English Literature / Unit 3 ENL 0204 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Old English Line and the Kenning
Captions available
The idea
Each Old English line is two alliterating half-lines split by a caesura. The kenning is a compound metaphor for a simple thing: wave-rider for a ship, whale-road for the sea, gold-friend for a lord, earth-hall for a cave. Kennings are a signature of the period.
In practice
Two halves, one sound, a riddling compound.
Where people slip
A kenning names a thing; it is not a symbol.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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