In Monday’s
class, we discussed the literary term “kenning” and how it is used in
Anglo-Saxon literature. I found that on page 89 of Beowulf this literary term is used frequently to describe the
dragon. Kennings are used to describe monsters because the compounds stand out
from regular descriptions and make the reader think about what the monster truly
is.
On page 89
of the poem, the dragon is referred to as a “hoard-guardian” in line 2293. This
kenning is used because the dragon has been guarding the treasure of an unhappy
man who left the gold to the earth. The dragon is also called a “ring-hoard” in
line 2284, so basically the point is strongly made that the treasure means
everything to the dragon and his life’s purpose is to guard the gold. To help
the reader create a visual image of the dragon, it is also referred to as a
“sky-winger” in line 2314 of the poem.
Page 84 of Beowulf stood out to me because I
noticed the author had also used kennings to describe Grendel and Grendel’s
mother. Earlier in the poem, the kenning “death-dealer” was used to describe Grendel
because he caused many fatalities in the mead-hall and Grendel’s mother was
referred to as a “hell-bride.” I think that kennings are used to describe
monsters like Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon because it makes the
reading more interesting and gives a better description of the creatures. Also,
kennings can be used as a new way to refer to the monster, instead of just
calling the monster by name repeatedly.
Questions:
1.
Would you consider all hyphenated words in Beowulf to be kennings? For example do
you think “guilt-ridden” (found on page 88, line 2225) is an example of a
kenning?
2.
Did you think the use of kennings on page 89
made the reading more interesting?
3.
Why do you think the dragon caused so much
turmoil over one missing goblet?
Excellent analysis, and way to analyze the text using the literary term. I think monsters are especially the targets of kennings, and it is useful to ask why? Perhaps because they are super-natural it makes sense to describe them using poetic terms. I don't think all hyphenated words are kennings because they have to draw on two unusual words that make a new meaning when combined. The combination cannot be common, so guilt-ridden doesn't really work.
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