Character List; Beowulf; Grendel; Hrothgar;. More a palace, Heorot is decorated with gold and fine tapestries. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. A suggested list of literary criticism on John Gardner's Grendel . It is Gardner's third published novel, and his most famous work. Yet he, the old Shaper, might make it true, by the sweetness of his harp, his. When he was eleven years old, who did John Gardner accidentally kill? His father. Grendel (1971), for example, features the nearly abstract woodcuts of Emil Antonucci,. He succeeds in killing his opponent, but he is mortally wounded. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. Crucially, Grendel is never clearly. Villains are not born, they’re created. 1258), seeking redress for the death of her son at Beowulf’s hands. He is a terrifying monster who kills and eats humans, but he is also a lonely, isolated creature, who craves a friend or companion. 99/month or $24. Unferth has a change of heart after Beowulf defeats Grendel and even gives Beowulf his own sword, named Hrunting, to help him defeat Grendel’s mother. Her "hall" is inaccessible to society. When the Geats first arrive, Grendel remarks on his first impression of Beowulf. Grendel is a fearsome monster who lives underground in a cave with his mother. Grendel is described as a "walker in darkness," who is "wearing God's anger" and "lacking in joy" because he has inherited the curse the Biblical Cain… read analysis of Grendel. Grendel the outcast has, symbolically. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Chapter 10. Best summary. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. And the fact that Grendel remembers his face from a forgotten dream hints that Grendel may know. It was decorated with the antlers of stags; the name means "hart [stag] hall. ” He. by Gardner, John (ISBN: 9781586638184) from Amazon's Book Store. Near the end of the poem the poet reveals that, because of an ancient spell, Beowulf would have been condemned to. Lines 1-193. A study guide to the popular novel offers a plot summary, a review quiz, and an examaination of important quotations, along with analysis of the key themes, motifs, characters, and symbols in the work. Grendel. Grendel is a fearsome monster who lives underground in a cave with his mother. John Gardner and Grendel Background. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990. Wiglaf, one of Beowulf’s kinsmen and thanes, is the only warrior brave enough to help the hero in his fight against the dragon. The livelong time after that grim fight, Grendel’s mother, monster of women, mourned her woe. Hildeburh is a princess who loses all her male relatives because her husband’s family is feuding with her brother’s family. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. Summary. He builds a great mead-hall, called Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the scops, or bards. Beowulf Summary and Analysis of Lines 1-193. Grendel is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. A corpse. In his glory, he hangs Grendel’s claw off the ceiling. By this time, Hrothgar and Wealtheow have two sons of their own. H. And so I discovered the sunken door, and so I came up, for the first time, to moonlight. A great, bearlike monster, Grendel is the first of three monsters defeated by the Geatish hero Beowulf in the sixth-century poem Beowulf. Hinton that was first published in 1967. ”. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. The intruder, a slave on the run from a hard-handed master, intends no harm by his theft and flees in a panic. We assign a color and icon like this one to each theme, making it easy to track which themes apply to each quote below. One can argue that this structure relates to the theme of the epic in that each monster presents a specific moral challenge against which the Anglo-Saxon heroic code can be measured. Updated: 11/21/2023Beowulf is huge and strong. Character Analysis Grendel's Mother. Perfect for. However, after years of being attacked by Grendel with no way of stopping him, Hrothgar seems resigned to. Mendez-Egle, Beatrice , ed. Book by Gardner John SparkNotes [EAN: 9781586638184], Gebraucht,. Beowulf characters include: Beowulf, Grendel, Hrothgar, Unferth, Wiglaf, Grendel’s Mother, The. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. Beowulf’s triumph over Grendel. Unferth accuses Beowulf, as a lad, of entering a. Previous section Lines 1008–1250 Quick Quiz Next section. Beowulf sails to Denmark to help Hrothgar and his people in their battle with the. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. Under welkin he walked, till the wine-palace. His people give him a glorious funeral, but they have been left unprotected, and they foresee “enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles, / slavery and abasement” (ll. I no longer remember exactly what he sang. 3154-5). The poem’s narrator has access to the interior thoughts and feelings of all the characters, even the dragon. . R. Its. uk: Gardner, John: 9781586638184: BooksHeroism is the glorification of the warrior hero and of the heroic code of conduct. Founding Brothers Summary. Grendel is a postmodern novel as well as prose poem modeled after the 6th century Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, on which it is modeled. But the ram stays; the season is upon us. