Entertainment / Literature / Kenning: A form of compounding in Old English, Old Norse, and Germanic poetry. In this poetic device, the poet creates a new compound word or phrase to describe an object or activity. Specifically, this compound uses mixed imagery (catachresis) to describe the properties of the object in indirect, imaginative, or enigmatic ways. The resulting word is somewhat like a riddle since the reader must stop and think for a minute to determine what the object is. Kennings may involve conjoining two types of dissimilar imagery, extended metaphors, or mixed metaphors. Kennings were particularly common in Old English literature and Viking poetry. The most famous example is hron-rade or hwal-rade (whale-road') as a poetic reference to the sea. Other examples include 'Thor-Weapon' as a reference to a smith's hammer, 'battle-flame' as a reference to the way light shines on swords, 'gore-bed' for a battlefield filled with motionless bodies, and 'word-hoard' for a man's eloquence. In Njal's Saga we find Old Norse kennings like shield-tester for warrior, or prayer-smithy for a man's heart, or head-anvil for the skull. In Beowulf, we also find Anglo-Saxon banhus (bone-house') for body, goldwine gumena (gold-friend of men') for generous prince, beadoleoma (flashing light') for sword, and beaga gifa (ring-giver') for a lord. Kennings are less common in Modern English than in earlier centuries, but some common modern examples include 'beer-goggles' (to describe the way one's judgment of appearances becomes hazy while intoxicated) and 'surfing the web' (which mixes the imagery of skillful motion through large amounts of liquid, amorphous material with the imagery of an interconnected net linked by strands or cables), 'rug-rats' (to describe children), 'tramp-stamps' (to describe trashy tattoos), or 'bible-thumpers' (to describe loud preachers or intolerant Christians). See also compounding and neologism.
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Entertainment / Literature / Skald: The Old Norse or Scandinavian equivalent of a bard or court singer. Most of the surviving skaldic poetry deals with contemporary Viking chieftains and kings--usually making extensive use of kennings. MORE