Literary Foils Of Beowulf, Julius Caesar, And Dr. Jekyll...

British Literature contains literary foils. Foils serve as a contrast to the characters. Foils are usually the antagonists and protagonists of stories. Literary foils are evident throughout British literature in the stories of Beowulf, Julius Caesar, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Foils exist in the epic Beowulf. Beowulf is written by an unknown author and is translated by Burton Raffel in the Anglo-Saxon era. There is a force, vitality, clearness and distinctiveness in the characters, not only in Beowulf’s personality, but in all the other personalities (Brooke). Beowulf and Grendal are very contrasting characters because of their distinct personalities. Beowulf is a famous soldier s son â€Å"My father / was a famous soldier, known far and wide / As a leader of men† (Beowulf 174-175, 40). Beowulf comes from a much nicer background than Grendal s. Grendal was spawned and not born unto the earth. â€Å"†¦ He was spawned in that slime, / Conceived by a pair of those monsters born / Of Cain, murderous creatures banished / By God, punished, forever in the crime / of Able s death† (Beowulf 19-23, 42). Grendal is spawned, making him not human. This proves that Grendal is a foil to Beowulf. Another foil is Grendal s mom to Beowulf. Grendal s mom is considered a demon like Grendal is. One of the devils was a female creature. The other, they say, walked through the wilderness Like a man - but mightier than any man. They were frightened, and they fled, Hoping to find help In