Unferth proves to be a man among men--a hero. He espouses and lives out the heroic ideal. Grendel has never met a "hero" in the flesh, so he is surprised at Unferth's determination. Unfortunately for Unferth, his epic struggle to reach Grendel leaves him weakened beyond the ability to fight. Grendel's superior power renders Unferth impotent, and there is no witness to declare Unferth's heroic words as he faced Grendel in the monster's underground lair. This new kind of Scylding is merely different rather than better. In fact, he may be more pitiful in his seemingly delusional views of the
Imagine a slimy swamp like place where only the most horrid monsters with the most disgusting features live, this is the fen. Now imagine A wonderful bright beautiful hall that’s almost castle like, these are the two elements of the story Beowulf a New Telling.
Another ironic moment that contributes to the tone of the novel, is the encounter between Grendel and Unferth later in chapter six. Unferth seeks out Grendel to prove himself, or develop a high level of undeserving fame. Unferth is supposed to be a strong hero, yet he is arrogant and a coward. Unferth criticizes poetry, calling it “mere clouds of words, comfort to the hopeless” (88). The irony of that moment is that in that era, poetry defined what a hero was supposed to be. The only reason why Unferth opinions on what heroism is, is because of how fame is seen is his Anglo-Saxon
The Danes continue to test the monster that they’ve created, both knowingly and unwittingly. At times they intentionally challenge Grendel when he attacks, mostly by sending heroes to stop him. Unferth is the first man to chase after Grendel and follow him back to his cave and threaten to kill him; he tells Grendel, “‘One of us is going to die tonight. Does that break up your boredom?’” (89). It is expected that Grendel will rise up to this challenge and kill Unferth, who is weak from the journey to the cave and unable to stand, let alone fight. However, after Unferth falls asleep Grendel explains that he “picked him up and gently carried him home” (90). A monster would have simply killed him. This indicates that Grendel failed his test and is not a monster because he refuses to murder the hero. Grendel also fails another test when he decides not to kill Wealtheow after capturing her at the meadhall and watching as the men are unable to save her. He then suddenly decides that “It would be meaningless, killing her. As meaningless as letting her live,” and abruptly lets her go (110).
Unferth is considered less of a man because he is more intelligent than masculine. He may be intelligent, but he is neither a strong warrior nor a brave one. Beowulf recalls that fact that Unferth has been a warrior for Hrothgar the entire time that Grendel has been attacking, and he has done nothing towards defeating the monster. Beowulf states, “Now I cannot recall / any fight you entered, Unferth, / that bears comparison. (lines 582-84) Unferth may have been an intelligent man, but his lack of a high degree of masculinity causes his worth to be lower than that of Beowulf or any other brave warrior. Unferth’s inability to kill Grendel causes Hrothgar and the other warriors
Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye is about a character named Beowulf who has to fight evil by using strength, but by also using cleverness. Beowulf’s name means “bee hunter” and Beowulf loved bees. In the story a hall is built it is called Hall Heorot. “By day it towered above men’s heads like a second sun, so bright were it’s walls and roofs”(p. 5). Once the hall is made, a monster comes and eats people at night.
In Grendel’s first encounter with Unferth, he finds out that Unferth can understand him leading to Grendel mocking Unferth in all chances he can get. This power of language lowers Unferth’s heroic quality and thoughts in a matter of a few lines and reactions. Unferth is further buried by Beowulf’s words in their little spat of insults. Unferth attempts to belittle Beowulf’s reputation through talk of how he lost a swimming match, to which Beowulf retorts with the sharp dagger of words that is the line, “... I don’t recall hearing any glorious deeds of yours, except that you murdered your brothers.” (Gardener 162). Finally, Beowulf’s words get to sting one last time in his fight with Grendel. Beowulf talks to Grendel as if he were nothing, creating thoughts in Grendel’s mind of loss and of an unwinnable battle. Beowulf’s words may have had a stronger effect on the fight than his strength did, for his words crippled his opponent making him weak and
Beowulf is a hero, and we all know a hero when we see one. There are many traits and characteristics that make someone a hero. These traits and characteristics are more expressed in ancient epics and poems. Beowulf is one of the most famous ancient Anglo-Saxon poems still taught to this day in schools and colleges all over the world. The story starts off of how a man by the name of Beowulf receives news that a neighboring land is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. Beowulf shows several characteristics of here such as, bravery, loyalty, generosity, friendship, and showing a high level of intellect. Beowulf first shows his heroic character through his bravery while journeying on his epic quest. There are several cases where he is not afraid, and instead of being frightened, he shows great bravery. An example of from the poem is, “Instead, they inspected omens and spurred his ambitions to go, whilst he moved about like the leader he was, enlisting men, the best he could find; with fourteen others the warrior boarded the boast as captain” (Beowulf 205-210). This quote gives proof of his bravery because he was the head of the group leading his men. Beowulf proves that even he himself must be brave in order to lead the bravest of men into battle.
