Unferth and Beowulf are foil characters because they both have very different characteristics that make them very different characters compared to each other. Beowulf is more of the protagonist in the story and Unferth is more of a quiet person who doesn’t show up in the poem as much as others because he isn’t as important to the story. Beowulf and Unferth are very different, Beowulf comes off as a stronger and braver character where Unferth doesn’t, but in the end they come together to help kill Grendel’s mother. The author uses rhetorical, structural, and literary devices to prove that they are the complete opposite. There are many points throughout the text that illustrate both of the characters by describing them and what makes them so different from the other people mentioned. In the description of a person the author tends to use alliteration to make that stand out so that the reader focuses on that the most. Lastly, the plot helps to understand what is going on and it also helps the reader to create a picture of what that character is doing and also what they are going through.
When Beowulf first came to Heorot, he wanted to prove that he was the bravest man they have ever met and he could conquer Grendel …show more content…
For example in the hall when Unferth was talking about the time Beowulf tried to beat Breca in a sea battle, he said “winter went wild in the waves.” (516) Beowulf would have to be brave in order to fight sea monsters on top of trying to swim when there are as lot of waves pushing him under. When Unferth was first introduced, there wasn’t a formal boast, or any stories of his past battles except the story about when he killed his brother. There aren’t any other stories about him being brave in battle which could be seen as the fact that none of his battles were good enough to compare to