1. What purpose does Unferth serve? Unferth served the purpose to show a secondary antagonist against Beowulf. Grendel represent the evil envy creates in the world 2.
Grendel thinks at first that Unferth is not an honorable man but when he says he really doesn’t care what happens to him only he knows what happens there that is the only thing that matter. “But Unferth didn 't. "Or lies here," he said. "A hero is not afraid to face cruel truth." That reminded him, apparently, of what he 'd meant to say before. "You talk of heroism as noble language, dignity.
“You’re Beowulf, are you – the same boastful fool who fought a swimming match with Brecca and lost” said Unferth within lines 239-24. Beowulf knew that he could handle the demon, but Unferth was furious because he felt as if the Danes people and himself, could fight their own battles. He felt as if it made his people look bad, because they needed help from an outside hero. I feel as if in that same way some people around our school look at someone and just think they aren’t what or who they say they are. During football season, some of the guys that I thought were my friends would talk about how I wasn’t any good or couldn’t save the team from a big play at any given moment.
(Raffel, pg, 8).” Unferth had a talk with Beowulf about why he should not go and kill Grendel. Afterall, Beowulf did not listen to Unferth and went to kill Grendel with King Hrothgar’s advice. In conclusion, lof, comitatus, and wyrd is important to Beowulf’s culture by having King Hrothgar’s advice and hearing from the people why they wanted Beowulf dead.
In Beowulf, Unferth tries to rile up Beowulf, viewing him as not as glorious as the stories claim, but once he kills Grendel and begins his hunt for Grendel’s mother, he realizes his words were wrong. He tries to apologize by lending Beowulf his own sword, Hrunting. Beowulf gladly accepts the sword and even states “‘to that far-famed man I bequeath my own / sharp-honed, wave-sheened wonder-blade. / With Hrunting I shall gain glory or die’” (1489-1491).
In the great epic, Beowulf, an unknown poet describes Beowulf as an invincible hero with the amazing strength stronger than any human ever, but does having the traits of an incredible warrior, make him a great king? A great king is loyal, generous, reliable and should be able to realize what he needs to do to make sure his people are safe. Beowulf is brave, strong, and extremely confident in his combat abilities, but Beowulf does not think about the possible effects of his actions. Beowulf cares about his fame, fortune, and legacy, but he often makes rushed decisions that risk his life and could potentially leave his people powerless and unprotected. During Beowulf’s transformation from thane to king, he has always had more of a warrior’s mindset,
Unferth was jealous of Herot’s interest in Beowulf. With envy beginning on line 499 and ending on line 528 Unferth tries to publicly humiliate and discredit Beowulf. With a condescending tone the audience (I) began to
In the epic Beowulf and The Wife's Lament poem perceive many differences but similar situations. In the excerpt about Unferth and Beowulf portrays similar reactions of anger and contempt. To start,Unferth begins the first move by challenging Beowulf out of jealousy. For instance, in both excerpts he states Beowulf challenged Brecca to a swimming match and lost; trying to destroy Beowulf's good name in the presence of the king. While Beowulf counters and states Unferth had killed his brothers for having knowledge of his mother; his "own close kinsmen"(Unknown lines 505).
He outright rejects feminine traits ergo, his character propagates ideals to the audience. In addition, the ability to sacrifice one’s life is tied directly to masculinity. When Grendel’s mother is seeking revenge for her son and needs to be killed, Unferth does not portray manly will. Thus, he is described as “not man enough/ to face the turmoil of a fight… and to risk his life”(1468-70). Through contrasting Beowulf’s readiness to kill Grendel’s mom and Unferth’s lack thereof, manliness is even more yearned for.
Grendel tries to stop the problem before it gets out of hand, he contact beowulf to be the bigger man, but Beowulf will not
Although he knew there was a chance that he would not make it out alive, he chose to leap into the peril moor not worrying about the potential consequences. King and Beowulf both fought Grendel. However, King’s “Grendel” can be seen as equality between all races. Threats, violence, or attacks never caused them to back down from their
The continued honor shown in Beowulf’s character shines through when Beowulf never mentions that Unferth’s trusted sword was no match for Grendel’s mother. Beowulf could have simply boasted how the sword was useless and ineffective against the female beast, yet he was silent out of respect for Unferth. Finally, during Beowulf’s time as ruler (fifty winters), another beast arrives: a dragon. This time, Beowulf is much older and is in a much weaker state than when he first defeated Grendel and his mother. However, that does not deter Beowulf from going out and defending his kingdom.
Also it was very hard to kill Grendel's mother. In the movie and poem, Unferth gave Beowulf a gift to fight Grendel's mother. But unfortunately, the sword didn’t works on
As you know Unferth isn’t really glad that Beowulf has arrived. Unferth points out he won’t be able to defeat Grendel, “ So I am sure you will pay a heavy price”(442). Beowulf only replies back with the truth, feeling frustrated
He says such things because he is madly jealous that Beowulf will fight with Grendel instead of him. On the other hand, Beowulf counteracts Unferth by staying calm, explaining