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Shakespeare No Fear Shakespeare Translations. Beowulf, a warrior, lands in Hrothgar’s kingdom and kills Grendel but then must contend with Grendel’s mother who comes to enact revenge for her son’s murder. The idea that violence and shame would make Hrothgar calm seems contradictory. Chapter 9. Unferth has a change of heart after Beowulf defeats Grendel and even gives Beowulf his own sword, named Hrunting, to help him defeat Grendel’s mother. 24-5). He and seven other thanes enter the dragon's barrow and remove the rest of the treasure, then. Chapter 5. 99/month or $24. The narrator also comments on the action, usually to draw out moral implications: “Behavior that’s admired / is the path to power among people everywhere” (ll. ”. After establishing the novel’s linear plotline in Chapter 1 —namely, the twelve-year battle between Grendel and the Danes—Chapter 2 takes us an unspecified number of years into the past to tell the story of Grendel’s first exposure to the human world. I feel my anger coming back, building up like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no longer resist, I go up—as mechanical as anything else—fists clenched against my lack of will, my belly growling, mindless as wind, for blood. The hero is exultant. com A Geatish hero who comes across the sea to rid the Scyldings of Grendel. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. . While Grendel's psychology is not explored in detail in Beowulf, there is a sense. 99/month or $24. As a symbol of his power and prosperity he builds a magnificent mead-hall, called Heorot, in which he and his loyal warriors can feast, drink, boast, and listen to the tales of the scops, the Anglo-Saxon bards. Beowulf is set in Scandinavia, sometime in the fifth or sixth century A. Redirecting to /lit/beowulf/quotes/character/grendel/Beowulf, a warrior, lands in Hrothgar’s kingdom and kills Grendel but then must contend with Grendel’s mother who comes to enact revenge for her son’s murder. A summary of Part X (Section11) in John Gardner's Grendel. The listed critical essays and books will be invaluable for writing essays and papers on Grendel . Analysis. Because nothing man creates—religion, poetry, philosophy, and so on—will survive the destruction of time, the dragon sees all such endeavors as pointless and ridiculous. Chapter 5 Summary. Grendel. Crucially, Grendel is never clearly. About Beowulf. I stamp. A summary of Chapter 11 in John Gardner's Grendel. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The hero is valiant, strong, noble, and mighty, a legend in his own time and loyal to his leader Hygelac. 3148). Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Maid” by Stephanie Land. In the author's note at the end of the novel, A. Summary. Yon battle-king, said he, far o’er the swan-road he fain would seek, the noble monarch who needed men!Summary. I stamp. Edinburg, Texas: Pan American University School of the Humanities, 1983 . Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Grendel 's fierce cries and the sounds of their epic struggle wake the warriors. . His praise of God reflects Christian values. Search all of SparkNotes Search. 99/month or $24. 4 of 5. The Shaper represents the power of art and imagination to change people’s perceptions about themselves and the world in which they live. Plot Summary. 4. At the conclusion of the feast, Beowulf pledges to Queen Wealhtheow that he will either defeat Grendel that night or die in his efforts to do so. Perfect for acing essays, tests,. First, he fights Grendel when he attacks the hall of Heorot. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. The boredom is more than he can take. Hrothgar tries to attribute the boy’s malaise to the trauma of losing his father, but he also suspects that. " Herot: the golden guest-hall built by King Hrothgar, the Danish ruler. Poem Summary. The poet chooses to relate much of this struggle from Grendel’s. Chapter 1. 99/month or $24. “The King of the Gods is the ultimate limitation,” he keens, “and His existence is the ultimate irrationality. " -Graham S. #2,045,568 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books. It was a cold-blooded lie that a god had lovingly made the world and set out the sun and moon as lights to land-dwellers, that brothers had fought, that one of the races was saved, the other cursed. S. In this regard, Wiglaf appears as a reflection of the young Beowulf. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce experimented with an idea that came to be known as modernism, characterized by experimentation with new, nontraditional forms of expression. As a symbol of his power and prosperity he builds a magnificent mead-hall, called Heorot, in which he and his loyal warriors can feast, drink, boast, and listen to the tales of the scops, the Anglo-Saxon bards. Against this vision, man’s complete history seems no more than “a swirl in the stream of time. . The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Grendel describes his mother without any affection, showing that his only familial relationship is a loveless one that does not assuage his loneliness. In the original Beowulf epic, Grendel displays nothing but the most primitive human qualities. Years later, Beowulf deals with a dragon who is devastating his kingdom and dies while he and his thane, Wiglaf, are slaying the dragon. "Twelve winters of grief for Hrothgar, king. After that, the Danes abandon Heorot to Grendel after nightfall. The change is noticeable in the shape of the text on the page: beginning in. Grendel was fascinated by the woman. Why is the use of grotesque, exaggerated humor appropriate in the novel? 1953. He smells the dragon in his presence as he notes that he has not yet “committed the ultimate act of nihilism” (93), which would be to murder Hrothgar’s queen, Wealtheow. Grendel. The collar or necklace that Wealhtheow gives Beowulf is a symbol of the bond of loyalty between her people and Beowulf—and, by extension, the Geats. Along with Grendel, Unferth represents the theme of envy in the epic. Active Themes. Hrothgar hosts a great banquet in honor of Beowulf. " -Graham S. Grendel’s mother is evil, not because she seeks sorrowful revenge but because she is a creature of hell who hungers for death. Analysis. Yet I was swept up. He will not budge. A list of all the characters in Beowulf. Chapter 2. His sister. He thinks the Geats are asleep and ties a tablecloth around his neck as a napkin in his excitement to eat them. Chapter 1 Quotes. Important quotes from Chapter 8 in Grendel. The eyes slanted downward, never blinking, unfeeling as a snake’s. On the train, Eric and Four divide the initiates into two teams to play capture the flag, a Dauntless tradition. All three monsters emerge from darkness, inflicting fear and suffering on the poem’s human characters. What boast or promise does Beowulf make to Wealhtheow, the Queen? He says he loves her and will kill Grendel in her honor. The dragon is cut altogether. Grendel's mother embodies the theme of revenge as she buries her grief in an assault on Heorot. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce experimented with an idea that came to be known as modernism, characterized by experimentation with new, nontraditional forms of expression. The dragon claims that time is like a black hole, eventually destroying everything in the universe. Summary. It was a cold-blooded lie that a god had lovingly made the world and set out the sun and moon as lights to land-dwellers, that brothers had fought, that one of the races was saved, the other cursed. I shake my two hairy fists at the sky and I let out a howl so unspeakable that the water at my feet turns sudden ice and even I myself am left uneasy. After establishing the novel’s linear plotline in Chapter 1 —namely, the twelve-year battle between Grendel and the Danes—Chapter 2 takes us an unspecified number of years into the past to tell the story of Grendel’s first exposure to the human world. She spends most of her time in her underground lair and generally experiences the world in a purely physical way. Beowulf has to swim for "part of a day" before he reaches lake bottom. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. In Beowulf’s bloody battle against Grendel, the first part of the story reaches its climax. Beowulf is speaking these words as he nears the end of his life, after he has defeated the fiery dragon who guarded an ancient hoard of treasure. She began writing The Outsiders at the age of fifteen, inspired by her frustration with the social divisions in her high school and the lack of realistic fiction for high school readers. Gardner’s twist on the tale is his choice to narrate the story from the. The dragon has been expecting Grendel, and he takes cruel pleasure in Grendel’s fright and discomfort. I thought they were only in poetry. A kenning is a particular kind of metaphor, in. Mendez-Egle, Beatrice , ed. Grendel imagines Hrothulf's thoughts as he moves through the woods, his mind filled with thoughts against the king and queen, to "snatch. In his youth, Beowulf is a great warrior, characterized predominantly by his feats of strength and courage, including his fabled swimming match against Breca. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. In Grendel, he is a lonely creature who seeks an understanding of the seemingly meaningless world around him. 99/year as selected above. Grendel recognizes the great power that comes with such a skill. Spring, for example, the time when cold weather retreats and new vegetation appears on the earth, has become a. Wears it as a bib. Before he even encounters humans and sees how they fear him, he embraces his identity as a hideous monster. Summary. He sees the goat climbing up a hill and creates obstacles for the goat before bashing the animal’s head. For this reason, some readers have seen Grendel’s mother as an embodiment of ancient Northern European society’s tendency toward unending. 99/month or $24. 99/year as selected above. The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. 99/year as selected above. Grendel 's fierce cries and the sounds of their epic struggle wake the warriors. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly—as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the SparkNotes Beowulf Study Guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. A summary of Chapter 4 in John Gardner's Grendel. A summary of Part X (Section1) in John Gardner's Grendel. 3 of 5. In the end each clan on the outlying coasts. Grendel’s Mother. The main action of Grendel takes place in the last year of that war, but the novel skips back in time in order to illuminate the origins of the conflict as well as Grendel’s personal history. 649 Words3 Pages. Read a summary of the battle with Grendel in Beowulf. Jay Rudd, "Gardner's Grendel and Beowulf: Humanizing the Monster," in THOTH, Spring/Fall, 1974, pp. Beowulf and Grendel, 2005. Ward still lives in DeLisle, the rural community in Mississippi in which she was raised. "The Eumenides Summary. Grendel’s mother, like her son, is a mysterious humanoid creature. Similarly, she is only able to express any affection for Grendel through physical gestures. He shouts at the goat to leave but it keeps climbing mindlessly. As Beowulf feels his own death approaching, the dragon emerges. Ostensibly a retelling of the Beowulf epic, Grendel is in fact a dark fable concerned with the philosophical underpinnings of society and individuality, as well as the place of art in a world of competing ideologies. It was their confidence, maybe—their blissful, swinish ignorance, their bumptious self-satisfaction, and worst of all, their hope . Those three goals were to kill Grendel, kill Grendel's mother, and kill the dragon. 5,250+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries. In the vast span of time, the entirety of mankind’s history registers little more than. Grendel, an outsider who spurns society, and Beowulf, an outsider who joins the Danes in fellowship, battle. The corpse expands in significance, becoming not only a symbol of man and Grendel’s twinned fate, but also of Grendel’s desire to be accepted by the human community with which he has so many similarities. PLUS. John Gardner, in addition to being the author of Grendel, was a critic who, in his controversial work of criticism On Moral Fiction (1978), took the position of a traditionalist arguing against the meaning and language games of his. Grendel is a postmodern novel as well as prose poem modeled after the 6th century Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, on which it is modeled. See All Notes. 5 of 5. Yet he, the old Shaper, might make it true, by the sweetness of his harp, his. This stylistically and thematically postmodern novel is an example of a metafiction—fiction about fiction. Grendel’s Mother. Hard grip. , the realm of King Hrothgar (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is threatened by the tormented demon Grendel (Crispin Glover) that attacks the locals in their celebrations. A list of all the characters in Beowulf. Grendel knows it is because spring has come and the ram is now fueled by lust. Soul of fidelity, decorum. Chapter 1. Grendel sees the companionship of another as something higher (at least at the moment) than some abstract set of principles by which to live his life. Even though the dragon knows everything, he does not actually have more power than anyone else. He notes that the weak humans observe the rituals, while the strong ones ignore them. The tribe has taken its name from Scyld Scefing, a mythological hero who, many years earlier, reached their shores as a castaway babe on a ship mysteriously laden with. Explore an in-depth analysis of Ponyboy Curtis, the plot summary, and important quotes . Beowulf does appear to be the fulfillment of the Scyldings’ prayers for a Destroyer to come and rid them of Grendel. The king of the Danes (Scyldings) is a wise and great man, but he has lost some of his strength with age. The main action of Grendel takes place in the last year of that war, but the novel skips back in time in order to illuminate the origins of the conflict as well as Grendel’s personal history. In the early part of the century, writers such as T. I know only that it had a strange effect on me: it no longer filled me with doubt and distress, loneliness, shame. The rivalry between Unferth, a Danish warrior, and Beowulf has formed a subplot of the story since Beowulf’s first appearance at Hrothgar’s hall, when Unferth challenged the hero’s claims. Analysis. Grendel’s mother. . And the fact that Grendel remembers his face from a forgotten dream hints that Grendel may know. Grendel is oddly protective of his space and attempts to shoo the goat away, although the goat remains standing after Grendel rolls a tree at it and. Central Idea Essay: Honor Codes & Heroism. 4. John Champlin Gardner was born in Batavia, New York, on July 21, 1933, to John Champlin, a dairy farmer and lay Presbyterian preacher, and Priscilla Gardner, an English teacher. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. He recalls once having destroyed the images of the gods. 1 . Provides an illusion of reality--puts together all their facts with a gluey whine of connectedness. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the. The poem’s language is richly physical, with a particular emphasis on bodies and their fragility: “flames wrought havoc in the hot bone-house” (l. Background on Grendel. Shortly after Beowulf's arrival, Unferth, full of mead, insults the guest at a banquet. Section 1. 4 out of 5 stars. Important Quotes Explained. Search all of SparkNotes Search. 99/month or $24. The sky. THEN from the moorland, by misty crags, with God’s wrath laden, Grendel came. He’ll kill Grendel before nightfall. Under this code, warriors were expected to. He will not budge. I shake my two hairy fists at the sky and I let out a howl so unspeakable that the water at my feet turns sudden ice and even I myself am left uneasy. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Next. A wicked queen of legend who punishes anyone who looks at her the wrong way. The Danish King offers a reward for the death of the creature, attracting to Herot the brave Geat warrior Beowulf (Ray Winstone) that seeks for glory. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. 99/year as selected above. Violence and shame have lined the old man’s face with mysterious calm. He bestows upon him weapons, armor, treasure, and eight of his finest horses. Wit Summary. Swift on the billows, with boar-spears well hooked and barbed, it was hard beset, done to death and dragged on the headland, wave-roamer wondrous. Search all of SparkNotes Search. The stranger watches Grendel make his. In the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, the town minister, Reverend Parris, discovers his daughter Betty, niece Abigail, and other girls dancing in the forest with his slave Tituba. 99/month or $24. For this reason, some readers have seen Grendel’s mother as an embodiment of ancient Northern European society’s tendency toward unending. However, after years of being attacked by Grendel with no way of stopping him, Hrothgar seems resigned to. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed. Learn about interpretations of the character of Grendel from Beowulf and understand the meaning of the battle. Read Beowulf here, with side-by-side No Fear translations into modern English. 99/year as selected above. I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. Through success in battle he has become rich and mighty. L. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. An evil Danish king who betrayed his own people. . His ship funeral early in the poem is a significant ritual. This adaptation, filmed in Iceland, is faithful to Beowulf’s tone, but makes many changes to the story. Unferth's behavior goes against the code of hospitality. Moved Permanently. Yet he also says that Beowulf followed his destiny, and won the gold as was his fate. The monster Grendel has been attacking the Danish king Hrothgar and his mead-hall, Hart, for twelve years. She enters the poem as an “avenger” (l. Behind my back, at the world’s end, my pale slightly glowing fat mother sleeps on, old, sick at heart, in our dingy underground room. He builds a great mead-hall, called Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the scops, or bards. Grendel’s first description of the dragon includes many common features that come to mind when thinking of dragons except for one: his eyes. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The poet introduces Grendel, the monster, by picturing him as distressed. 3154-5). Heorot shakes with the force of their fight. The humans tried to attack him bravely, but their weapons were useless against the dragon’s charm. Summary. Full Poem Summary. Grendel, an outsider who spurns society, and Beowulf, an outsider who joins the Danes in fellowship, battle. Why is the use of grotesque, exaggerated humor appropriate in the novel?Beowulf’s second combat is with Grendel’s mother. Save. Important quotes from Chapter 2 in Grendel. At times, Grendel is even willing to accept the role of the scorned, evil adversary in order to be granted. Readers can learn some things about Grendel in Beowulf but in order to dive deeper into the character and who he is, people. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Set in a dystopian future rather than the past, this adaptation makes many changes to the poem’s story. In the vast span of time, the entirety of mankind’s history registers little more than. A summary of Chapter 1 in John Gardner's Grendel. Suggestions. Analysis. Inhales smoke. Grendel. Video Quiz Course 46K views. Grendel kills it again and again, feeling under threat “by. Grendel’s mother’s decapitated head and the hilt of a melted sword. Beowulf makes good on his boast that he will fight Grendel single-handed. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. I feel my anger coming back, building up like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no longer resist, I go up—as mechanical as anything else—fists clenched against my lack of will, my belly growling, mindless as wind, for blood. Vivian Bearing, the play’s protagonist, is a fifty-year-old woman with stage-four ovarian cancer. The idea that violence and shame would make Hrothgar calm seems contradictory. Grendel is a deep thinker and a sensitive feeler, and he describes his state of adult existential anxiety with self-deprecating humor, poetry, and, at times, a violent rage that befits one of mythology’s most dreadful monsters. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. A great dragon lurks beneath the earth, jealously guarding its treasure, until one day a thief manages to infiltrate the barrow, or mound, where the treasure lies. Chapter 4. Grendel's Guide to Love and War is a contemporary retelling of the epic poem Beowulf. A summary of Chapter 10 in John Gardner's Grendel. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The Shaper. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Grendel and what it means. Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1971. The allusion to the curse of Cain foreshadows the charm of the dragon and the Christian imagery that surrounds Beowulf. Though Beowulf’s fight with Grendel immediately incurs the retaliation of Grendel’s mother, the fight with the dragon doesn’t occur until fifty years later. Important quotes from Chapter 8 in Grendel. Chapter 4. Chapter 3. The watchman guides Beowulf and his men from the coast to the mead-hall, Heorot, where he takes his leave. Written in sections of alternating prose and poetry, The Consolation of Philosophy begins with Boethius describing the conditions in which he actually wrote the book in the year 524: he is sitting in a prison cell awaiting execution for a crime he did not commit. King Hrothgar of Denmark, a descendant of the great king Shield Sheafson, enjoys a prosperous and successful reign. He’ll slay Grendel or die trying. The humans’ religion is another example of their systems of theories and beliefs.