Literary Devices In Beowulf

Beowulf is an ancient story passed down through oral tradition, originally written down by a Christian monk in 700 C.E. The old English of the original text employs of many literary devices which help overcome the disconnect within the language at this time, which create more depth within the writing. As well as the plethora of common literary devices, the Anglo-Saxons also had many devices seldom used by today’s writers. In Beowulf, the author utilizes kenning, alliteration, and train of thought to convey a richer and much deeper meaning than the words could convey on their own

The English language is full of nondescript, emotionless words that fail to convey any meaningful feelings. To overcome this shortcoming, many old English writers

like the one that wrote Beowulf employ kennings to create an emotionally evocative word with the meaning of the emotionless word. In Beowulf, the author relates the kenning, “It would keep the bone-cage of his body safe” to provide a more descript and emotionally charged description than the word skeleton would create if used in the sentence (ln. 1446). The term bone-cage is used to show how the body was simply viewed as the carrying case of sorts for the soul, whereas skeleton describes more a sense of death and time which does not contribute to the overall picture being painted.
The application of alliteration within Beowulf is used to make an ordinary sentence stand out to better attract the reader to its true meaning. Accordingly, when describing Grendel, the author incorporates the sentence “How glutted with gore he would guzzle his fill” (ln. 733). This line is used to draw attention to the exact characteristics of Grendel to help develop a better picture of the demon. Also, alliteration is implemented by the author to draw attention to plot points. When the author makes use of alliteration in scenarios such as, “He had often haunted Hrothgar's house” they draw the readers focus, allowing for more clear and concise plot points (ln. 716). However sometimes the alliteration is just implemented to create flow and may focus the reader away from the important plot points.
Train of thought is an essential medium utilized in the writing of Beowulf that, although most likely well intentioned, heavily detracts from the quality of the writing. In chapters 16 and 17 the author details the telling of a Danish tale which, although pertinent, as it was the story he told Beowulf, it is completely unnecessary and confuses the reader. The tale introduces three new characters with no semblance of importance to the surrounding plot. The tangents result from a character being briefly mentioned thusly prompting the author to go into a multi-page detailed description of the character who often has no connection to the plot. These tangents often detract from the meaning of the story by convoluting all of the ideas behind the wall of unrelated information.
Beowulf’s use of high level literary devices effectively provokes the sense of deeper ties to the writing. Through the use of kennings, alliteration, and train of thought the author sets the mood and tone to compliment the plot. Although not all of the literary devices used contributed in a positive manner to the writing, they allowed Beowulf to leave a lasting mark on history.