Evil perceptions in pagan early Germanic and Christian Anglo-Saxon - Essay Example

The depiction of evil in Beowulf highlights the Pagan, Anglo-Saxon, and Christian socio-cultural beliefs. The association between Cain and Beowulf and that of Grendels mother who is described as an evil-witch, and the deep-dark waters where she lives, are clear representations of the manner in which the Anglo-Saxon communities perceived evil and feared the unknown. The historical epic depicts evil through three main characters namely Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Evil in this epic is represented through symbolic imagery where each of the three monsters - Grendel, his mother, and the dragon; are described using the harshest of images and ideas thus creating a sense of wonder, terror and inciting feelings of fear among the readers.

These monsters are the very epitome of things that are rejected by society and that are against the existing socio-cultural beliefs. These monsters are hence used to describe everything that is considered wrong and hence rejected by the society due to the threat they supposedly pose to the people. Grendel is described as a demon and a descendant of Cain, the evil twin in the Biblical verses who mercilessly murdered his own brother Abel. The very description of Grendel is hence meant to incite feelings of fear and disdain similar to those often associated with all things evil.

He is described in verse 100-110 as: “a fiend out of hell” and “a grim demon” who goes about “marauding” and attacking people; and who lived in “desolate fens” among other banished monsters who lived a life full of misery. The depiction of Grendel is meant to communicate and emphasize the manner in which evil is treated as something that does not belong in a society and hence must be banished and kept out. Furthermore the association of Grendel with Cain, further reinforces the theological implications of how evil shall always be shunned and outlawed in society, just as the Lord himself outlawed Cain, the very first