This page spans over the literature vocabulary, with examples, in Beowulf. Examples were found in Seamus Heaney's translation.
This video showcases more examples of kennings
and alliteration in Beowulf.
and alliteration in Beowulf.
kenning: a metaphorical compound word
ex- In "Their own ring-giver/After all/Was dead and gone," the word "ring-giver" acts as a metaphorical compound word that means king/lord.
alliteration: repetitive sounds
ex- In "Easily escape exile and woe/By the grace of God," the letters "e" and "g" make a repetitive sound.
wyrd: an expected outcome
ex- Before Beowulf's fight with the dragon, it is hinted that Beowulf's overconfidence would hurt him, which was an outcome that took place.
wergild: Anglo-Saxon way of compensation for crime
ex- When Beowulf felt himself and his people feel threatened by the dragon, a crime in his eyes, Beowulf decided to avenge the beast in compensation.
patronym : names that descend from the paternal side
ex-In "Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke..." the father's name acts as a portion of the child's identity, demonstrating a patronym.
caste: sects of social classes
ex- The system of a king ruling over a land (in the setting of Beowulf) establishes a wealthy class and other classes that are of lower rank.
in media res: a technique in which a story starts off in the middle of action
ex- When Beowulf starts out, Grendel is already destroying the Danes.
epic: long poem that narrates heroes' stories
ex- Characteristics such as the work being a long narrative poem that focuses on a hero combating challenges, show that it is an epic.
allegory: a device that sends morals/ideas through characters, events, etc.
ex- The respect Hrothgar receives from showering gifts among his warriors, sends the idea that a good king is generous and rewarding.
allusion: a reference that indirectly evokes something that is not specifically mentioned
In "Cain got no good from committing that murder/Because the Almighty..." a biblical allusion is made, in which the biblical story of God and Cain is brought to mind. This evokes the feelings behind the moral of the story.
anaphora: repetition in the beginning of sentences
In "They have sailed far over the wide sea. They call the chief in charge of their band... They beg, my lord..." the word "they" is repeated over and over in the beginning of the sentences.
aphorism: statements that express opinion and/or truth
ex-In "Behavior that’s admired/Is the path to power among people everywhere," an opinion is expressed.
apostrophe: a device that addresses people who don't exist anymore, things, and ideas that can't literally respond
ex- "God, the Almighty, we call for you to come," addresses God who can't literally respond.
archetype: reoccurring concepts in stories that readers have an extreme familiarity with
ex-The Quest is an archetype in Beowulf. A hero undertaking a quest and going on adventures are concepts that have been repeated over and over.
chiasmus: a device that places 2 phrases, which are the reverse of each other, together, to produce an amusing sentence
ex- In "King Heremond's prowess declined," the positive word "prowess" is placed with its reverse of "decline."
conceit: a metaphor that stretches to contrast multiple things
ex-The sea is used to contrast several things like fear, misery, and longing.
elegiac: a work that has a sorrowful touch
ex-When the Geatish woman weeps at Beowulf's funeral, the story becomes very sorrowful, and is thus an elegiac.
epithet: a word/phrase that describes something
ex- "The Almighty" is a phrase that describes the great power of God.
homily- religious speech
ex-When Hrothgar talks seriously to Beowulf and his people about God's mercy, Hrothgar's speech would be a homily.
hubris-having too much pride
ex- When Beowulf boasts that, "When the going was heavy in those high waves/ I was the strongest swimmer of all," he is showing off, making this an example of hubris.
irony- a way of showing something contradictory through situations, information the audience knows but characters don't, or through verbal expressions
ex- When Beowulf battles Grendel's mother, the other characters think he is dead when they see blood in the lake, but the audience knows that is not the truth, but in fact Beowulf is alive and the blood they see is Grendel's mother's blood, which is ironic.
litotes-an understatement using a positive statement contrasted with a negative statement
ex- When Grendel' s mother's cave in the lake is described as "Not a pleasant place!" it is an understatement using the phrase "not pleasant" with "not" being negative and "pleasant" being positive
metonymy- words that represent other words
ex-"Shadow-stalker" is a phrase in Beowulf that represents Grendel, the evil demon.
motif-a recurring theme present throughout a work
ex-Revenge is a theme repeatedly occurs, from Beowulf's revenge to Grendel's revenge, etc.
non sequitur-a statement that fails to follow logically from a previous statement
ex-The recurring digressions in the story are non sequitur, since they don't follow up well with the baseline of the main plot.
parallelism-correspondence/repetition in grammatical structure
ex- In "The king was betrayed,/Ambushed in Jutland, overpowered/ And done away with," there is a repetition in grammatical structure.
pathos-an appeal to emotion.; it brings about emotions in readers
ex- When Beowulf talks about his swimming match with Brecca, he convinces the readers that it was not an act of ridiculousness and earns sympathy from them as well as he talks about the harshness of the match challenge.
synesthesia- a link between the senses
ex- The kenning "battle-sweat" in the story is an example of synesthesia since it links the senses of touch and sight.
synecdoche-when a part represents a whole, or vice versa
ex-Beowulf himself represents the entire Geatish empire when he becomes king.
