Original Student Entries for Grendel

What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Paradise Lost (and/or the Bible) and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?

A Rose is never just a Rose . . .

In keeping with the last blog, archetypal symbols and metaphors are a powerful tool for writers.  They help us see through the specifics and get a firmer hold of the larger, more universal idea at work.

What important symbols do you see at work in Grendel?  Do these abstract connections lead us to a greater understanding of character or theme?

Wait a minute . . . isn't that a Hamlet reference?

Good works of literature often "borrow" images, references, symbols, and characters from other great literature and cultural myths in order to advance a certain idea and get us -- the reader -- thinking in new ways.  These allusions and reference-points remind us of larger ideas and themes and thus get us to experience the text in a different light.
What connections to other literature, myths, stories, cinema, and art do you see in Grendel?  Why does Gardner draw this parallel (what is the significance of this connection)?

Heavenly incongruencies . . . .

In examining closely the character and consequences of both Satan and Adam, consider the following questions and feel free to respond to one or more than one:

1) Is Man just another Satan, another Fallen angel?  How are the two alike, different?

2) Why is Man offered an opportunity for redemption, but Satan is not?  Looking at this closely, what seems to be the preeminent sin in God's book, according to Milton?

3) How does this epic serve as both a prophecy of things to come for Mankind and a social critique from Milton of his day and age?

4) How involved is God in the actions of the story?  What becomes part of the message, given his level of involvement?

5) Why does Milton include so many references to older mythologies?  Does Milton seem critical of Christian orthodoxy or conservatively faithful?