Topic: Why is Grendel a parody of Beowulf?
A parody can be defined as a work whose purpose is to mock or poke fun at the original work. It can also be defined as the imitation of a very serious piece of literary work of an author in a nonsensical way. Grendel by John Gardner has often been said to be a parody of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf.
Grendel is almost exactly the same story as Beowulf, except for one major difference. In Beowulf, Beowulf is the protagonist, the hero who kills Grendel at the end of the poem. Grendel has the narrator of the monster himself, Grendel, which makes him become the protagonist. This allows us to see Grendel’s inner feelings and motivations, rather than just his harsh actions. Most of the plot and actions of the characters Gardner borrows from the poem Beowulf. Also, there are instances in Grendel where Grendel himself looks down upon the idea of a hero, which Beowulf was said to be in Beowulf. In summation, the fact that Grendel is based on Beowulf makes it a parody of Beowulf.