Alcohol In Beowulf Essay

Alcohol is something that many people use to allow them to have a good time, but too much alcohol can be very dangerous. The epic poem Beowulf serves to reveal the dangers of alcohol consumption. In the poem this is shown when Hrothgar speaks about how his men attempted to fight Grendel drunk, but miserably failed. Also, Unferth tries to make Beowulf look like less of a hero, but Beowulf leaves him quiet. One way in which Alcohol negatively affects the characters is when Hrothgar explains how his men attempted to slay Grendel while under the influence. After Beowulf arrives, Hrothgar explains the situation and what damage grendel has done. He explains that his men who were “Glowing / With courage drawn from too many cups / Of ale,” tried to fight Grendel, but miserably failed (214-216). Notice how Hrothgar’s men were only courageous enough to fight Grendel when they had too much to drink, and they ended up …show more content…
After many drinks, Unferth tries to make Beowulf look like less of a hero by bringing up how Beowulf lost a swimming match many years back. Beowulf replies by claiming that Unferth killed his own brothers, and Unferth does not speak again. In the story Beowulf claims,“‘Ah! Unferth, my friend, your face / Is hot with ale, and your tongue has tried / To tell us about Brecca's doings...” (263-265). Beowulf suggests that Unferth has had too much to drink and is speaking out of hand because of it. This is important because Unferth is attempting to challenge Beowulf, but does not realize what he is getting into, because of the amount of ale he has had to drink. Also, as a result of drinking too much, it is discovered that Unferth killed his own brothers, as well as him becoming irrelevant to the rest of the story. The danger of consuming an excessive amount of alcohol is reemerged when Unferth’s biggest secret is exposed because he let the ale speak for