understatement-when a subject is given less importance than it should
ex-When Grendel's mother's lake is described as "Not a pleasant place!" it is a clear understatement because unpleasant is simply a mild term for describing the demon's lair.
ex- In "Their own ring-giver/After all/Was dead and gone," the word "ring-giver" acts as a metaphorical compound word that means king/lord.
alliteration: repetitive sounds
ex- In "Easily escape exile and woe/By the grace of God," the letters "e" and "g" make a repetitive sound.
wyrd: an expected outcome
ex- Before Beowulf's fight with the dragon, it is hinted that Beowulf's overconfidence would hurt him, which was an outcome that took place.
wergild: Anglo-Saxon way of compensation for crime
ex- When Beowulf felt himself and his people feel threatened by the dragon, a crime in his eyes, Beowulf decided to avenge the beast in compensation.
patronym : names that descend from the paternal side
ex-In "Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke..." the father's name acts as a portion of the child's identity, demonstrating a patronym.
caste: sects of social classes
ex- The system of a king ruling over a land (in the setting of Beowulf) establishes a wealthy class and other classes that are of lower rank.
in media res: a technique in which a story starts off in the middle of action
ex- When Beowulf starts out, Grendel is already destroying the Danes.
epic: long poem that narrates heroes' stories
ex- Characteristics such as the work being a long narrative poem that focuses on a hero combating challenges, show that it is an epic.
allegory: a device that sends morals/ideas through characters, events, etc.
ex- The respect Hrothgar receives from showering gifts among his warriors, sends the idea that a good king is generous and rewarding.
allusion: a reference that indirectly evokes something that is not specifically mentioned
In "Cain got no good from committing that murder/Because the Almighty..." a biblical allusion is made, in which the biblical story of God and Cain is brought to mind. This evokes the feelings behind the moral of the story.
anaphora: repetition in the beginning of sentences
In "They have sailed far over the wide sea. They call the chief in charge of their band... They beg, my lord..." the word "they" is repeated over and over in the beginning of the sentences.
aphorism: statements that express opinion and/or truth
ex-In "Behavior that’s admired/Is the path to power among people everywhere," an opinion is expressed.
apostrophe: a device that addresses people who don't exist anymore, things, and ideas that can't literally respond
ex- "God, the Almighty, we call for you to come," addresses God who can't literally respond.
archetype: reoccurring concepts in stories that readers have an extreme familiarity with
ex-The Quest is an archetype in Beowulf. A hero undertaking a quest and going on adventures are concepts that have been repeated over and over.
chiasmus: a device that places 2 phrases, which are the reverse of each other, together, to produce an amusing sentence
ex- In "King Heremond's prowess declined," the positive word "prowess" is placed with its reverse of "decline."
conceit: a metaphor that stretches to contrast multiple things
ex-The sea is used to contrast several things like fear, misery, and longing.
elegiac: a work that has a sorrowful touch
ex-When the Geatish woman weeps at Beowulf's funeral, the story becomes very sorrowful, and is thus an elegiac.
epithet: a word/phrase that describes something
ex- "The Almighty" is a phrase that describes the great power of God.
homily- religious speech
ex-When Hrothgar talks seriously to Beowulf and his people about God's mercy, Hrothgar's speech would be a homily.
hubris-having too much pride
ex- When Beowulf boasts that, "When the going was heavy in those high waves/ I was the strongest swimmer of all," he is showing off, making this an example of hubris.
irony- a way of showing something contradictory through situations, information the audience knows but characters don't, or through verbal expressions
ex- When Beowulf battles Grendel's mother, the other characters think he is dead when they see blood in the lake, but the audience knows that is not the truth, but in fact Beowulf is alive and the blood they see is Grendel's mother's blood, which is ironic.
litotes-an understatement using a positive statement contrasted with a negative statement
ex- When Grendel' s mother's cave in the lake is described as "Not a pleasant place!" it is an understatement using the phrase "not pleasant" with "not" being negative and "pleasant" being positive
metonymy- words that represent other words
ex-"Shadow-stalker" is a phrase in Beowulf that represents Grendel, the evil demon.
motif-a recurring theme present throughout a work
ex-Revenge is a theme repeatedly occurs, from Beowulf's revenge to Grendel's revenge, etc.
non sequitur-a statement that fails to follow logically from a previous statement
ex-The recurring digressions in the story are non sequitur, since they don't follow up well with the baseline of the main plot.
parallelism-correspondence/repetition in grammatical structure
ex- In "The king was betrayed,/Ambushed in Jutland, overpowered/ And done away with," there is a repetition in grammatical structure.
pathos-an appeal to emotion.; it brings about emotions in readers
ex- When Beowulf talks about his swimming match with Brecca, he convinces the readers that it was not an act of ridiculousness and earns sympathy from them as well as he talks about the harshness of the match challenge.
synesthesia- a link between the senses
ex- The kenning "battle-sweat" in the story is an example of synesthesia since it links the senses of touch and sight.
synecdoche-when a part represents a whole, or vice versa
ex-Beowulf himself represents the entire Geatish empire when he becomes king.
understatement-when a subject is given less importance than it should
ex-When Grendel's mother's lake is described as "Not a pleasant place!" it is a clear understatement because unpleasant is simply a mild term for describing the demon's lair.