The Monsters In Beowulf And Paradise Lost

The Devil Lurks in the Psyche The relatable affect the devil in “Paradise Lost” has on the psyche makes him a more effective villain than the three monsters in “Beowulf”. Both epic tales culminate into a battle where the rulers, God and Hrothgar, call upon the heroes, Christ and Beowulf, to defeat the villains, the devil and the monsters. Each epic merges Christian and traditional elements of the tales that include kings, heroes, villains, honor and loyalty. “Beowulf” was not available during the time Milton was writing “Paradise Lost” even so, parallels exist between the characters and the structure of the epics. The similarities between the villains reveal the timeless idea of evil. While the monsters in “Beowulf” encompass these …show more content…
The manner in which he goes about exacting his pound of flesh is unsophisticated and less cunning than how the devil plays out his revenge. Both are after God’s people, but the devil uses deception and manipulation to bring death upon mankind the Grendel just eats them! While being eaten by a monster is a horrible thought rationale overrides the possibility of it occurring. However, the thought that through manipulation and cunning human being can be deceived is imprinted on the human psyche. The devil in “Paradise Lost” uses a human technique to achieve what he wants which was the downfall of mankind. In comparing these two villains we can clearly deduce that the Grendel was feared more for his physical appearance than his cunning ways. The devil, on the other hand, was able to change his physical appearance which makes him more deceptive and cunning than the …show more content…
The Grendel’s mother was the only name given her, along with the information that she lives in the “depths of the lake” (line 1495). In this monster we recognize her desire for revenge and the hurt she feels in her son’s death. The battle with Beowulf shows a more sophisticated approach than the Grendel who had no direction for his rage. This made her character three dimensional and reflects that she was intelligent and more evolved that her son. She thought with cunning to lure the subject of her revenge to her playing field. In this aspect she was similar to the devil in “Paradise Lost” in that she used something, other than her brute strength, to battle Beowulf. The devil uses his intelligence to lure Eve into disobeying God, however, the devil took it to God’s territory. The devil turns into other forms and plays on aspects of Eve’s psyche that he shares to convince her God was