Egil's Saga: Part 2

I found the entirety of Egil's Saga to be very entertaining. In retrospect, my reasoning for this would have to be that we finally get to see almost every aspect of a human. Let me explain. In most of the sagas we have read so far, we are introduced to a character, he does something, and the saga is over. It seems that many of the sagas we have read are concerned with events, more than the people in them. In Egil's Saga, we have Egil, who is definitely a multi-faceted individual. The enjoyable part of this saga was that we got so see almost all of his facets. And although it may not seem like it at a glance, but upon examination, it is clear that he is like any other person with real, raw emotion. He has a clear sense of right and wrong, he is passionate, yet reasonable, and has considerable motivation for anything he does that could be considered a wrongdoing. As Arinbjorn states, "...But as much as Egil has wronged you, you should consider the losses he has suffered at the hands of your kinsmen. Your father king Harald had his uncle Thorolf, a fine man, put to death solely on the grounds of slander by evil men. You broke the law against Egil yourself, King, in favour of Berg-Onund, and moreover you wanted him put to death, and you killed all his men and stole all his wealth. And then you declared him an outlaw and drove him out of the country. Egil is not the sort of man to stand being provoked. Every case should be judged in light of the circumstances."

Egil's depth of emotion and realism as a character are portrayed in many places throughout the saga. However, I feel that one of the best examples of this can be found on page 89, stanza 17, where Egil speaks a verse lamenting the death of Thorolf. It is very fitting.