I have chosen to portray Unferth as a drunken mess to make his attacks towards Beowulf seem less truthful because Beowulf says that he will “tell the truth” (532) about incomplete story that Unferth has told. Beowulf portrays many desirable heroic characteristic in the poem such as courage and leadership, and I believe that my choice of making Unferth unable to collect his drunken thoughts into a accurate story further boosts the heroic traits of Beowulf. My use of description and powerful imagery such as “skull crushing waves” and (sea monsters lurking below) is to create a feeling that Beowulf has accomplished such massive feats in only this one section of his life. This further creates the heroic persona that Beowulf so greatly delivers.
In Grendel’s cave, Unferth stumbles in wishing he “had a chance. That [He] knew [He] had no more than that. It’s all a hero asks for,” (Gardner 89). Unferth believes that it does not matter if he lives or dies, or whatever the outcome would be, he just wants a chance to be a hero. He then speaks of what a true hero is; “The hero sees values beyond what’s possible. That’s the nature of a hero. It kills him, of course, ultimately, but it makes the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile,” (Gardner 89). In Anglo-Saxon times, it was normal for that to be the one goal of people’s lives. Unferth tells Grendel that he knows he is a hero, not by his successes or failures, but his dedication to the heroic craft . Unferth is very comfortable with his suicide for he knows he is a hero before the rewards and glory that come along. Unferth’s intentions are pure, but his actions are not. There is a clear hypocrisy between these characters where Beowulf acts like he wants to help, but has negative intentions. Unferth has the right intentions, but his actions are
Beowulf; a man whose greatness begun when he saved an entire kingdom from the clutches of the vile monster Grendel. Beowulf was known for countlessly putting his body and his life on the line to save his people. His courage and determination is what kept his legacy alive for all of these years. Not only that, but the respect he had for the people around him made him a remembered warrior as well. That’s what I think makes a hero. Being determined to get a job done, having the courage to step in and complete that job, and having enough respect for your people to still obey their wishes despite your apparent fame. The hero I will be writing about is the fictional Marvel Comics character known as the Black Panther (real name T’Challa). He and Beowulf
Through analysis of the text Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, it is questionable of whether or not Beowulf is good or evil. Based on his actions, intentions and motivations behind his actions, and the way culture shapes him, it is clear that he is, in fact, an evil character. Beowulf is a dishonorable character who is self-absorbed and only saves the people of Herot for fame and wealth.
After killing Grendel, “Unferth grew quiet, gave up quarreling over Beowulf’s old battles, stopped all his boasting. Once everyone saw proof of that prince’s strength, Grendel’s huge claw swinging high of that loathsome hand ending in nails as hard as bright steel”
In Robert Nye’s book, Unferth is portrayed as an antagonist, a character in a story that is an enemy to the protagonist, because he gets excited about Grendel’s massacres and tries to ruin Beowulf’s reputation and status by lying about him. According to Robert Nye’s book, Unferth says “Aloud, he praised King Hrothgar’s courage. Silently, he drank a toast to the demon Grendel.(pg.13)” This shows that Unferth celebrates Grendel and his killing. Unferth also says “You tried to drown your friend because he was a better swimmer than you!(pg30)”. This shows Unferth is supporting the demon Grendel instead of the hero Beowulf.
What are the challenges of the Anglo-Saxon life, that Beowulf faces? The strongest competitors Beowulf faced were Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.
Most teachers emphasize that a well-written character in a story should be deep, believable, and human, with flaws and personality. Then, say that Beowulf, a poem about a man who is as deep as a sheet of paper, is a masterpiece. While the poem Beowulf is one of the most important and influential pieces of literature in the world, Beowulf himself is a poorly written character when compared to characters of today’s standards.