preview

Examples Of Unferth In Beowulf

Decent Essays

Beowulf vs. Unferth. When we read the Beowulf poem we have the figure of a strong, protective hero who has no fear of adversity. These qualities are the ones that a hero should have in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian society in medieval times. These qualities can be seen in Beowulf, main character of the literary work that bears his name. Beowulf arrives in the presence of King Hrothgar, who needs help with a monster named Grendel whom devouring men overnight in the Hall Heorot. This terrifying fact needs a hero who has the courage, the strength to fight the monster and Beowulf thinks he has all those attributes to be able to finish with Grendel. When Beowulf comes before King Hrothgar, he explains who he is. He tells about his lineage …show more content…

They were swimming for days and nights in the sea, armed with their swords. Beowulf mentions that a storm separated them. Then he confronts monstrous sea creatures, killed them and finally reaches to the coast. Since there were no witnesses of the feat of Beowulf, his story cannot be corroborated. Only Beowulf could defend himself by telling how it really the story happened and that in the end he was a true hero by killing the sea monsters. Throughout Beowulf, boasting is presented as a key component of 3 the reputation, a good way to assert its position in a society determined by acts of value. The boasting of Beowulf actually increases his honor and raises the level of expectations as how he will do in the impending battle with Grendel. But it is necessary to analyze what type of boasting is the one that Beowulf is presuming in his version. We could assume that we see a difference between adequate and petulant boasting. Feeling overshadowed by Beowulf, Unferth exposes the feat of Beowulf with Breca and accuses him of vanity. But it is the own Unferth that is guilty of vanity, since it is he who is jealous of Beowulf. The label of morals of that society dictates that it is not appropriate to Unferth trying to dishonor a guest; once it does, the retaliation of Beowulf is convenient and even necessary to maintain its

Get Access