depth that wouldnt be possible in modern times due to the lost of the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs. An example of the Biblical motif in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel it biblically described as evil in this excerpt:[ Grendel] was spawned in that slime, Conceived by a pair of those monsters born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God, punished forever for the crime Of Abels death. The Almighty drove Those demons out, and their exile was bitter,Shut away from men; they splitInto a thousand forms of evil--spiritsAnd feinds, goblins, monsters, giants,A brood forever opposing the LordsWill, and again and again defeated.The Biblical reference in the epic has become a modern day archetypalmotif, and serves to give the listener an idea of the extent of Grendels pure evil and gives a logical explanation for Grendels murderous behavior. This example, not only shows the evil in Grendels nature, but also the torture in his heart caused by his Banishment from God. It serves to give the reader an idea of why Grendel would kill the Danes for no reason other than theirhappiness. Beowulf also has a religious motif to his character. One example of this is in Canto 6 line 381 in which Hrothgar states, Our Holy Father had sent [Beowulf] as a sign of His grace, a mark of His favor, to help us defeat Grendel and end that terror. This religious description shows Beowulf as a sor...
