A
parody is a mocking imitation of a work of literature. Grendel
is a parody of Beowulf in that Grendel imitates and ridicules Beowulf.
Beowulf focuses on the ideal,
Anglo-Saxon hero. Beowulf is the epic
hero because he embodies all of the values and heroic ideals of the Anglo-Saxon
society. Beowulf is brave, loyal,
generous, and friendly. Grendel’s main focus is the anti-hero,
which mocks an epic hero. Grendel is
deprived from the rules and consequences of society. He is an outlaw; he has no status in society,
and he must wander on the fringes of society.
Grendel rejects values, rules, and attitudes of society and political
establishment; he seeks to create his own rules and ethics. Also, he is often angry. When Grendel is fighting Unferth, he says,
“I’ve never seen a live hero before. I
thought they were only in poetry.” Unferth
boasts about his heroism; he boasts about how he would die to protect is king
and fellow thanes. Grendel mocks Unferth
because he rejects the values of society; thus, he does not believe in heroes.
Using both Grendel and the dragon in
a parodic manner, Gardner brings out the prominent points of contrasting
philosophies. In both Beowulf and Grendel, the Shaper’s songs captivate anyone who listens to
him. In his songs, the Shaper sings of the
glorious deeds of men, and he focuses on the goodness of men. The Shaper’s philosophy is very different from
the dragon’s philosophy. The dragon
believes that life does not have meaning, and God does not exist. He tries to stress his philosophy on Grendel,
but Grendel does not understand him. Therefore,
he develops his own philosophy. After listening
to the dragon, Grendel emerges as a skeptic.
He believes that others exist, but he assumes that they are all his
enemies. Like Grendel and the dragon,
people have contrasting philosophies.
Philosophies are based on people’s opinions about life. Since everyone does not share the same
opinions, there are many contrasting philosophies in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment