Mercy In Beowulf, Macbeth, And Battlefield Horror
The word mercy can be described as a moment of fear or a moment of forgiveness, two very different feelings described in one word. A word that can describe a persons emotionless act of violence or a persons feeling of pity. The word mercy is portrayed both ways in Beowulf, Macbeth, and Battlefield Horror. In all three works, mercy is shown as a act of forgiveness, fear or hatred. In Beowulf one of the main characters Grendel is a vicious monster who feasts on the flesh and blood of anyone who stands in his way. He is considered to be the toughest opponent of Hrothgar and his men. When Beowulf is called to face Grendel, he does not seem fazed by the challenge despite all the stories told about Grendel and his merciless ways. In fact, Beowulf decides it would only be fair if he were to fight Grendel with no weapons, since Grendel uses his bare hands to kill. The lines from this story “ He murders as he likes, with no mercy, gorges and feasts on your flesh, and expects no trouble…” (lines 332-334) perfectly describes Grendel’s ruthless ways as well as Beowulf’s courage. At the end of the fight scene between Grendel and Beowulf, Beowulf shows great amount of mercy towards Grendel. Grendel is clearly beaten by Beowulf towards the end of this scene when Beowulf finds Grendel’s
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One being that Beowulf doesn't continue to fight Grendel despite how easily he may have beaten him. It shows that regardless of all the heroic stories told about Beowulf, he still has a mercy left in him. Although this could only be to follow Grendel to his dwelling, Beowulf still shows mercy by letting Grendel leave alive. Since Beowulf does have all of these tales about beating opponents mercilessly, tearing Grendel's arm off using his bare hands and a door was a perfect display of the true side of Beowulf. “ I have heard, too, that the monster’s sworn of men I so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I.”(lines
One being that Beowulf doesn't continue to fight Grendel despite how easily he may have beaten him. It shows that regardless of all the heroic stories told about Beowulf, he still has a mercy left in him. Although this could only be to follow Grendel to his dwelling, Beowulf still shows mercy by letting Grendel leave alive. Since Beowulf does have all of these tales about beating opponents mercilessly, tearing Grendel's arm off using his bare hands and a door was a perfect display of the true side of Beowulf. “ I have heard, too, that the monster’s sworn of men I so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I.”(lines