Minor Characters
Grendel's Mother: An ugly, beastly brute, she lives in a secluded den with Grendel. She creepily slinks around and mumbles random words. Grendel relies on her at the beginning of the story but by the middle, Grendel has to supply all her food and support for her.
The Dragon: A cynical beast living to protect his piles of treasure, Grendel visits the dragon at the beginning of the story and hears his view on life. The dragon thinks that everyone is against him and life is essentially pointless because he already knows what happens at the end of the lives of everyone. Grendel frequently flashes back to his conversation with the dragon and thinks about what he would do or say in certain situations.
The Shaper: The harp player in King Hrothgar's hall. He sings songs about fate and what the future holds for the Danes. Grendel finds the musician very interesting and takes all of his messages to heart.
Hrothgar: The King of the Danes and leader at the great meadhall. He is loved by his people and leads a great and powerful kingdom until Grendel causes many problems for him. Grendel has a particular dislike for Hrothgar and takes out all of the anger he has against people on Hrothgar.
Wealtheow: Hrothgar's steadfast wife who, according to Grendel, was bought from a rival king. She is modest but strong and spends a lot of her time serving the thanes in the meadhall. Grendel comes very close to killing her one night, but changes his mind at the last second and runs away.
Unferth: One of Hrothgar's thanes, he is looked down upon by his peers because he is known to have killed his brothers. Unferth claims to be a hidden hero and tries to kill Grendel, but ends up crying on Grendel's floor while he laughs hysterically at him. Every time Grendel sees Unferth, he remembers how pitiful he was and giggles to himself. None of the thanes respect Unferth because of his betrayal against his family.
Beowulf: a well known Geat warrior, Beowulf comes to Denmark to held Hrothgar put down Grendel for good. In the last few pages of the story, Grendel and Beowulf have a long anticipated fight in the meadhall where Beowulf delivers a lethal blow. Grendel then goes back to his cave to die.
Red Horse: The mentor of Hrothulf, Hrothgar's nephew, who is old and has a dim outlook on life. Red Horse gives Hrothulf advice on how to run groups and governments. He believes that kingdoms have become corrupt and don't do what they were supposed to.
The Dragon: A cynical beast living to protect his piles of treasure, Grendel visits the dragon at the beginning of the story and hears his view on life. The dragon thinks that everyone is against him and life is essentially pointless because he already knows what happens at the end of the lives of everyone. Grendel frequently flashes back to his conversation with the dragon and thinks about what he would do or say in certain situations.
The Shaper: The harp player in King Hrothgar's hall. He sings songs about fate and what the future holds for the Danes. Grendel finds the musician very interesting and takes all of his messages to heart.
Hrothgar: The King of the Danes and leader at the great meadhall. He is loved by his people and leads a great and powerful kingdom until Grendel causes many problems for him. Grendel has a particular dislike for Hrothgar and takes out all of the anger he has against people on Hrothgar.
Wealtheow: Hrothgar's steadfast wife who, according to Grendel, was bought from a rival king. She is modest but strong and spends a lot of her time serving the thanes in the meadhall. Grendel comes very close to killing her one night, but changes his mind at the last second and runs away.
Unferth: One of Hrothgar's thanes, he is looked down upon by his peers because he is known to have killed his brothers. Unferth claims to be a hidden hero and tries to kill Grendel, but ends up crying on Grendel's floor while he laughs hysterically at him. Every time Grendel sees Unferth, he remembers how pitiful he was and giggles to himself. None of the thanes respect Unferth because of his betrayal against his family.
Beowulf: a well known Geat warrior, Beowulf comes to Denmark to held Hrothgar put down Grendel for good. In the last few pages of the story, Grendel and Beowulf have a long anticipated fight in the meadhall where Beowulf delivers a lethal blow. Grendel then goes back to his cave to die.
Red Horse: The mentor of Hrothulf, Hrothgar's nephew, who is old and has a dim outlook on life. Red Horse gives Hrothulf advice on how to run groups and governments. He believes that kingdoms have become corrupt and don't do what they were supposed to.