Journal 10: Comparison of Caedmon's Hymn and Beowulf

There are a number of similar literary terms in Caedmon’s Hymn and Beowulf. Two literary terms that occur in both literary works are alliterations and kennings.
An alliteration is a literary device that consists of repeating the same constant sound in the beginning of words. In the hymn, one example of an alliteration is “Then made he Middle Earth to be their mansion.” This is a line from Caedmon’s Hymn, and the alliteration can be found through three words: made, middle, and mansion. In Beowulf, on line 223, the alliteration is “But to table, Beowulf, a banquet in your honor.” In this line, the alliteration is made up of three words: but, Beowulf, and banquet. A kenning is a figure of speech that consists of two nouns separated by a hyphen that stands for a noun. In Caedmon’s Hymn, Caedmon uses the kenning world-warden to represent God. The kenning is describing God as the caretaker of the world. In Beowulf, there are many kennings that are frequently used. For example, battle-shield stands for a shield used in battle, and mead-hall is a place where warriors and people come together to drink mead. Both literary works make use of elevated style. Elevated style is a formal language which uses more elaborate figures of speech. For example, both use it when expressing the superiority of God.