{"id":21041,"date":"2022-02-11T12:17:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T12:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ancient-literature.com\/?p=21041"},"modified":"2022-04-13T08:07:26","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T08:07:26","slug":"kennings-in-beowulf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ancient-literature.com\/kennings-in-beowulf\/","title":{"rendered":"Kennings in Beowulf: The Whys and Hows of Kennings in the Famous Poem"},"content":{"rendered":"
Kennings in Beowulf<\/strong> are one of the main topics discussed by scholars and students about this famous epic poem. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem written between 975 and 1025 AD, and it happens to take place in Scandinavia. It was written by an anonymous author, who outlined the journey of a Germanic hero named Beowulf.<\/p>\n One of the most brilliant attributes about this poem is the use of kennings, and you can read this to learn all about them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n To better understand kennings in Beowulf, it\u2019s helpful to get a number of modern examples of kennings<\/strong> to practice with.<\/p>\n A few kennings you might be familiar with include<\/strong>:<\/p>\n These hyphenated words and short phrases give a unique description of everyday things<\/strong>. They enhance language, use words in a unique way, add action and color to our imagination, and give us a better understanding of the scene.<\/p>\n Here are some examples of kenning in Beowulf<\/strong> together with their meaning in the epic poem:<\/strong><\/p>\n At some points in the poem, the kennings are mostly used as a sort of a riddle<\/strong>, where the reader tries to figure out what word is that the anonymous writer is trying to describe. For example, while \u201cdwelling-place<\/em>\u201d is quite easy to gather, what about \u201cbent-necked wood<\/em>?\u201d the latter was the kenning describing the word \u2018boat<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n Some of the kennings from Beowulf were used to describe the main character<\/strong>, and not only the aspects of the story. Since they are written in a poetic way, these kennings can give us a better and more complete idea about the character himself.<\/p>\n Some of the kennings describing Beowulf include \u2018ring-prince<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018scylding warrior<\/em>.’ However, there are other kennings that describe his appearance, personality, and even actions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example, when he arrives at the Danes to offer his services to kill Grendel, the monster, there is a person jealous of his \u2018sea-braving<\/em>,\u2019 which is his ability to defeat the sea<\/strong> on his journey over.<\/p>\n Even though Beowulf is the main character of the poem, it doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s the most interesting<\/strong>. In addition, it doesn\u2019t mean that he\u2019s the character with the most kennings ascribed to him.<\/p>\n Grendel, the terrible, gruesome monster who causes problems for the Danes, is given all kinds of kennings too. Even without reading the poem, you can understand just how frightening this monster is<\/strong>, simply by looking through his list of kennings.<\/p>\n The kennings used in Beowulf<\/strong> to describe Grendel include:<\/p>\n These descriptions add to the characterization of the antagonist in the tale<\/strong>, and as you read, you get an even wider picture of who Grendel is. The author hasn\u2019t used plain words such as \u2018bad<\/em>,\u2019 \u2018evil<\/em>,\u2019 or \u2018disgusting<\/em>.\u2019 He has given the readers a real idea of what his monster is through his use of kennings.<\/p>\n The original poem was written down in Old English<\/strong>, throughout the years, there have been hundreds upon hundreds of translations done.<\/p>\n After the original version was found, it was partially burnt<\/strong>, which destroyed some parts of the poem. Following this, the first translation was made into modern-day English in 1805. Consequently, in that same century, nine different translations were completed.<\/p>\n In the proceeding centuries, hundreds of translations took place<\/strong>, some being good, and some not so good. The difficulties in Beowulf are in the types of verses that are written, the alliterations highlighted<\/a>, and the use of caesura, or a break<\/a>, along with the changes of dialect within the writing of the poem.<\/p>\n In addition to this, it was originally written with pagan themes<\/a><\/strong> because of the time period, however later on some Christian elements<\/a> were added to the poem.<\/p>\n With all the translations that are around to this day, the kennings have slightly shifted<\/strong>. In such manner, for example, in one translation it was seen that they had named Grendel \u201cHell\u2019s captive,\u201d<\/em> on the other hand in another translation, \u201cfiend out of Hell.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s not completely different, but these kinds of contrasts could affect the story slightly<\/strong> and our experience with it. However, the purpose of kennings remains the same: to further enhance the enjoyment of the epic tale.<\/p>\n Kennings are compound expressions, used to describe the plot both vividly and creatively<\/strong>, where it also gives the reader a poetic sense. Kennings were very common in both Old English and Old Norse literature, and the poem of Beowulf is filled with kennings of all kinds. The word \u2018kenning\u2019<\/em> comes from the Old Norse \u2018kenna\u2019,<\/em> which means \u2018to know<\/em>.\u2019 One can see the use of this word in the Scottish dialect verb \u2018ken\u2019, to know something.<\/p>\nKenning Examples in Beowulf and General Kenning Examples<\/h2>\n
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Hero Descriptions: Kennings to Describe Beowulf, the Main Character<\/h2>\n
The Fearsome Monsters: Kennings in Beowulf That Describe Grendel<\/h3>\n
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Varying Translations of Beowulf Which Might Affect Kennings in Beowulf<\/h3>\n
What Are Kennings, And Why Are They Used In Literature?<\/h2>\n