Beowulf is an example of Anglo-Saxon poetry that is distinguished by its heavy use of alliteration. Simply put, alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds of words. For example, notice the initial h sounds in the following line: “The harrowing history haunted the heroes.” In the original Beowulf, alliteration is used in almost every line. A line of the poem actually consists of two half-lines with a caesura (pause) between them. Usually, spacing indicates that pause. In the following example, notice how the words of the first half-line alliterate with each other and the first word of the second half-line:
839 ferdon folc-togan feorran ond nean
839 chieftains came from far and near
Sometimes the alliteration is more complicated and has been the subject of many advanced studies. The point for beginning students is that alliteration is as important in Beowulf as rhyme is for some later poets. Beowulf has no consistent pattern of rhyme, although occasional internal rhyme sometimes is effective and seems more than accidental.
Imagery in the poem is vivid and often fun, and frequently related through the use of kennings. Put simply, kennings are compound expressions that use characteristics to name a person or thing. One of the most popular examples is hronrade. Literally, the word means “whale-road”; the kenning, then, is for the sea or ocean, a thoroughfare for the whale. One of the strengths of the Chickering facing-page translation is that it often repeats the kennings literally. Sometimes even a beginning student can find the word in Anglo-Saxon, on the opposing page, for comparison. Following are some other examples of kennings:
Kenning Literal Translation Meaning
hand-sporu hand spike Grendel’s talon
word-hord word hoard vocabulary
ban-cofan bone box a person’s body
