Kennings in Beowulf: Examples

Lesson Transcript

This lesson shows you examples of kennings, or (1) _____ phrases, in the Old English epic poem
'Beowulf.' After this lesson, you'll understand what a kenning is, the purpose of a kenning, and
examples of kennings in 'Beowulf.'

Background to Beowulf
Beowulf is an epic poem written in (2) _____. It is the story of the warrior, Beowulf, who comes to ght
the monster, Grendel. Grendel has been attacking the hall of the Danish king, and so the Danish
king asked Beowulf to come and help. Beowulf kills Grendel, but then Grendel's mother comes after
Beowulf in revenge of her son. Beowulf kills Grendel's mother too. The last of Beowulf's feats is
killing a dragon that ends up killing Beowulf as well.

Beowulf is full of kennings, a literary device common in Old English poems. Kennings were used to
add description, richness, and meaning to the poem. The kinds of kennings in Beowulf include
words to replace battle words, God, Grendel, and the sea.

Defining Kenning
Kenning is a two-word (3) ____ used in place of a word. A kenning is a literary device used in Old
English or Norse poetry. Basically, a kenning was a fancy way of talking about something, which is
why it was used in poetry. Instead of saying ordinary words like 'sea,' 'armor,' 'god,' or proper
names like 'Grendel,' Old English used (4) _____ words, or joined words, in place of one word.

Unlike an actual metaphor or simile where the word that is being replaced is named, such as 'the
queen was like a gazelle' or 'the queen was a gazelle,' a kenning would not say 'the queen'. A
kenning would just replace a word like 'the queen' with '(5) _____', and the reader would be
expected to know that 'gazelle' was referring to 'the queen'. Because a kenning does not say the
word that is being compared, just the compound phrase in its place, a reader must already know
before (6) _____ a text that, for instance, 'sail-road' means '(7) ______.'

Examples of Kennings in Beowulf

Sail-road = the sea

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To Scandinavian heroes, peoples, and cultures like Beowulf and the Danes, the sea was an
important part of their everyday lives. There were many names for the sea in Old English poetry.
The poet uses the kenning sail-road for sea because it was like a road that ships would sail on. The
sea was also called the swan road and the (8) _____ road in Old English poetry.

Battle-sark = armor
Sark is another word for a shirt, so in essence 'battle-shirt' was the kenning used for armor.
Because Beowulf is a poem that describes a lot of battles, fights between Beowulf and various
monsters, war words like 'armor' were used often. These war words were replaced by kennings,
such as battle-(9) _____ for armor.

Glory of kings = God, Wielder of glory = God, and Wielder of worship = God
The importance of religion in Beowulf is particularly evident in the many kennings for 'God'. Instead
of saying the word 'God', the poem uses glory of kings, wielder of glory, and wielder of worship.
The words 'glory' and 'wielder' tell us that God is seen as full of (10) _____ and as a wielder, a warrior
in a fight for good and evil.

Shepherd of evil = Grendel and Monster of evil = Grendel

Grendel is the main villain in Beowulf and he is called by various names including shepherd of evil
and monster of (11) ____.

Purpose of Kennings
You might ask, 'If a kenning just replaces a word, what is the point of a kenning? Why not just use
the original word?' Well, kennings add an extra layer of meaning. Kennings make the description
and the story (12) _____. By saying 'sail-road' instead of 'the sea' the poem adds a description that
tells the story of a people that travel by boat often. Calling God a 'wielder of glory' gives some
insight into how the people who told the story of Beowulf might understand God.

Lesson Summary
The use of (13) _____ in the Old English poem Beowulf replaces words with metaphorical phrases.
The purpose of a kenning is to add an extra layer of description, richness, and meaning. Beowulf
has many examples of kennings, including kennings to replace words about the (14) _____, battle,
God, and (15) _____.

Beowulf's Word-Hoard: -- metaphorical -- kennings -- sea -- glory -- sark --

whale -- reading -- gazelle -- compound -- sea -- richer -- Grendel -- metaphor -- evil
-- Old English.

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