Discussion
Think about Grendel’s mother in Beowulf. Having just read Euripides’ Madea, the role of
Grendel’s vengeance-seeking mother might stick out to us, even despite the small
amount of space she is given in this narrative. In approximately 500 words, explain what
you think the significance of Grendel’s mother is specifically to this narrative’s
presentation of clashes between the Anglo-Saxon heroic codes and the religious virtues
also presented in the story. And can you think of modern-day examples from literature
or pop culture that exhibit similar moral clashes for their characters? What might that
similarity reveal about Beowulf’s influence today? Your response must be submitted as
either a PDF or Microsoft Word document, and it must be completely original, without
raising suspicions of AI-generated content or ideas.
