Journal 3

Grendel, in the beginning, has never talked to a human or heard them speak. When he finally encounters a human, it happens to be the king of the kingdom. They believe Grendel is a tree spirit. When Grendel heard them talk he realizes that their language is somehow kin to his. He tries to speak to them but sees that they don’t understand him. As Grendel begins to grow up he acquires new words, mostly vulgar words and uses them a lot. When Grendel becomes much older, he becomes more poetic after his encounter with the Shaper and listening to his music. Grendel seems to dislike language because of its various tongues but appreciates the poetic rhythm and the quality of words. He becomes frustrated with the fact that humans can’t understand him and that his mother does not speak. Although the humans can’t understand him, he still learned from them.