Julieta Bares

Literature I
Primera prueba parcial
July 5th, 2020

How effective are Beowulf's rhetorical skills and how does the text show
this?
"Never, since my hand could hold a shield have I entrusted or given control of
the Danes' hall to anyone but you”. This is what Hrothgar says to Beowulf
when he manages to convince him that he is the indicated to kill Grendel. In his
speech, Beowulf demonstrates confidence when he responds to Unferth,
reliability when he pleads for the mission of killing Grendel and loquacity with
his spontaneous but strong words, showing great and effective rhetorical skills.

To start with, it is clearly demonstrated the confidence Beowulf has when he

discredits Unferth’s speech. When Unferth attacks him, Beowulf doesn’t flinch
for the attack. On the contrary, he corrects Unferth telling his version of events
subtly attacking him: “But it was mostly beer/ that was doing the talking. The
truth is this: / I was the strongest swimmer of all.” (531- 534). He manages to
compare himself with Unferth and put him in a lower position. In addition, he
suggests that alcohol could have made him say nonsense. At the end of
Beowulf’s response, the prince of Bright Danes and the keeper of his people
counted on Beowulf. The crowd was celebrating because Beowulf persuaded
them with his speech that he was the hero they needed.

Secondly, Beowulf accomplishes to convince Hrothgar that he is the indicated

for the mission of killing Grendel making Hrothgar rely on him. When Beowulf
first meet Hrothgar, he gives an account of his heroic exploits, and how he,
being so young, was glorious in his battles. As well as this, he comments that
Julieta Bares
Literature I
Primera prueba parcial
July 5th, 2020
his people supported him to come to the Danes, because they knew he was a
good warrior: “because all knew of my awesome strength.” (418). This
boasting serves as a resource to create this rely on Beowulf. After this, a feast
was done in Hereot. This demonstrates that they really believed that Beowulf
was going kill Grendel, as they were celebrating even before Beowulf fought
the monster.

In the third place, Beowulf loquacity can be seen in every speech he gives. One
example of this is when he responds to Unferth. After talking about his battles
and glory, he started talking about Unferth and said: ​ ​“if you were truly/ as
keen or courageous as you claim to be” (590-591). He was not prepared for
Unferth attack, but anyway he manages to reply him with an adequate speech,
making everyone in the room doubt about what Unferth said, and believe in
Beowulf. He is so virtuous and spontaneous with words that people tend to
react positively to what he says and trust him.

To sum up, Beowulf has effective rhetorical skills that can be seen through the
poem. He is capable of make people trust him as he demonstrates confidence
and reliability, showing that he is not only a good warrior, but also a fluent and
persuasive person.