b. listen with empathy
The key characteristic for one listening with empathy is to give the speaker your undivided attention. Because Jeff fell asleep, he obviously had not been providing this. Further, when one is empathetic, one is able to understand the position/place of someone else. Obviously, if Jeff were speaking, he would want his audience to pay attention, so he should have recognized this and been conscious of that for Elizabeth. By Jeff falling asleep, he does not understand the perspective of someone else in order to recognize how to respectfully listen (or listen with empathy).
Wiglaf is presented as Beowulf's savior and helper. He is there to mentor Beowulf and is an important character in this excerpt.
