. V). Njal “was so skilled in law that no one was considered his equal. He was a wise and prescient man” (pg.74). The introduction of Njal into the saga is also very noble yet focuses on his intellectual ability rather than physical strength. Our first impression of Njal is also super-human, almost god-like, as he is “prescient”. Nowell, 8Our attention is also drawn in a negative way to Njal’s physical appearance. It is recorded that, “Njal was wealthy and handsome, but he had one peculiarity: he could not grow a beard” (pg. 74). During Icelandic times a man’s beard was a symbol of his masculinity, so this characteristic of Njal is very revealing. Perhaps it is a foreshadowing that Njal was not going to live a full life because he cannot grow a full beard. Or perhaps it is a sign of physical or emotional weakness.Although author of Njal’s Saga is still unknown. Yet the literary devices he used are very entertaining. One of the most common throughout the saga is the litote, which serves to express the drama of a situation. This literary device is specifically crucial in the saga because it explains the fictionalization of history. A litote is defined as an “understatement” and an example of this from Njal’s Saga is given concerning Hebridean: “he had killed many men and paid compensation for none of them” (Njal’s Saga, pg. 56). This device was probably unknown to the author due to the fact that a written tradition was not yet established. It is used quite often throughout the saga and serves to embellish a character’s positive or negative attributes.The literary devices and combination of history and fiction seen in Njal’s Saga are quite revolutionary for the time period in which it was written. Though no one will ever truly know whom the author of Njal’s Saga is, the amazing characteristics of this saga, the splend...
