MONSTERS
savage beasts, or simply misunderstood?
savage beasts, or simply misunderstood?
DRAGONS
GIANTS
Grendel and his mother are giants, decendents of Cain.
“…hybrid offspring of angels materialized into human
form that had sexual relations with women on Earth”
Jack and the Bean Stalk: giants are stupid, violent monsters
Roald Dahl- portrays giants as friendly
Fairy tales formed our modern perception of giants-
“... the other, warped
in the shape of a man, moves beyond the pale
bigger than any man, an unnatural birth
called Grendel by the country people
in former days.”
Dragons lived underground or in caves...
Dragons were ancient creatures that could fly and breathe fire.
... where
they
hoarded
gold
and
treasures
Giants often opposed the Gods.
Anglo Saxons believed that giants often brought harm to them.
Sources:
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_mythology
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Giant.htm
http://www.sparknotes.com
England in Literature Classic Edition. (Textbook)
"She paid him back quickly
with angry claws..."
"She who had fiercely guarded,
grim and greedy, that water
for a hundred half-years
quickly saw that some man
from above was exploring
the monsters' home."
Project for Brit Lit.