Unferth In Beowulf

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

I did nothing” (87). Unferth didn’t tell Grendel that he wanted Grendel to kill him, but Grendel was able to draw that conclusion. As alike as Grendel and Unferth are, there is no good relationship between them, furthering Grendel’s isolation from other characters even those that possess the same

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

Throughout the poem, Beowulf’s deeds seem marvelous and good, yet in end his deeds are shown to be done solely out of lust for glory. The first indication of this occurs when Unferth interrogates Beowulf on Beowulf losing a simple race. Beowulf immediately counters this criticism with a boast stating he lost the race to save sailors, “From now on sailors would

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

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 then responds by saying that both he and Breca were neck in neck during the entirety of the contest but during the final stretch to the coast of Finland Beowulf was pulled into the water by a sea monster. In the book, it is said that he then killed that monster and nine other monsters but by the time he finished dealing with them Breca had already won. Whilst in the movie after Beowulf deals with the first few monsters he is confronted by a mermaid but then it turns out to be Grendel’s mother. Finishing off his story by rebuking Unferth saying that if he was as good a warrior as he says, Grendel wouldn’t still be alive creating chaos in Heorot of which Unferth had no answer. Beowulf’s pride really revealed itself when he defended his feats against Unferth’s claims, that even though he didn’t win the swimming match against Breca he defeated the monsters of the deep, how even though he didn’t win the match he had won in some other sense. His final insult to Unferth shows a taunting tone which heavily contrasts how Beowulf addresses Unferth with respect after defeating Grendel’s mother thanking Unferth’s ancient sword Hrunting when in reality the sword was completely useless in the

One of the ways Beowulf is considered evil is that he is very self-absorbed. Throughout the whole text, people see in many ways that he is very egotistical. For example, when arguing with Unferth about fighting the monsters in the sea with Brecca he states “But the truth/Is simple: no man swims in the sea/As I can, no strength is a match for mine.” (lines 533-534) This quote shows that Beowulf thinks very highly of himself but not in a good way. When arguing with Unferth he’s basically is mocking him telling him that he isn’t any better than Beowulf himself and that Beowulf thinks he’s better than everybody. Another part in the book where we see Beowulf being very self-absorbed is the night they were waiting for Grendel to show up and he said: “Grendel is no braver, no stronger than I am!” (lines 677-678) He think’s he’s better than everyone else just like when he was arguing with Unferth. He thinks that he can do everything that a normal person can’t which makes him look very cocky.

Nobody likes a liar and the Hollywood version of Beowulf makes him dishonest. In the poem, Beowulf is challenged by Unferth because the thinks Beowulf is over exaggerating himself about his accomplishment. Beowulf does tell them about how he defeated the monsters going detail to detail. But while he was bragging about it, he remembers a

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.

After the killing of Grendel, Beowulf had a great feast held for him. During this feast Unferth, a warrior, starts taunting Beowulf during the feast saying “You’re Beowulf, are you the same

Beowulf also appears to be very religious and, unlike other proud warriors, he always puts his faith in God and gives Him the credit of his victories. Before facing Grendel, Beowulf exclaims to the others in the hall, "... Let God in his wisdom/ Extend his hand where he wills, reward/ Whom he chooses" (lines 685-687). In addition, after his fight with Grendel's mother, Beowulf returns and tells Hrothgar that he would have died if God had not helped him, "...I'd have been dead at once/ And the fight finished, the she-devil victorious,/ If our Father in Heaven had not helped me" (lines 1656-1658). Even at the very end of his life, Beowulf proclaims to Wiglaf that everything he had acquired had been through the will of God, "For this, this gold, these jewels, I thank/ Our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth--/ For all of this, that His grace has given me..." (lines 2794-2796). Up until the end, Beowulf demonstrates

Beowulf shows both wit and patience in his swift retort after Unferth challenges his skill. Later, after proving himself by dismembering Grendel, he accepts Unferth’s sword to face Grendel’s mother. This offering can be seen as an act of

Not only is Beowulf extremely courageous but he is the mold that hero's model themselves after he is noble, true to his word and his unquestionable trust in his skills. When Beowulf gets to Heorot and they begin to feast, Unfearth goes up to Beowulf, and questions the race that he and Brecca had in the fierce open sea saying that no matter what he had done before that he would not be able to defeat Grendel because many great warriors had come before him and his fate would be no different; however, Beowulf has trust in his skills that God has graced him with just as he did when he raced Brecca in the open sea. By Beowulf saying this, he is letting Unfearth know that now as well as when he raced Brecca he is the best and will not be beaten. Beowulf then begins to challenge Unfearth's skills by saying if he was really as courageous as he has been saying he is, then Grendel wouldn't be