What Is a Kenning?| Examples & Definition
A kenning is a compound word or phrase that is used to represent a single word, such as “wave traveler” for “boat.” Kennings were commonly used in Old Norse and Old English poetry, but we also use them today. For example, when we call someone a “pencil pusher” or a “tree hugger.”
- Bane of wood: fire
- Battle dew: blood
- Sea-horse: ship
- Wolf of wounds: warrior
- Skull-splitter: axe
- Guardian of the people: king
- Path of the sea: river
- Heaven’s joy: morning
- Arrow’s storm: attack
- Water’s chain: frost
- Feeder of ravens: warrior
- Hoard-keeper: a dragon or guardian of treasure
- Frosty-breath: winter
Kennings enrich the poetic language and reflect the cultural values and natural surroundings of the societies that created them.
What is a kenning?
A kenning is a figure of speech in which a compound word or phrase describes an object or person in terms of something else, revealing an essential quality or characteristic of that entity.
In old epic poems like Beowulf, kennings were conventional phrases referring to specific objects (e.g., sword or axe), topics (e.g., battles or death), or people (e.g., warriors or gods). These kennings were mostly based on traditional metaphors (e.g., “sail road” for “sea”) that everyone understood at the time. Many kennings were tied to the warrior ethos, such as “ring-giver” for a king, emphasizing the social structures and relationships of the time.
In general, with kennings, it is up to the reader to determine what the author is trying to convey. Sometimes, kennings can be obscure, resembling a riddle. Since kennings use more words to describe a single object, they are a type of circumlocution. Today, we still use kennings in our everyday speech and writing, as in “skyscraper.”
Kenning examples
Kennings can take three different forms: compound words, typically joined by a hyphen (“sky-candle”), prepositional phrases (e.g., “storm of swords”), or possessive phrases (“battle’s torch”).
Kennings in Beowulf
Kennings are used extensively as figurative language in Beowulf, one of the oldest surviving works of literature in Old English. Many kennings reflect aspects of the Anglo-Saxon culture or emphasize character traits.
- whale-road or swan-road: the sea
- dwelling-place: residence
- earth-hall: burial mound
- battle-sweat: blood
- shield-warrior: fighters carrying shields
- ring-giver: king
- sleep of the sword: death
- sky-candle or God’s beacon: the sun
- raven-harvest: a corpse/corpses
- helmet-bearers: warriors
- stout-hearted: brave
- slayer of monsters: Beowulf (the hero or protagonist)
- Hell’s captive: Grendel (the antagonist)
Kennings in everyday use
We still use kennings as a more descriptive and vivid way of expressing ideas. Below are some modern examples of kennings used in English.
- couch-potato: a person who spends a lot of time sitting or lying down, engaging in minimal physical activity
- eye-candy: something or someone that is superficially attractive
- greasy spoon: a cheap restaurant serving fried foods
- motor mouth: a person who talks quickly without stopping
- gas guzzler: a vehicle that uses a lot of fuel due to low fuel efficiency
- bookworm: a person who loves reading
- rug rat: a young child who is crawling or just learning to walk
- head hunter: a recruiter, especially one who seeks out and approaches qualified individuals for high-level positions
- four-eyes: a derogatory term for a person who wears glasses
- mind’s eye: the mental faculty of imagining or remembering things
Frequently asked questions about kenning
- What is a kenning in Beowulf?
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An example of kenning in Beowulf is the compound “sea-wood” for “ship.” On their way to kill Grendel, Beowulf and his men travel on a boat, which in the poem is referred to as “sea-wood,” an explicit reference to the boat’s material.
- What is a kenning example?
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A kenning example is “battle-sweat” for “blood.” By equating blood with sweat in the context of battle, the kenning paints a vivid image, emphasizing the effort and intensity of fighting.
