Anglo-Saxon Poetry

There were a number of qualities found in Anglo-Saxon poetry: 
 

o                                Heroic behavior is praised 

o                                Almost no romantic love 

o                                An overall effect to formalize and elevate language, often through the use of literary devices.  For instance: 

o                                 

§                                 Synecdoche: a part used to express the whole, or vice versa.  Ex: 50 sails=50 boats 

§                                 Metonymy: the naming of a person, institution, or human characteristic by some object or attribute with which is closely associated. Ex: Crown, Majesty= Ruler 

§                                 kenning: a compound of two words in place of another. Ex: whale-road=sea, loaf-giver = king, life-house = body 

§                                 litotes: ironic understatement; an emphatic expression through an ironic understatement. Ex: “he's no beauty." 

o                                A very common theme is "ubi sunt"  "where have they gone?"  This was a rough, hard time of life.  The average age for men was 45, for women, 36.  It was not totally unusual to lose one's entire family to war, famine or some other calamity. 

Connor, Dr. Marguerite.  “Anglo Saxon Period.”  www.eng.fju.edu.