Shahrukh Shaikh

Beowulf Banquet Scene

Before the banquet in Beowulf, Beowulf himself was confronted by Wulfgar, who
questioned him about his connections with Hrothgar. After positive conversation, Beowulf was
ushered into the Hall and was immediately praised for his merits, such as having the strength of
thirty men in each of his arms. Once here, Beowulf offered Hrothgar to fight Grendel, something
that Hrothgar has wanted for quite some time. But there was a catch, Beowulf wants to fight
Grendel bare handed! In response to this, Hrothgar lets the Geats dine with the Danes.
Immediately, a feud is ignited. A Dane by the name of Unferth confronted Beowulf and
began to recount tales that a hero would not be proud of. In the same way, Beowulf insults
Unferth back and the two begin to scuffle. However, Beowulf possessed an energy that the entire
crowd found contagious, leading to people cheering for Beowulf.
Later, Beowulf is greeted by Wealtheow brings a goblet and offers a toast for Beowulf,
leading him to end the night with a powerful boast about himself. In addition to this, Beowulf
reaffirms his decision to fight Grendel unarmed, again leading the crowd to cheer.
A significant point of this banquet scene is the whole ideal of the boast. In Beowulfs
time, boasting was not considered vain, but instead, a powerful means of diplomacy and
communication. One may think that Unferth is being normal when calling out Beowulf for
showing off his merits, but in actuality, he is the one in the wrong. Since boasting is typical in
this society, calling people out for their achievements is not acceptable. By boasting, Beowulf is
actually practicing humility by not backbiting Unferth. Instead of behaving appropriately,
Unferth continues to malign Beowulf due to his boast.