In terms of physical features I imagine Grendel as a very tall monster that close resembles a man. I think that he does not look much different from a typical man except for his high and incredible strength. In the text (pg 42) it is stated that Grendel picks up citizens of the town with each hand, implying how strong he is, which makes him appear differently from the typical human or as a "monster". I also imagine Grendel as living in an area underneath the ground which implies that he is covered in the remnants from that area. The text states that he was "spawned in that slime", meaning that his body was coated with a type of substance found in his lair that was not found in Herot. I believe that is another reason why the people consider Grendel to be a monster because he exhibits physical features that the typical person does not.

I imagine Grendel to be lurking underneath something, like shown in the picture below. In annotation one the text says that Grendel was "living down in the darkness" meaning that he was not living in the town of Herot, therefore he was isolated. A result of him being isolated makes the towns people believe that he always hiding or lurking in the shadows, and is going to attack when they least expect if like in the picture below.

I think that Grendel represents a human more than a monster. I believe this because he says "I am no stranger here. A respected guest." in the opening lines of Annotation two. I believe that means that he has obviously been to Herot before but he has also experienced living there. Furthermore, I think that Grendel was once part of the society of the town but a tremendous event occurred that made Grendel started to live in what he "made his home in a hell."

This song is very soft, slow, and calming and does not have loud parts that would upset Grendel. Thus, the song is very settle and quiet, giving the listener the ability to think deeply about the true meaning of the lyrics. Beowulf describes Grendel as "living in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient, as day after day the music rang," showing that Grendel hated the loud noise heard in "that hall" everyday. He feared unity and since he was able to hear the singing and music that was "loud in the hall" he was frightened by that. Therefore, the fact that this song is very soothing it will help to relax Grendel with his continued fear of community.

Also, I think that the lyrics in this song have the ability to speak to Grendel on a personal level. A specific example of this is when the song says "When you get what you want, but not what you need." This part relates to how Grendel truly feels about his continued, "eleven years now and going on twelve", attacks on Hrothgar and his people. Grendel is able to succeed by winning this attack and get what he wants but not what he actually needs. He is haunted by the idea of love and community, but in reality that is what Grendel actually needs. He lacks love from his parents since they were "By God, punished forever for the crime of Abel's death." Further text from Beowulf states that "their exile was bitter" and they were "shut away from men." Grendel still does not see his parents nor live in a nourishing environment with them and as a result he lacks what needs; love.

Another part of the song that I believe relates to Grendel is when it says "But if you never try you'll never know, Just what you're worth." Grendel struggles with the thought to attack Herot or to not attack Herot. Beowulf describes Grendel's attacks as something they can handle as seen when the text reads "and again and again defeated..." meaning that the Gods that they believe in have been able to beat the "fiends, goblins, monsters, giants" that Grendel is described as. Since his parents have experienced a bitter exile, I still believe that deep down Grendel contemplates whether or not attack Herot since he is aware of the experiences of his parents are other "forms of evil" when attacking or killing.

I think that this song would be one that Grendel would listen to after this specific attack on the mead-hall as describe in annotation number two. He leaves the town as he hears the people singing since they believe "by some lunatic theory they had won" which makes Grendel "shake with rage." He describes himself by saying "I cringe, clawing my flesh, and flee for home" upon his exiting. In Grendel's case this song discusses the lose of love and unity as described by the line "when you lose something you can't replace." Here Grendel is struggling with the lose of admiration and nurture from his family, that he still barely knew.

Link to the article: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/02/slaying-monsters