A kenning is a type of figurative language that describes a person, place, or thing using a compound noun phrase in the place of a single noun. In Old Norse literature, kennings were commonly used in poetry as a way to add depth and complexity to language. Modern kennings, on the other hand, are not as common in everyday language, but they can still be found in literature and poetry.
One example of a modern kenning can be found in the title of the science fiction novel "Dune," by Frank Herbert. In the novel, the planet Arrakis is referred to as the "desert planet," using a kenning to describe the planet's barren and inhospitable landscape.
Kennings can also be found in modern poetry. For example, the poet Sylvia Plath uses the kenning "moon-flower" to describe the moon in her poem "Full Moon and Little Frieda." The use of the kenning adds a sense of mystery and magic to the description of the moon.
Kennings can also be used for humorous effect. For example, a kenning for a person who is always hungry might be "food-fiend," while a kenning for a clumsy person might be "foot-fumble." These examples show that modern kennings can be used to add wit and humor to language.
In conclusion, while kennings may not be as common in modern language as they were in the past, they can still be found in literature and poetry. Kennings add depth and complexity to language, and can be used for various purposes such as adding mystery, humor, or wit to a description.
What is an example of a modern day kenning?
In the process of defeating the dragon and preventing more of his people from being burned or eaten, that dragon mortally wounds Beowulf. So the fun was often quite boisterous, and sometimes obscene, b ecause some of the poems compare things that are hard and swell to men's penises. How sholde any brere How should any briar Be withoute rinde? The following are links to other translations by Michael R. N gold Derived from the story of when N gold Kraki's seed N gold, sometimes amber Derived from the story of when Freyja could not find N lord of the northmen dróttin Norðmanna ON Þorbjörn Hornklofi, honour mind's worth weorðmyndum OE hook bait-gallows Ic kill enemies Feed the eagle Killing enemies left food for the eagles S wolf's father an allusion to Loki's fathering of N father of the sea thread N mistletoe The kenning derives from the story in which all plants and creatures swore never to harm Baldr save mistletoe, which, when it was overlooked, N Hrungnir's slayer N Lord of the gallows See the separate page N Hanged god Odin hung on the Tree of Knowledge for nine days in order to gain wisdom. As an example, the phrase ''Wielder of Glory'' or ''Glory-Wielder'' is applied to the Abrahamic God in the first few lines of Beowulf. But then I realized: the wee bookworm wandered away not one whit the wiser! The wise word-hoarder is the brave realm warder. Perhaps to fully illuminate it, the author leaned heavily on kennings to paint a graphic picture.
This new word is usually far more descriptive and interesting than others available to the writer. . Take for instance, the name Beowulf, which literally means ''bee-wolf. For instance, a pencil pusher is someone with an administrative job, a cancer stick is a cigarette, and a gas guzzler is a car that uses a lot of fuel. How sholde any cherye How should any cherry Be withoute stoon? Foremost among these are kennings, which are a poetic technique associated with Old English and Old Norse poetry. The Exeter Book was a handwritten manuscript bequeathed to the Exeter Cathedral Library by a bishop named Leofric who died in 1072 A. Tree-hugger: someone who wants to protect the environment.
Most modern kenning poems are of the former variety, quite often containing only a series of kennings meant to express a certain subject. Throne-room, blood-lust, back-tracking, and other similar expressions originate from much older kennings. A woman is a peace-weaver, a traveller is an earth-walker, a sword is a wolf of wounds, the sun is a sky candle, the sky is the curtain of the gods, blood is battle sweat or battle icicle. Poetic kennings are one way of grasping such meanings more intimately and profoundly. One thing led to another, and I began to translate other poems from the same same collection.
By my want, its incessantness, I'm mystified, as by the city's graffiti, this native grief I cannot read. This article does not Please help Find sources: · · · · December 2015 A kenning kenning This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Expect to see many similar poetic refrains in the following section. How sholde I love my lemman And how should I love my lover Withoute longinge? However, the compounding of kennings sometimes resulted in cumbersome confusion, so not all such poems are successful. It describes a series of virtues in the span of a two-word phrase. The earliest kennings often combined two nouns, i.
