Abstract
Beowulf’s introductory speech to Hroðgar is a petition for permission to confront the monster, Grendel; this petition intimates that Hroðgar has failed in his role as protector of the Danish people and, therefore, qualifies as a Face-Threatening Act, as per Brown and Levinson’s politeness model. An application of their theory to both the petition and Hroðgar’s response demonstrates that Beowulf is baldly asserting a claim to superior social capital in relation to the Danish king. Hroðgar, however, is able to reinterpret the variables of the petition into the dynamic of a traditional gift exchange, thereby averting the threat to face.
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Kightley, M.R. Reinterpreting Threats to Face: The Use of Politeness in Beowulf, ll. 407–472. Neophilologus 93, 511–520 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-008-9131-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-008-9131-y