Beowulf: Written Oral LiteratureSay no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Beowulf, transcribed by Christian monks around the 8th century, originated as an oral literary work intended for performance. To keep the listener interested in the play and to make it easier to remember and retell, Beowulf uses the conventions of kennings, alliteration, and hyperbole to tell Beowulf's story. These devices are used to make the tale easier to remember and more engaging for both the performer and the listener. The poet who transcribed Beowulf for his Christian audience keeps these conventions intact to preserve the feel of an oral work. The first of these poetic conventions is a metaphorical compound word or phrase used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry, called kenning. This type of metaphor is used to replace the usual name of a person or thing. The epic Beowulf uses two different types of kennings to avoid constant repetition of names. The first type of kenning simply substitutes a title for the person's name. So instead of constantly saying Beowulf, the speaker uses terms such as "the Geatish hero", "son of Ecgtheow", and "the lord of sailors". The ways Beowulf is mentioned are simple examples of kennings, but Beowulf also uses more metaphorical kennings to avoid repetition. The second type of kenning in Beowulf is formed by creating a phrase consisting of two nouns, which describe a characteristic of the original. name. These kennings then give quick and vivid descriptions of the original name without having to rephrase it. Without overusing the word sea or ocean, the poet uses "the road of the swans" (Beowulf ll 200) or "the road of the whales" (ll 10) to give a clear mental image of a place where these aquatic creatures would travel. The poet who transcribed this traditional story also keeps many other kennings. The sun is called "the candle of heaven" (ll 1571) or "the jewel of heaven" (ll 2072), both giving clear images of bright light in the sky. Grendel is also mentioned by his own kennings, such as "corpse maker" (ll 276) and "cursed by God" (ll711) to show his destructive power. In just two words, “hail of steel” (ll 3116), the author quickly shows the danger of being assailed by incoming arrows. The second convention used by the author, to make the poem easier to remember and recite, is alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of usually initial consonants in two or more neighboring words or syllables. In addition to making the work easier to remember, alliteration also gives the work its own rhythm and poetic voice. Excerpts like “he had healed” (ll 829), “God cursed Grendel” (ll 711), “hard helmet, bitten” (ll 2255) add to the rhythm of the work. In each of these selections, each word begins with the same letter and the repetitive consonants give the poem a sing-song quality when read aloud. This ritualistic, chanting rhythm adds a lot to the work without adding extra lines to memorize, while also making it easier to remember and recite. The third convention, hyperbole or extravagant exaggeration, is used to maintain the audience's interest, by making the story more interesting to the listener. It is more amusing to say that Beowulf “renounces the sword and the shelter of the broad shield” (ll 436-7) than to say that he is courageous. When the poet states that Grendel "ripped out the mouth of the building, making the blood maddening" (11 723-4), the monster seems even more horrible,.