For centuries evil was defined by human preoccupation, and it was often indicated in the English literature. From Beowulf to Macbeth, people's perception on the nature of evil had matured and became more complex. In Beowulf's period, evil was simply defined based on outer appearances and actions. The author of Beowulf described the evil Grendel as a fearsome monster: 'He(with sharp claws)...snatched up thirty men, smashed them.' For the same reason, Grendel's …showed first 75 words of 494 total…

…showed last 75 words of 494 total…evil. Macbeth's ambition of becoming the king made him evil and murderous. He sent people to kill Banquo and slain Macduff's family. Macbeth and his wife had become just as evil as the witches or maybe even surpassed them The nature of evil had changed with people's religion over the centuries. Simple 'external' evil had developed into the more complex and ambiguous 'internal' evil. It had become difficult to identify evil in the English literature.