Grendel Study Guide

John Gardner was an American writer, critic, and professor. After growing up in New York, he attended DePauw University and Washington University in St. Louis, studying English. He went on to get his M.A. and PhD. from the University of Iowa and then taught creative writing and medieval literature (including, no doubt, Beowulf) at various universities. Late in his career, Gardner wrote Grendel and the novel was his first work of fiction to garner much acclaim. Grendel established Gardner as a significant American writer and, while he went on to write several other well-received books, Grendel is still his best-known work.

While the novel does not refer to any actual historical events, the story of Grendel takes place within the context of medieval Anglo-Saxon culture and its emphases on heroism, kingship, and loyalty.

Gardner’s novel is a rewriting of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. This epic poem was written in Old English and, like other Old English epics, celebrates the daring feats of a hero, as Beowulf defeats Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon. As a scholar of medieval literature, Gardner would have been familiar with the epic tradition surrounding Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon culture from which it emerged. Gardner borrows some of his plot and many character names from Beowulf, but creates a full life for Grendel prior to his encounter with Beowulf. At several moments in Grendel, Gardner inserts passages of poetry that imitate the form of Beowulf. In addition to rewriting the epic poem from the monster’s point of view, Gardner’s use of stream-of-consciousness narration and insertion of philosophical arguments into his novel allow us to gain modern insights into the mythic-medieval world of Grendel and Beowulf.