Year 7 are currently studying the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. As part of their examination of this seminal piece of English literature, they have been learning about the evolution of English language and English poetry. Around the year 1000, when Beowulf was written down, rhymes were rarely used in poetry. Instead, poems were full of alliterations, a distinctive beat and kennings. A kenning is a metaphor, usually of two words, which describes something in an aesthetically pleasing and intellectually stimulating manner.
Below are two examples of kenning poems, written by two of our students.
The Leaf-Season
by Beatrice
The leaf-season is coming all around
Cloud-murk fills the air we breathe
The sky- joy sparkling through the sun-table
Mist-bands fall all over the tree-hug
Until the twighlight-scather arrives
Delicious fruit-balls start to grow back
The cute living-creatures prepare for the snow-season
And all the body-fuel is getting fetched
All the gold chlorophyll-catchers are falling
Creating a leaf- mat on the soil-foot rests