A kenning is a particular kind of metaphor, in which two nouns are combined to create a new word, which is used in place of another noun. As the title character of the old english epic beowulf, hes a classic epic hero. What are the kennings used during beowulfs battle with. Its penned by an unknown author, although we do know it has its origins in anglosaxon literature. For example, if i say to you, i am burning up, you probably know that i am overheated and do not think that i have burst into flames. Kennings were used to add description, richness, and meaning to the poem. It is one of the most important works of old english literature. His novels the hobbit and the lord of the rings trilogy are steeped in the mythology and culture in which beowulf is set. But to be able to understand this poem, the reader should understand first the kennings found in.
Other well known kennings include battle sweat for blood. Kenning, list of kennings, beowulf, old english literature, bede, c dmons hymn, dream of the rood, ruthwell cross, cynewulf, the battle of maldon, christ ii, finnesburg fragment, elene, maxims, christ and satan, wulf and eadwacer, the seafarer. But to be able to understand this poem, the reader should understand first the kennings found in the poem. Beowulfs boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. Id never read her version of beowulf before and it stands up. Beowulf, prince of the geats, has many fine qualities. I used with year 7 but could be extended to year 8.
The bane of the race of men roamed forth, hunting for a. Kennings play an important role throughout beowulf as they not only help the audience visualize the poets imagery but also provide additional metaphorical meaning and context to the world. This is known a kenning, or compound twoword phrase, which is commonly used metaphorically in anglosaxon poetry. Kennings are most commonly found in old norse and old english poetry. There are many kennings in the story of beowulf, one of which can be found on line 273, the shepherd of evil. Get an answer for in beowulf, what are 10 kennings throughout the story. The use of kennings had such an effect on poetry that many phrases often became cliches. We use figurative language all of the time in daily life. Jun 03, 2016 kennings are not simply nouncompounds, they are metaphors. Appears in 7 books from 19022005 page 34 beowulf of the morning after his contest in swimming.
Kennings in beowulf woodland hills school district. Beowulf is full of kennings, a literary device common in old english poems. Lesson fully explained in powerpoint on anglo saxon poetry more generally linked into beowulf, with a focus on kennings. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. That being said, they are immensely useful and imaginative ways to add flavor and a unique cultural feeling to your game. One of the most prominent scenes details beowulf s fight against the monster grendel.
Ad by two scribes and preserved in the british library in the collection of sir robert cotton. In beowulf, what are some examples of kennings and. Beowulf shares characteristics with many old english epic poems. A kenning is a metaphorical phrase, or compound word used to name a person, place or thing indirectly. Themes and important aspects the poetry in beowulf so why wasnt it written down in the first place. List of books and articles about beowulf online research. It is one of the oldest and most important work of old english literature. Battleflame is a kenning for sword because a sword is not usually on fire. Kennings used to describe beowulf include the geats ringgiver, mighty protector of men, or the prince of the geats. Beowulf kennings the possessive kenning prepositional kenning almightys enemy referring to grendel line number.
Why dont you try writing a poem using a kenning and enter it into one of our poetry competitions. She allowed me as a kid to imaginatively enter the past and fostered a permamnent love of history by making it. Used primarily in anglosaxon poetry, the epic poem beowulf is full of kennings. Some suggest that beowulf was first composed in the 7th century at rendlesham in east anglia, as the sutton hoo shipburial shows close connections with scandinavia, and the east anglian royal dynasty, the wuffingas, may have been descendants of the geatish wulfings. The frozen empires patronage project is calling to your warrior soul a kenning is a play on words that replaces a concept, usually a single word, with more figurative language. Wiglaf the only thane to stand with beowulf against the dragon, he is the geats future king and a symbol of loyalty within the socialpolitical structure of the. Beowulf is the iconic work of literature in old english. The main category for all information on the magic known as kennings. Choose from 76 different sets of beowulf kennings flashcards on quizlet. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. About a third of the words in beowulf are words known as kennings. Kennings are compound, descriptive phrases with metaphorical meanings that stand in for ordinary nouns and proper nouns in old english or anglosaxon and old norse poetry. The poem was written at a time when german tribes invaded england.
I loved rosemary sutcliff books as a child and i still love them as an adult. The poet also makes use of a stylistic device called kenning, a method. Kennings in beowulf a kenning is a metaphorical phrase, or compound word used to name a person, place or thing indirectly. As beowulf is in fierce combat with grendels mother, he makes mention of. The bold scylding the poet associates beowulf with the scyldings, perhaps out of respect for his loyal service, even though the champion is a geat. Beowulf is much admired for the richness of its poetryfor the beautiful sounds of the words and the imaginative quality of the description. Dragonslayer is a simple retelling, aimed at children, of the beowulf story.
