Good versus evil is the usual theme to any best seller piece of literature. Beowulf is an epic poem that depicts a legendary hero that is beckoned to defeat a nefarious foe. But how does the author go about telling the audience of such a theme? An author must use literary elements such as imagery, allusion, and syntax so that the reader can be sure that the theme is based on a hero fighting against an evil enemy.Imagery is used throughout the peom to depict who is good and who is evil. " He was spawned in that slime, conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God..." is an example of imagery that depicts Grendel. It is obvious to see that he is not an angle-based character. When you visualize slime, what do you see? You may imagine a creature that is atrocious. "When darkness had dropped, Grendel went up to Herot..." tells the reader that this creatures fits the profile of evil that creeps around at night, as a sort of "boogey man." "He...snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds and ran out with their
             bodies, the blood dripping behind him..." concludes that Grendel is truly the evil of Beowulf. But who exactly is Beowulf? "They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies blood..." " I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one..." allows the reader to imagine a muscular man with determination to conquer all that is evil. These very quotes were that of Beowulf's, signifying that he is indeed the good of the story. Imagery depicts who is good and who is evil.Allusion is used to bring the reader out of the story for just a moment and allow them to realize connections to outside refrences. For example, going back to the quote "...conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain..." allows the reader to analyze what exaclty the author wantsthem ...