This week I've decided to read the legend of Beowulf! Last week when I was commenting I saw someone's story based on it, and it made me want to go read the original. Granted, this is a retelling, but I'm still very excited to see what it contains!
Not to tie in with Skyrim again (my first attempt blending that game with a story didn't go very well, to say the least), but I did immediately notice that the game actually references and draws inspiration from this legend. There are several common names and themes, like Hrothgar, and it's actually pretty cool to see how art/literature influences other art/literature.
Unferth is only barely mentioned so far as the king's friend and a coward. I'm thinking that could be fun to explore and turn into a stream-of-consciousness or diary-style story about how/why he doesn't want to face Grendel. It depends on what's said later, though, as it looks like he'll show up more later.
It could also be fun to take part of this tale and transplant it to a setting where the stakes are made to feel the same for the character but in context it's ridiculous, like an elementary school footrace or something.
Okay, so I was thinking about making Unferth a relatable character but clearly he's a jerk and I don't particularly feel like giving him sympathy anymore. I could still write from his perspective - I haven't tried writing an asshole without redeeming him in some way - but I just don't know that it would work. I can always give it a shot, I suppose, and just go for unsettling. If it fails, I have the elementary school idea to fall back on. Alternately, I could do Beowulf's arrival in Daneland from the Beach Guardian or Hrothgar's perspective and get a different take on things. I suppose what I do depends at least a bit on what Part B holds!
Image: Beowulf. Source.
Bibliography: The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz (1933). Source.
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