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He is not afraid to battle Grendel and his mother; in fact, he seems to welcome the challenge. This is important to the story because it helps back up the poet's tales of bravery and courage, and helps show that Beowulf is indeed an epic hero. A hero has to be brave in battle, and understanding off the battlefield, and Beowulf is both. He is not afraid to rise to Unferth's challenge because he is sure of himself, and this is a characteristic of a hero as well.
This challenge also helps the reader understand the characters even more. Beowulf shows not only that he is heroic, but also that he can argue and persuade with the best of them, when he takes Unferth's challenge and explains what really happened in the seas. He says, "I had greater strength at sea, withstood in the waves more woes than any man. Being young and rash, as youth is prone to be, we two promised, and then pledged, that we would venture our very lives out on the ocean -- and so we did" (B, 55). Thus, he shows his strength and...
By the end of his dialogue, Unferth's challenge is answered, and the group go back to celebrating. The people respect Beowulf, and this scene helps show why. He is quick on his feet, not afraid to answer a challenge, and clearly braver than the man doing the challenging. Therefore, by the end of the scene the reader knows more about Beowulf and his character, and knows that with that kind of character, he will certainly win over any challenge he faces. Unferth, on the other hand, just looks like a jealous coward who cannot face a great challenge like Grendel.
References
Readable Beowulf: The Old English Epic. Trans. Stanley B. Greenfield. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982.
And all that would remain would be their brothers to mourn them, inconsolable. The anxiety expressed by this poem is acutely felt and accurately represents the norms of the era. During this era, if someone was killed by someone else, the family of the slain person would have to kill the murderers in order to avenge the death of their beloved. Thus, it makes perfect sense that the poem goes
Beowulf and Treasure In the epic poem Beowulf, the hero is one born to wealth and raised to wealth. This position, rather than making him weak, has allowed Beowulf to become respected in his community as a man of generosity and, because of his skills as a warrior, immense courage. To this extent, the reader sees Beowulf engaging in acts of bravery and of generosity towards his fellow men. Contrast this
The tale would not be told at a single event, but it would be narrated with one event from the hero's life at a time. Also, the singer had to recount the story of the hero as it was and he was usually a very educated man with great knowledge of history and of poetry. (Snell, M) It is believed that the Angles and the Scandinavians kept in touch and
Nevertheless, he is resolute in his decision to face the dragon in order to continue on towards his attainment of the paradoxical heroic ideal, even if he recognizes that this ideal may be the cause of unwarranted pain and suffering, and thus tells his men that "this fight is not yours, / nor is it up to any man except me / to measure his strength against the monster
Beowulf Having been written somewhere between the 8th and 11th centuries and being one of the best known heroic epic poems, Beowulf certainly makes more recent stories appear less important. The legend deals with the main character as he has to undergo a series of tasks battling the story's three antagonists: Grendel, its mother, and a mysterious dragon that the male protagonist battles during the last moments of his life. It
Beowulf is a hero who embodies the ideal characteristics in the Anglo-Saxon culture; these characteristics all come together to make up an epic tale. He possesses the traits and beliefs that were respected in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Beowulf displays these traits in his own actions and words during different circumstances throughout the tale. Beowulf is shown to be the strongest among the strong. Physical strength was very much embraced by