Editing Beowulf (section)

== Form and metre<!--British English, do not attempt to change this, thanks--> ==

Old English poets typically used [[alliterative verse]], a form of [[poetry|verse]] in which the first half of the line (the a-verse) is linked to the second half (the b-verse) through [[alliteration|similarity in initial sound]]. That the line consists of two halves is clearly indicated by the [[caesura]]: {{lang|ang|Oft '''Sc'''yld '''Sc'''efing \\ '''sc'''eaþena þreatum}} (l. 4). This verse form maps stressed and unstressed syllables onto abstract entities known as metrical positions. There is no fixed number of beats per line: the first one cited has three ({{lang|ang|Oft SCYLD SCEF-ING}}) whereas the second has two ({{lang|ang|SCEAþena ÞREATum}}).{{sfn|Tolkien|1997|pp=61–71}}

The poet had a choice of formulae to assist in fulfilling the alliteration scheme. These were memorised phrases that conveyed a general and commonly-occurring meaning that fitted neatly into a half-line of the chanted poem. Examples are line 8's {{lang|ang|weox under wolcnum}} ("waxed under welkin", i.e. "he grew up under the heavens"), line 11's {{lang|ang|gomban gyldan}} ("pay tribute"), line 13's {{lang|ang|geong in geardum}} ("young in the yards", i.e. "young in the courts"), and line 14's {{lang|ang|folce to frofre}} ("as a comfort to his people").<ref name="Bolton 1985">{{cite journal |last=Bolton |first=W. F. |title=A Poetic Formula in "Beowulf" and Seven Other Old English Poems: A Computer Study |journal=Computers and the Humanities |date=1985 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=167–173|doi=10.1007/BF02259532 |s2cid=10330641 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Prosody of Beowulf |url=https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cinichol/251/ProsodyEarlyEnglish.docx |publisher=North Dakota State University |access-date=7 December 2020 |date=9 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="Fox2020">{{cite book |last=Fox |first=Michael |title=Following the Formula in Beowulf, Örvar-Odds Saga, and Tolkien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RHD-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR8 |year=2020 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-48134-6 |page=1ff}}</ref>

[[Kenning]]s are a significant technique in ''Beowulf''. They are evocative poetic descriptions of everyday things, often created to fill the alliterative requirements of the metre. For example, a poet might call the sea the "swan's riding"; a king might be called a "ring-giver". The poem contains many kennings, and the device is typical of much of classic poetry in Old English, which is heavily formulaic.<ref name="Wright 1973">{{cite book |last=Wright |first=David |title=Beowulf |date=1973 |publisher=Panther |pages=22–23 |chapter=A Note on the Translation}}</ref>