How we cite our quotes: (Page) Vintage Books, 1989
Quote #10
He's whispering—spilling words like showers of sleet, his mouth three inches from my ear. I will not listen. I continue whispering. As long as I whisper myself I need not hear. His syllables lick at me, chilly fire. His syllables lick... (169-170)
In the standoff between Grendel and Beowulf, words may be the deciding factor. Consider that these two contenders are pretty evenly matched, physically speaking. Now it's a psychological game. Beowulf happens to come out on top of this one—he psychs Grendel out in a big way. He's also really good at imposing his will on Grendel (notice that even the sound of his words is tormenting him here).
Quote #11
"Grendel, Grendel! You make the world by whispers, second by second. Are you blind to that? Whether you make it a grave or a garden of roses is not the point. Feel the wall: is it not hard?"He smashes me against it, breaks open my forehead. "Hard, yes! Observe the hardness, write it down in careful runes. Now sing of walls! Sing!"(171)
Beowulf challenges Grendel's theories about creating the world through his own perceptions. Maybe Grendel could believe that before, when he was the predator—it's a lot easier to call the shots when you're the one smashing heads and destroying things. But now, Beowulf is making him understand that walls really are objectively hard. Giving Grendel a music assignment (and making him do it) means that Beowulf now gets to impose his version of reality on Grendel. The biggest reality check of all? Monsters lose.