Figurative Language In Beowulf

Over the past twelve hundred years, our language has changed, and we can examine the biggest instances through our written language. The story of “Beowulf” is an Old English tale written during the Anglo-Saxon period in Denmark, is an important poem because it shows us the history of our language. Since Beowulf is the oldest surviving piece of literature of its kind, it’s easy to compare more recent pieces of literature to it because it serves as a guideline. The ancient story that has been passed down for generations has taught scholars about the evolution of the English language by studying it.

Using Beowulf as a base, the first change in language that becomes most obvious, is the change in grammar. We can see that the poem avidly incorporates figurative language including kennings and lots of alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of words beginning with consonant sounds, and kennings are metaphorical two-word phrases. By using these specific literary devices, the unknown author inspires vivid imagery, which today is captured mainly through simpler descriptive language. The figurative language used in Beowulf was meant to enhance the poetry and make it easier for storytellers to memorise the poem; while enhancing poetry with figurative language is still a common goal today, there isn't a strong need for memorisation.
Beowulf’s narrative structure on the other hand is still similar to structures in modern poetry which include a beginning, middle and end, all involving a plot, crisis and resolution. Instead, the organisation of Beowulf is quite complex because the story jumps to many different time periods and is set around two main locations. Meanwhile, poems of today usually remain chronological and don't have such a big time gap in the