Common Themes and Techniques-11

Many poems of the Anglo-Saxon period share many of the same techniques and themes as seen in Beowulf. The first I can think of immediately is the use of alliteration. On every story from A History of the English Church and People to “The Seafarer” and “The Wife’s Lament” alliteration is used frequently throughout the poems. Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon poetry depended heavily on alliteration. Another important theme was the effective use of the kenning. A kenning is two nouns separated by a hyphen used to describe another noun. Because the language at that time didn’t have a large vocabulary, poets combined existing words to create new alliterative words. The epic hero archetype was another key component. Gilgamesh and Beowulf are very similar in a sense of what they did and what they fought for. Both battled and defeated evil and lived up to the reputation as an archetype. They also take the form as an epic, which is a long narrative poem about a quest, told in formal, elevated language. The deal with events on a large scale for a greater cause and often include gods and goddesses as characters. Another theme is that of fate and dependence on the gods. These motifs appear frequently. Beowulf mainly follows the Christian faith but the idea is still the same. They call on a higher power for guidance. Elegies or personal experience is another important aspect. Just about all the characters in the poems enjoyed what they experienced. It all leads back to fate and what the gods have in store. So from this it can be said that they have a lot in common as far as themes and techniques go.