A LIST OF STYLISTIC RESOURCES AND CONVENTIONS IN ANGLO-SAXON POETRY
1.
ALLITERATION
2.
PARALLELISM
2.1. CONCEPTUAL PARALLELISMS: Insisting on the same idea by means of
several expressions as though the poet were not satisfied with the present
wording.
2.2. LINGUISTIC PARALLELISM
2.3. CONCEPTUAL AND LINGUISTIC PARALLELISM
3. INDIRECT ALLUSIONS AND PERIPHRASIS: The reference to a concept by means
of roundabout expressions.
4. EPITHETS: Adjectives or descriptive phrases
used to indicate the character of the protagonists.
5. ELEGANT VARIATION: Indirect allusions and appositions
are repetitive, but they generally introduce some new elements for ornaments
sake.
6. APPOSITIONS: Such resources as indirect allusions
or elegant variations (below) are realized through appositions. They are of two
kinds:
6.1. CLOSE
APPOSITIONS
6.2. DETACHED APPOSITIONS
7. ASYNDETIC CONSTRUCTIONS: Epithets, appositions, alliteration,
and other resources and conventions favour the use of asyndetic constructions
or parataxis, i.e., the omission of the linking words between clauses and the
use instead of juxtaposition of clauses and phrases merely linked by
punctuation marks (mainly commas).
8.
COMPOUND
WORDS, which are
frequently self-explaining. When they contain a poetic and guessing shade they
are a figure of speech much the same as similes and metaphors and are called
KENNING. The frequent and repetitive resort to this device arises probably from
the need to find words for alliteration effect.
9.
LITOTES:
Understatements
used ironically (not to light-heartedly in Anglo-Saxon literature), especially
employing a negative to express the contrary.
10.
GRIM IRONY: It has been said that Anglo-Saxon poetry does
not know humour, instead, the closest approach to it is grim irony, i.e., the
poets indulgence in ironically mocking suffering.