On the topic of Beowulf, by unknown author, some critics have taken the position of "Oh, those monsters, so silly, so juvenile; if they were gone this might be a poem worth something." This is incorrect thinking. Without the monsters such as the dragon, Grendel and his mother, Beowulf would be a pointless story. Without monsters in the story, elements such as Beowulf's strength, courage, and heroism would not be displayed. Most importantly without monsters absolutely nothing would happen in the story.

Without monsters like Grendel and the dragon, Beowulf's overwhelming brute strength would not be properly displayed. Grendel is a huge monster with skin that no human weapon can penetrate. Because Beowulf can't use a sword, he must use his bare hands to defeat the beast. The author made sure that a beast, defeated by a man's bare hands, could only be destroyed by Beowulf, to show...