Random House, 1982 "The poets loved kennings because they were opportunities to vary their descriptions when they told long stories of heroes and battles. And how sholde any dove And how should any dove Be withoute boon? These alternate terms for a clerical worker and an environmentalist are both examples of kennings. When I heard about this absurd theft, I thought it passing strange that an insect can feast on a man's finest song, gorge on his grandiloquence, riddle his most righteous rhetoric. This practice comes from the Old Norse phrase ''kenna eitt við'' to express one thing in terms of another from which the kenning takes its name. Dead you will lie and never memory of you will there be nor desire into the aftertime ''Aftertime'' in this fragment is a kenning for death. Definition and Examples of Kennings in English. The implication is unique: the kenning fashions God as a warrior against evil, wielding the glory he grants virtuous humans as a weapon.
One of my favorite Norse kennings is winter-ġewǣde "winter-raiment" or "snow". If so, the poem could "poke" fun at the clergy, who were supposed to be celibate but often had mistresses. Let's see both sorts of kenning poem in action. The efficiency this kenning supplies allows the final line of the poem to hit harder: despite the poem's consistent focus on valor, the strength of arm, and a search for glory, almost all of the final descriptive virtues are peaceful. The man pulls his clothes above his knee, in order to poke the head of his hanging thing into that old familiar hole it fits so well, and has filled so many times before.
Kennings were so popular in Anglo-Saxon poetry that around a third of Beowulf, the best-known Anglo-Saxon poem, is comprised of kennings. This kenning evokes a descriptive visual image while simultaneously conveying the action itself in an artistic manner. Kenning Poems While kennings are used in everyday speech, they are more famous for their use in poetry. Most modern kenning poems are of the former variety, quite often containing only a series of kennings meant to express a certain subject. And I think we can still see that dark humor in ourselves: in the humorous writings of Mark Twain, in the comedy of George Carlin, in political cartoons, and in sitcoms like Married With Children. A sad story: sob story 8. Examples of Modern Kennings Couch-potato: a lazy person.
Kenning Definition Kennings are a type of metaphor that are used in poetry and in everyday speech. You can also hear Yardy's prolific usage of rhyme between the individual pairs of kennings that often distinguished their use by earlier poets. It exemplifies a potent Christian faith albeit one that skews into Germanic pagan elements , makes extensive use of alliteration, metonymy, synecdoche, and most importantly for this lesson, kennings, a rare poetic technique associated almost exclusively with the Old English and Old Norse poetic traditions. Flight, and their slick vertical stoop through the arcs and scoops of deflected seas act on imaginations as tong-tips do on spines - may such ardent touchings deluge and delight you. Simple language would never do to describe the horrors of war. No, they're sapped and now-swept as my sea-wolf's love-cry. Poets often use kennings to create unusual comparisons and to bring forward attributes of various objects and concepts that might not otherwise be apparent.
What is a Kenning in Beowulf? Also the words "wonder" and "water" sound very similar, as do "become" and "bone. Battle-grim, dragon-din, safe-world win. Mythweaver This fragment contains no context, but it is likely a kenning for ''storyteller'' or perhaps ''poet. A person involved in a sport who does not get to play much: benchwarmer 2. In the original Old English, many of these kennings are alliterative, since alliteration and not rhyme was the major structural force in Beowulf and other poetry of the era. What are some images in The Wanderer? I am reminded of the word "grok" used by the Mars-born visitor to earth in Robert Heinlein's novel A Stranger in a Strange Land.
A person who rides wild horses:. In addition to its use of kennings, this poem is interesting because of its inclusion of a great deal of alliteration and no set rhyme scheme. N ship wave-swine unnsvín N ship sea-steed gjálfr-marr N sky Ymir's skull Ymis haus According to one of the creation accounts, sky was created from the skull of N the sun heaven-candle heofon-candel OE Exodus 115 b the sun heaven's jewel heofones ġim OE The Phoenix 183 the sun glory of elves álf röðull álf röðull N sword blood-worm N sword icicle of blood N sword wound-hoe ben-grefill N sword leek of battle ímun-laukr N slayer of giants felli fjörnets goða flugstalla felli fjörnets goða flugstalla is a compound kenning. A n onion makes a cook's eyes water, so the scop drew a clever, provocative parallel in the closing lines. This was usually accomplished either by simply filling a poem with kennings, or by using words and associations to describe something that could easily be combined into a kenning to identify it.
