People bring consequences upon themselves when they make bad decisions and have bad desires. Invisible prisons are depicted in Grendel, by John Gardner, and in “The King of Assyria, at Peace with Foul Desire,” by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. King Hrothgar feels like he is locked in with no escape due to Grendel's torture and the Assyrian king also feels trapped. They both resent and don't appreciate the consequences that come from their flaws. In Grendel, Hrothgar feels tortured by Grendel because all his warriors and people are slowly being killed by Grendel. All Grendel wants is to make Hrothgar pay for what he has done, such as letting his warriors run free killing each other and leading them into war with enemies. Hrothgar never worried about anything even though his own warriors were dying, and all he did was sit and eat. He never truly felt pain or cared about cruel things happening around him such as the scenes observed by Grendel. Grendel never understood why humans could be so monstrous until he discovered that they cannot be converted. He decided to stop trying to help them and turn against them by killing them. She decided not to kill Hrothgar so she could watch and finally feel pain for his wrath. Slowly killing warriors and people would be like slapping Hrothgar in the face and allowing him to regret everything he has done. “Hrothgar says nothing, his beard is frozen, his features chapped and crazed” (13). But nothing stops Grendel from teaching Hrothgar a lesson. Howard's sonnet describes a horrible king who "has lost his honor and his rights" and should simply kill himself (Howard). The described king most likely knows that he has lost his honor and therefore feels trapped because he managed to... middle of paper... fight. He hoped that one day the torture would end and he was right, Beowulf freed him from his invisible prison. The Assyrian king, on the other hand, did not tolerate pain very well because once he felt it he killed himself. He didn't want to own up to his mistakes and overcome them. In a certain sense he is weak because he chose the easy way out of his invisible prison. There will always be consequences for your actions. Pain is always a factor, but it's how you handle it that reveals who you truly are. If you ever feel trapped, don't give up, stay there and lose hope; fight and learn from your mistakes and decisions! Grendel and “The King of Assyrians, at Peace with Foul Desire” are a perfect example of what you should and should not do when you feel disappointed or trapped. Learn from the consequences you take to become a better person.