Saturday, September 20, 2008

Blake Reference

Grendel begins with a quote from Romantic poet William Blake: "And if the Babe is born a Boy/He's given to a Woman Old,/ Who nails him down upon a rock,/ Catches his shrieks in cups of gold." What does the quote mean and how does it relate to the novel? Mayb want to revisit it as you read each section....

1 comment:

Me, Myself, and I said...

I'm not sure what it means by itself, but it relates to the novel because Grendel's mother keeps him in the caves, never encourages his explorations. She clings to him, she wants to love him, but she doesn't know how. She's just an old creature- I hesitate to call her a woman- who doesn't entirly know what to do with her son. She wants to keep him close, but she doesn't know how to comfort him, to make him want to stay.