Beowulf’s first encounter with Grendel is at night when the warriors are asleep. Beowulf is there, watching Grendel, waiting for him to strike. The creature picks up a warrior and swallows him completely, then decides to strike Beowulf but Beowulf seizes his vicious claw and holds on to it. At this point Grendel is confused and fearful as he tries to pull away. Grendel is in such agony that he finally rips from the grasp

and runs away, leaving a bloody trail and his severed arm. Beowulf’s ability to beat the monster with his bear hands shows his super-human strength and courage to put his people before himself. After passing a day of mourning over her son, Grendel’s mother goes to heorot seeking vengeance for his death. She bursts into heorot and devours one man, then snatches the arm of her son that is mounted on the wall and returns to her home in the dark moors. Beowulf is summoned from his sleep and is led to the moors by Hrothgar. At the bloodstained lake the search party finds the head of the warrior Aeschere as well as the serpentine creatures that inhabit the murky lake, and they shake with fear. Beowulf simply asks for his armor and tells Hrothgar to return his belongings to Hygelac, his king, if something happens. He dives into the lake, and after a long time he reaches the bottom of the lake where Grendel’s mother waits for him. She reaches for him, but his armor protects him. When he tries to cut her he realizes that his sword cannot cut her and the two begin to wrestle but neither gains an advantage. Beowulf spies a large sword and manages to grab it, and in one mighty blow he beheads Grendel’s mother, still angry he also beheads Grendel, who lies dead in the cave. His ability to stay underwater for so long also shows his strength, but his armor protecting him from being hurt means although he has a lot of power he can still be killed. When Beowulf was fighting Grendel's mother he was able to slay her by slashing her neck with a Giant's swor

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