Unferth's Heroism In Beowulf

Hrothgar, the king of the Danes is faced with the issue of a horrible monster, Grendel tearing apart his soldiers and causing bloodshed. This is where Beowulf comes along, he is prepared with his men to defeat this monster and when the time comes Beowulf is more than ready to face him. Beowulf

Hrothgar's people understood that Beowulf was a hero and would soon be a great leader. They saw that Beowulf was a hero because he defeated the main outcast which was Grendel, while defeating his mother as well, then Beowulf showed his bravery for the people by attempting to slay the dragon. Beowulf only had his people in mind when he went on these three quests. He never thought about being defeated himself but only thought about defeating the outcasts for the greater good of the

“If this combat kills me, take care /of my young company, my comrades in arms. /And be sure also, my beloved Hrothgar, /to send Hygelac the treasures I have received.” (lns. 1480-1483) This quote shows that Beowulf thinks first of his people, then of his possessions. The quote starts with Beowulf facing the fact that he may not come back from this fight alive, revealing that although he has superhuman strength, he is still human and can die. The very next thing Beowulf says of Hrothgar is a request to keep the young men that came to fight with him safe should he not survive. This shows Beowulf’s compassion towards his fellow warriors and that they are his main concern. Lastly he makes sure that Hrothgar knows what to do with Beowulf’s earthly possessions. By requesting that his possessions be given to his king Beowulf shows his selflessness and loyalty to his people.

When Beowulf is helping Hrothgar get his vengeance, he attacks Grendel, “saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws, Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at his hands.” (Beowulf, page 36). Beowulf fights Grendel with his hands because he promised Hrothgar that he would help him obtain his vengeance. Beowulf gets his fame, wealth and glory for his victory over Grendel which was achievable through Hrothgar’s desire for vengeance against the monster. After the battle with Grendel, Hrothgar spoke to Beowulf, “Glory is now yours, Forever and ever; your courage has earned it, And your strength.” (Beowulf, page 42). Hrothgar praises Beowulf for granting his desire of vengeance on Grendel and awards him. He tells Beowulf that he has earned glory and wealth by helping him in destroying Grendel.

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

1) Describe how we find King Hrothgar and his response to learning that Beowulf has come to his kingdom.

When Unferth finds Grendel he declares that killing Grendel will make him a hero among his community. When Grendel hears that Unferth wants to be viewed as a hero he states, “An evil idea came over me - so evil it made me shiver as I smiled” (Gardner 83). This evil idea that Grendel is referring to is purposefully ruining Unferth’s reputation. Grendel’s humiliation of Unferth is evident when Grendel says, “And now I was raining apples at him and laughing myself weak” (Gardner 85). Not only was Grendel causing physical harm to Unferth by throwing apples, his laughter implies that he found joy in doing the evil act. Grendel’s evil character is expressed furthermore when he explains, “I got more pleasure from that apple fight than from any other battle in my life” (Gardner 86). If Grendel truly was not evil, why would he feel “pleasured” by altercations and harming other individuals? Unferth only wants to die after being humiliated and pleads Grendel to kill him. While Grendel does show mercy in not killing Unferth, he only chooses not to so that Unferth can be viewed by his community as defeated, not heroic. Because Unferth does not want to be viewed as any less than a hero, he suggests killing himself after Grendel refuses to. Grendel, however, mocks this thought of Unferth by

After the first victory, Beowulf’s “comrades willingly go with him because of their confidence in his ability to lead them and to achieve their objectives” (Loughman). Beowulf becomes a role model not only for his thanes, but for the Danes of Heorot as well. Following defeat of Grendel’s mother, Hrothgar gives a sermon before the celebration honoring Beowulf begins. Hrothgar says “Beowulf, my friend, your fame has gone far and wide, you are known everywhere….forever you will be your people’s mainstay and your own warriors’ helping hand” (McArthur). King Hrothgar informs Beowulf of his significance to the Danes and how he serves as the backbone of his group of warriors.

Hrothgar’s courage and strength diminishes as he moves out of Heorot into huts sitting outside his grand hall. He no longer feels like the king he once was because he cannot protect his kingdom. Even Hrothgar’s men lose their courage and faith that Beowulf will triumph over Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s Mother, the Danes retreat in fear:

While Beowulf has not defeated Grendel yet, Hrothgar warmly welcomes Beowulf and makes him as comfortable as possible to prepare his fight with Grendel, because Hrothgar understands clearly that without Beowulf’s help, he cannot protect his people.

Unferth views a hero as someone who dedicates their personal being to making the lives of others better. He explains “It kills him of course, ultimately, but it makes the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile” (Gardner 89) this is seen as what a hero does, however he does not act this way when battling Grendel. Unferth shows he is only a hero for fame, rather than personal fulfillment when he says “It will be sung year on year and age on age that Unferth went down through the burning lake” (Gardner 85) He is so blinded by the thought of temporary fame, he will give his life to be remembered by his people for an interim time. Unferth follows Grendel to his cave, determined to prove that he should be remembered because of his journey to the cave. He continually attempts to prove his worthiness, however Grendel relentlessly ignores his

Even though the characters in the story mostly act unlike a normal Christian, the author makes sure to still make references to God and religion. When Beowulf and his crew arrived at Heorot, “they thanked God for that easy crossing on a calm sea” (17). This proves that Beowulf believed in God no matter what he acted liked or how he behaved. After this, the author makes another God reference when Hrothgar says that the “Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him here to the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel” (27). Hrothgar is saying that God has been god to Heorot and brought them Beowulf to defend them from an attack from Grendel.

The character Beowulf embodied the Pagan heroic code (comitatus), but he also exhibited Christian values. Overall, he was a warrior and a hero who sought fame and reputation. Most of his actions were motivated by his desire to be remembered after his death as a courageous and loyal warrior. When Beowulf hears about Hrothgar’s trouble he goes to help him. He wants to help him for a few reasons, all of which relate to the comitatus. He wants to acquire fame and he wants lifelong honor. By beating Grendel he would receive honor and his reputation would be enhanced. Also, Beowulf wants to repay Hrothgar for settling a feud for his father years before. Beowulf is willing to do battle for the old king even though it means that he could die.

Thanks to this “sermon”, the reader can understand the difference between being a wise king and a brave warrior, which is also one of the main themes of the poem. Hrothgar is the model for maturity and wisdom: before becoming king he had been a warrior like Beowulf too, so he knows what he is talking about when he compares strength and fortune to a “trap”. He is the symbol of stability and tries to share this values with Beowulf, who is exactly his opposite. The young hero embodies, on the contrary, the manners and values of the Germanic code, like loyalty and pride. But pride is presented here as a “double-edged sword”, because if it is not controlled can lead to death. Hrothgar, trying to prepare Beowulf for the ascension to the throne, becomes an inspiring model for him. However, as explained previously, Beowulf demonstrates at the end to be a brave king, but not a wise one… He becomes older and more powerful, but he seems not to have grown up mentally, because ‘till the very end he is focused on reaching glory (to the detriment of his people’s safety) even if he knows that it is inevitable for him to lose. This passage is a sort of forecast of what the reader will read next and demonstrates that heroism means nothing if it is not “blown over” by