Essay/Term paper: Beowolf

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Beowulf

 
She, Grendels mother, awakens to the faint sound and smell of the things known as men.  She has been sleeping down in her dark and dingy cave below the world that is known to men. She has been biding her time, and plotting her revenge against the man that murdered her son. All that she had left in the cold and unforgivable world was her only son. Her only child was the being men despised and called Grendel. She lifts her head from the cold cavern floor, and her ears prick up as she hears a sound in the water beyond the entrance to her lair. She gingerly glides through the muck of a thousand centuries, as naturally as if she had lived all one thousand of them, and all the while she is straining to pick up the smell of that dreaded man. Then, all at once, he is floating beside her. He reeks of manly confidence and heroism. She reaches a quick-as-death hand, on which are a set of vulture-like talons, and snatches him to her. She is intent on grinding his bones into powder. She grimaces when her talons fail to gain access to the hated heros heart. She opens her mouth to shriek her rage, but is only answered by the firesnakes who nip and tug at her flesh. Still she is not deterred from her morbid course. She swims back to her cave with the man still in her evil, cunning clutches. She gains solid ground again, and casts the killer-of-children to the floor of her dingy home. As he is recovering from the shock of the water, and his recent capture, she has time to note that this mans seemingly invincible flesh is merely a protective covering. She is grimly pleased to witness his surprise and disgust at his sordid surroundings. She cracks a wicked smile full of razor-sharp teeth as she sees his head turn, and sees his eyes widen in recognition. The man regains his senses and draws his mighty sword. He gives a mighty cry that strikes momentary fear into her breast, and heaves the huge blade at her head. She sees his surprise as his sword inflicts no damage upon her scaly skin. She



thinks that he was quite foolish to think that her sons death would not be rightfully avenged. She  believes that she will win this battle, and drain this arrogant mortals blood before the day has faded from the sky above them. She is caught off guard when the man drops his sword and seizes her by one mighty shoulder, and forces her to the ground. Her shock at being temporarily bested is, however, short-lived. Shock is quickly replaced with a hate so deep she can see the fear burning from his eyes for the first time since she caught him unawares outside of her lair. She feels the shift in his foothold as she leaps to her feet and wrestles him with both of her mighty hands. He falls to the cold cavern beneath his feet, and she seizes this opportunity to do justice to the memory of her scorned son. She draws an evil-looking dagger, but in her haste has forgotten about his protective metal body armor. She lets loose an earth-shaking shriek as her thrust  is deflected, and he rolls away from under her blade. Her eyes widen, and fear pierces the very core of her soul as she sees what magnificent blade the hated man now wields. She falls back to the floor and sees the powerful sword swoop down over her head. It is the grim reaper coming to steal her life away from her. She closes her eyes for the final time as she feels her head being severed from her neck. All that is left is darkness.