Grendl’s Mother

Genre: Poetry

by Jane Gardner

A vital, poetic reimagining of an ancient text. Grendel’s Mother, inspired by the famous Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, gives a voice to the monster’s mother. Gardner tells the story in verse, blending the ancient form of epic poetry with modern forms. Grendel’s Mother is unnamed in Beowulf, and she remains unnamed here. This seemingly essential lack speaks about the marginalised everywhere. It shows that the unknown and the disregarded can relate their experiences and that their perspectives have value. The poems evoke images of proud warriors, the music of the psaltery, laughter in the mead hall and the sounds of nature, the forest, and the ocean. They also probe the meaning of monstrousness in womanhood and the struggles of a marginalised human being in the harsh world of our ancestors, and, indeed, in any world.