One verse in the epic poem Beowulf that poetic devices helped me understand the meaning is on page 41, line 607 to 609, "Then the grey-haired treasure-giver was glad; / far-famed in battle, the prince of Bright-Danes and keeper of his people counted on Beowulf," These couple lines in the poem was after a long dialogue between Beowulf himself and one of King Hrothgar's thanes Unferth. Thus, it was a bit disorienting to hear "the grey-haired treasure-giver", but the key is the word "treasure-giver". When Beowulf first proposed his plan to King Hrothgar, Hrothgar agreed and promised compensation in the form of riches. Therefore, the word "treasure-giver" is a kenning of the word king. In addition, the word king gives an impression of wealth and riches, therefore the word "treasure-giver" could only refer to King Hrothgar. The kenning poetic device helped me decipher who the "grey-haired treasure-giver" was. From understanding the kenning, it allowed me gain a better understanding of what was going on in the poem. In addition, while the alliteration may not actually help me understand the meaning of the poem, it helped me understand why the poet picked certain words over others, and it also explains why the poet used the kenning "treasure-giver" to create alliteration with "grey-haired".
No comments:
Post a Comment