the Shaper was the best all around, and he was interested in listening to his songs. In “Beowulf” the Shaper is not emphasized as much. It did speak of the Shapers songs, and how the people would listen to him sing, but there was no indication of Grendel listening to the Shaper or having respect for him.There are also a lot of little differences in the two stories that hold bits of importance. In “Grendel” there was a man named Unferth, which Grendel would not kill because he spoke of how important it is to be a hero and die for his king. Grendel made sure that he lived so he could not die for his king. He did this in order to torture Unferth. In “Beowulf” this aspect of Unferth was not represented. Unferth was mentioned but not the fact that Grendel was making sure that he lived. In “Grendel” Grendel had a long encounter with the dragon. The dragon actually has a huge impact on Grendel. In fact Grendel felt a presence around him, which we come to find out, that is the dragon’s presence. Grendel said “And yet I’d be surprised, I had to admit, if anything in myself could be as cold, as dark, as centuries old as the presence I felt around me”(Gardner, 54). This is an example of the presence of the dragon that Grendel felt but was not sure what it was. In the stories when Beowulf kills Grendel, there is a distinct difference between the two stories. Because “Grendel” is told from Grendel’s point of view it is the end of that story once he is killed. As for “Beowulf” the story goes into Beowulf and Grendel’s mother fighting, Beowulf killing her and then becomes king, and then dying in his battle against the dragon. In “Beowulf” the killing of Grendel was portrayed to show that Beowulf was the hero and that he killed him with his strength and wit. As for “Grendel” Grendel makes it seem like it...
