BEOWULF 1

At the opening of this excerpt, Unferth tries to tarnish Beowulf’s reputation by discussing his swimming match with Breca. Why would Unferth do this? How does Beowulf respond? How does his response contribute to his persona as a hero?

When Beowulf sails over to the Danes he meets Hrothgar who accepts Beowulf’s offer to defeat Grendel. Hrothgar invites him to mead-hall for a night of celebration. They eat, drink and are amazed by Beowulf. Unferth doesn’t want to look bad in front of his own people so he tries to make Beowulf look bad by telling his people about how he lost a swimming match to Breca. Beowulf explains that while he was swimming he was pulled down by a sea monster and had to fight him and kill him. He explains that because he killed the monster the sea was safer for all the sailors. After he says that Unferth or anyone else couldn’t try to kill the sea monster, and if he tried he wouldn’t make it to the finish. His actions contribute to his persona because they show that he is strong, brave, and pertinacious. Beowulf redeems his reputation and shows his dominant personality by restoring the atmosphere in the room and bringing back the peoples confidence in him. People look up to him because he shows that he has the strength and courage to take action and not back down for anything. People hope that he will save them from Grendel.