Monsters in Different Forms
Beowulf and Canterbury Tales
Grendel's Transition
They say he was a descendant of Cain,
His physical appearances too grotesque to describe,
This explains his natural ability to cause pain,
He was so gross no one would even give him a hi-five.
Grendel was an awful beast,
Terrifying every man, woman, and child,
He made men and soldiers his feast,
A death toll of thirty in one night, he compiled.
Grendel was the supreme ruler of the land,
That is, until he encountered the knight called Beowulf,
When Beowulf met Grendel he tore off his hand,
Grendel’s reign was almost over and his hand was proof.
Blood drained profusely from Grendel’s limb,
The line he walked of life and death was not stark,
He felt the life draining from him,
Grendel ran away to die in the dark.
Reflection: I chose to write a ballad about Beowulf around the topic of monsters because the story was filled with horrendous tales of the awful monster Grendel. For this ballad, I chose to write about the theme of Grendel and the transitions he went through during the story. Grendel started off as a powerful and feared monster, but in the end was nothing after Beowulf defeated him.
Diary of the Knight
March 30, 2016
Dear Diary,
Today was a gorgeous day as I rode in front of the procession. The birds were singing, and the sun was shining. However, we came across a small stream that we had to forge. Being the chivalrous knight that I am, I assisted the women and less-able people across the water. No one else helped the people cross the river and it reminded me of the Crusades I fought in where it was every man for themselves. There was no mercy in the wars. Men fought and killed without any thought and were violent to the point of excess. The crusades taught me that monsters aren't just deformed creatures or dragons. They can be normal people such as the men I encountered in the Crusades. To take my mind off the Crusades and my relocation of what monsters can actually be, I taught some of the other people in our caravan some of the basic fighting skills.They were skills I garnered in wars such as the Crusades and many others. All in all today was a decent day. I feel as though I have continued to uphold my knightly duties even in the smallest aspects of my life. Although I attempted to keep the Crusades off my mind, I still can't stop thinking about my realization of what monsters really are.
-The Knight
Reflection: For this project I wrote a diary entry in the voice of the Knight from Canterbury Tales. All of my projects from this three part series focus on Monsters. More specifically, this diary entry from the Knight focuses on the theme of monsters in everyday forms. The knight writes about how he has experienced monsters in the form of other men he has seen in the wars he has fought in.
Picture of Grendel
Reflection: I drew this picture as part of my three-part focus on monsters. The theme I used for this drawing was, “Monsters in the flesh”. For this project I focused on the physical characteristics of Grendel and attempted to portray them through art. The story does not describe Grendel in great detail, and I believe the author does that on purpose in order to allow the reader to create their own Grendel.
Note to Reader
Dear Reader,
I chose the topic of monsters for this project because I believe that Beowulf and Canterbury Tales focus on monsters a significant amount in their plot.s This is evident through Grendel and the human representations of monsters in Canterbury Tales. During this project I learned about writing styles from the past and normal jobs and trades from medieval times. I believe my best work for this project was the picture of Grendel I created. It allowed me to think of Grendel in great detail. An area I struggled in for this project was the reflections. I found it difficult to explain my thought process. If I were to do this project again, I would choose the topic of loyalty because I believe that was a very prevalent theme in the two stories.
Sincerely,
Grace Venner