Kennings were used to add description, richness, and meaning to the. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. Kennings for a particular character are listed in that characters article. A kenning is a figure of speech in which two words are combined in order to form a poetic expression that refers to a person or a thing. What is a good kenning for one of these characters from beowulf. Here, bonehouse, meaning body, is an example of a kenning. The bane of the race of men roamed forth, hunting for a prey in the high hall. For example, the words whaleroad is used for the sea and shepherd of evil is used for grendel. In off the moors, down through the mistbands godcursed grendel came greedily loping. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars. Kenning is used in poetry to create different effects. Homework activity uses modern kennings poem as a model and lets them have a go at writing their own.
One good example of an anglo saxon poem is beowulf. I love the way rosemary sutcliff keeps it close to the events of the original poem, but with little humanising touches like hrothgar putting back the hair of his dead friend wordlessly. Kennings are words that are in themselves metaphorical descriptions, and were a typical feature of as poetry. This assignment asks students to create a poetic boast modeled after that of. Grendel is described as the midnight stalker, sinstained demon, or the. This assignment asks students to create a poetic boast modeled after that of beowulf in the epic poem. Beowulf kennings and characters flashcards quizlet. Figurative language is any language that is not literal.
Beowulf bawoolf, oldest english epic, probably composed in the early 8th cent. Anglosaxon kennings and riddles free english learning and teaching resources from varsity tutors. The danish king hrothgar is perhaps the most human character in the. Honest names for all the books on your english syllabus.
In other words, they summarize the characters most essential qualities. Examples of kenning from the story beowulf answers. Often associated with the norse skalds, kennings draw on cultural and mythical knowledge. Perhaps to fully illuminate it, the author leaned heavily on kennings to paint a graphic picture. So, ringgiver is not a kenning for king because a king is a giver of rings.
Kennings are not simply nouncompounds, they are metaphors. Tolkien was a professor of anglosaxon at oxford university, and an authority on beowulf. The last of beowulfs feats is killing a dragon that ends up killing beowulf as well. This incremental effect is seen in a long passage already cited, that of beowulf s sea voyage to hrothgars court. Hrothgar gave beowulf a splendid new sword and set of armor, along with a golden battle flag and a helmet with a ridge to protect its wearer. This technique can also create an associative symbolism with characters. Translation by michael alexander, first published on 1973 is very skillfully put together and admirable. All contain heroic boasting, verbal taunting, and a hero with a troubled youth. He was not ashamed to receive such expensive gifts in front of his men, for he had earned them. Please be sure to add any pages about kennings to both this category and the appropriate subsubcategories the subcategories are just for grouping these subsubcategories for easier reference. The bold scylding the poet associates beowulf with the scyldings.
Although it must be admitted that old english kennings and epithets frequently clog up the movement of the narrative, in beowulf particularly the modifiers tend to be cumulative, each adding a quality or aspect to character or action. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. For example, worldhonor is a kenning for fame, which tells us that scyld is. Another kenning is writhing monster found on line 289. In this activity, students try their hand at creating modernday kennings to share with the class. The study of kennings in the anglosaxon epic poem beowulf. Only a few examples of odins kennings are given here.
For example, worldhonor is a kenning for fame, which tells us that scyld is known over. It is a long poem consisting of 3182 alliterative lines. List of kennings list of kenningsprimary meaning kenning translated original kenning explanation source language example axe bloodember n battle speardin n snorri sturluson. Learn beowulf kennings with free interactive flashcards. A few things to watch out for alliterative verse an example from beowulf. For example, the odin article links to a list of names of odin, which include kennings. Beowulf is a heroic epic poem written by an unknown author in old english.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whaleroad had to yield to him and begin to pay tribute the sea. In poetry, kenning is when you take two words and combine them as a mild translation or metaphor for. The language of beowulf has use of fourbeat alliterative line and this allows the use of a variety of kennings. Beowulf beowulf is an old poem written several years ago and commonly known for using varieties of writing techniques such as kennings, variation, litotes, and appellation. Aelfhere some scholars think that this is a reference to beowulf, indicating that wiglaf is related, perhaps a cousin battleflame the sword, hrunting battlescylfings swedes. Employing this technique helps the readerlistener to keep track of characters in these long poems. Brightdanes another name for the scyldings, the reference to shining light. Beowulf a mighty warrior and noble individual, the poems hero, with the strength of 30 in his handgrip, comes to the aid of hrothgars danes. A kenning is a circumlocution, an ambiguous or roundabout figure of speech, used instead of an ordinary noun in old norse, old english, and later icelandic poetry. The story of heroic beowulf and his battles with the monster grendel and also with grendels mother not to mention the dragon is rather awesome. For example, worldhonor is a kenning for fame, which tells us that scyld is known over great distances and greatly respected. Nov 14, 2011 lesson fully explained in powerpoint on anglo saxon poetry more generally linked into beowulf, with a focus on kennings. An example of a kenning is, grendela fiend out of hell line 100.
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