Journal 3

             Grendel’s attitude toward language changes throughout the course of the novel.  At first, in the second chapter, Grendel’s attitude toward language is indifference; he can make words, but his vocabulary is very basic and limited because he has not encountered humans.

Talking, talking, spinning a spell, pale skin of words that closes me in like a coffin.  Not in a language that anyone any longer understands.  Rushing, degenerate mutter of noises I send out before me…

Humans, especially the Shaper, influence his attitude toward language.  Grendel’s mother does not influence Grendel’s language because she cannot talk.  Grendel sees himself as superior to his mother because he can make words, but she cannot.  Sometimes Grendel’s mother tries to say words, but all she can do is make incoherent sounds.  When Grendel first meets humans, he finds out that they speak the same language he speaks, but in a different and “strange” way.  In chapter three, men start to roam the forest.  As the bands grew larger, they would cut down trees and make little villages with huts, mead halls, etc.  Grendel’s curiosity toward men grew.

Grendel realized that they are not like other forest animals; they could think and talk.  When Grendel hears the old, blind Shaper, he is mesmerized by the Shaper’s language.  The Shaper’s use of poetry made everything that he said “seem true and very fine.”  The Shaper would sing about men’s accomplishments and daring deeds.  Grendel said that he did not believe anything that the Shaper says because the Shaper is lying.  However, the Shaper’s words and songs are so powerful that Grendel wants to believe him.  Grendel says that the Shaper “reshapes the world;” the Shaper creates the meaning of the world through his songs.  The world becomes what the Shaper sings.  Grendel admits that he becomes more poetic because the Shaper affects his manner of speaking.

The language of the thanes also influences Grendel’s attitude toward language.  Grendel picks up curse words from men.  Grendel said, “I wasn’t even sure what they meant, though I had an idea: defiance, rejection of the gods…”  Grendel thought that it was ironic that the accursed did not “have words for swearing in!”  Grendel did not know about swearing and cursing until he met men.  After Grendel encountered men, his vocabulary and understanding of language grew.  He could speak their language without difficulty, and they could understand him.  When Grendel first raids Hrothgar’s mead hall, he meets Unferth.  As Unferth is boasting about his bravery and heroism, Grendel mocks him.  Unferth understands Grendel and is surprised that he can talk.  Unferth claims that he is a hero because he is willing to sacrifice his life for his king and his fellow thanes.  Grendel bases his opinion of a hero on Unferth; Grendel thinks that Unferth is a try-hard, not a hero.

By the end of the novel, Grendel has a broad vocabulary.  He uses more sophisticated and complex words as he is telling his story.  The first chapter of the novel is a flashback.  Since it is a flashback, Grendel already has an understanding about language.  He is irritated by animals’ stupidity; he sees animals as mechanical creatures.  When the Geats come to Hrothgar’s kingdom, Grendel raids Hrothgar’s mead hall for the last time.  As he is raiding it, he is “whispering, whispering, chewing the universe down to words.”  Even Grendel’s thoughts are more sophisticated.  Grendel refers to Beowulf as the stranger/the leader of the Geats because his name is never mentioned in this novel.  Beowulf also influences Grendel’s attitude toward language.  As Beowulf is fighting Grendel, he is whispering about the cycles of existence.  Grendel says that “his syllables lick at me, chilly fire.”  Men influence Grendel’s attitude toward language, and throughout the novel, Grendel’s knowledge and understanding of language grows and improves.