The character described in this line from the Beowulf poem is Grendel. It represents one of the poems antagonist, has incredible strength and greatness, is very fast and skillful. According to the criticisms, it is not clear in the poem whether it is a monster or not, but one of the features is that everyone is afraid of him except Beowulf. It is also portrayed as a kind of cowardly because it attacks only at night, and as such with all other traits emphasizes his origins leading from the biblical Cain.