Nihilism, The Empty Divine

“Seek out gold and sit on it.”

The dragon regarded me with scorn

I took a gem to throw at him

And he laughed with such arrogance

Which made me think, like a human man

But he only scoffed at such a notion.

 

The dragon told me he saw everything

The things he cannot change

Ignorance, like patchwork, he told to me

Humans fumble like fools to glue together the pieces

“And when they grow wise,” the dragon said,

“They listen to the songs of glory.”

The Dragon’s scales spread over their minds

Yet I c**k my head to the side

I do not comprehend such wild talk of the empty divine

 

The dragon told me I am just another

I am merely a ripple in a sprawling river

For once, I considered relenting

“There is nothing to improve upon,” the Dragon said,

“There is nothing that really matters.”

Burn the world, destroy their homes

He told me to raise Cain

So humanity can build and move on

He told me to be the catalyst of change

“You are the enemy, embrace the fact

That the only purpose you serve

Is to push against the human race

So they can push you back.”

 

The dragon told me the future

In convoluted riddles and words

I could not dismiss it, for in moments of time

The smoke reigns over me from the sky

The arrows shower against my skin

Making me laugh because I think of him

I remember what he said of the future for me

He told me that my fate is to die

But my destiny is controlled by my enemy

 

“Seek out gold and sit on it.”

I have changed my mind.

Author's Note

I realize that this may seem like a hot mess to those who have not read "Grendel" by John Gardner. It's a book based off of the character Grendel from "Beowulf". It shows him in a somewhat more sympathetic light, and makes him less of a static character than in "Beowulf".

In chapter five, Grendel meets the Dragon, who tells the former he can see into the future. He tells Grendel to embrace the role of "destroyer of mead halls", because in the end, everything will fade and nothing will have had mattered. Grendel is skeptical because his childish mind cannot understand such concepts.

However, after Grendel visits the Dragon, he feels a whole new emptiness in the world. When he listens to the Shaper's songs comning from the meadhall, instead of making him feel lonely or remorseful like they used to, they fill him with rage. So begins his twelve year war against the Danes...

Other information so this won't go over some people's heads: the Dragon gave Grendel immunity to human weapons. Annddd, the Dragon /may/ be just in Grendel's mind, as my friends and I believe. I was surprised to find that to be speculated by critics, too. Also, the Shaper is an important character, and the reason why Grendel came to the dragon.

So "Grendel" is basically the monster's coming-of-age tale. It makes me feel sorry for him in ways, since the author portrays him as an outcast trying to find where he fits into society. However, in "Beowulf", he is a blood-thirsty monster who hates all of the celebrating and music in the mead halls, which he comes to destroy.

This is my way of summarizing the long, philosophical discussion between the Dragon and Grendel. My favorite part has to be the third stanza's last lines. The “fate/destiny” lines are inspired by a discussion I had with my friends. We debated whether or not Grendel could have fought against death at Beowulf’s hands. And we decided that he could have fought against his destiny, but his fate was to die, as the Dragon had said. Also, the “seek out gold” line is a quote from the book.

Reviews

[Dominick B. Hill]

Ah! I have read "Beowulf", quite good. Though, I like that Grendel gets a "second chance" and a new interpretation. Very much enjoyed your interpretation of Grendel. Perhaps there are other characters you could do this with also? Mr. Hyde, The Green Knight, et cetera. Anyway, keep up the great work!

Dominick.

[J. R.]

That's a very interesting way to look at Grendel. A misfit seeing nothing but emptiness in a world hostile to him.

[Deepshikha]

I read this with no idea of the background, and while I was a bit lost, not so much that I couldn't appreciate how well you were conveying what felt like an extremely complex philosophy in such a small time. You've done it again.