Question

These passages from Beowulf and Grendel describe feasts in Hrothgar’s hall. Write three to four sentences comparing and contrasting how the people are characterized in each passage. Use details from the text to support your answer.

He sang of Hrothgar, hoarfrost white, magnificent of mind.

When he finished, the hall was as quiet as a mound. I too was silent, my ear pressed tight against the timbers. Even to me, incredibly, he had made it all seem true and very fine. Now a little, now more, a great roar began, an exhalation of breath that swelled to a rumble of voices and then to the howling and clapping and stomping of men gone mad on art. They would seize the oceans, the farthest stars, the deepest secret rivers in Hrothgar’s name! Men wept like children: children sat stunned. It went on and on, a fire more dread than any visible fire.
Then a bench was cleared in that banquet hall

so the Geats could have room to be together

and the party sat, proud in their bearing,

strong and stalwart. An attendant stood by

with a decorated pitcher, pouring bright

helpings of mead. And the minstrel sang,

filling Heorot with his head-clearing voice,

gladdening that great rally of Geats and Danes.

Answer 1

The passages from 'Beowulf' and 'Grendel' offer contrasting characterizations of people at a feast, with 'Grendel' depicting a deeply emotional reaction to a bard's tale, while 'Beowulf' presents a scene of composure and noble stature.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the descriptions of the feasts from Beowulf and Grendel, the characterizations of the peoples involved are contrasted both in their reactions and mannerisms. The passage from Grendel presents the observers as overwhelmingly moved, succumbing to powerful emotions where men wept and were as stirred by the bard's tale as to seem 'mad on art.' It depicts a transcendental experience that connects the audience with grand ambitions and existential significance, as they are willing to embark on grand quests ‘in Hrothgar's name.’

Conversely, the passage from Beowulf underscores the composure and the noble stature of the Geats, focusing on their pride, strength, and unity. Here, the scene is marked by order and civilization, with an ‘attendant’ serving ‘mead’ and a ‘minstrel’ whose ‘head-clearing’ song uplifts rather than overwhelms.