Home › Glossary › Letter K

Kenning metaphor

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A figurative expression, usually two words, that replaces a noun in Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon verse

Detailed Definition
A kenning metaphor extends the Old English kenning into a sustained or modernized figurative expression that renames an object through indirect, culturally resonant imagery; it revitalizes perception by defamiliarizing the everyday through layered symbolic association.
Example
Example in poetry:
“whale-road” for sea in Old English poetry (Beowulf); “battle-sweat” for blood in Norse skaldic verse; “sky-candle” for sun in Anglo-Saxon riddles; “bone-house” for body in The Wanderer; “ring-giver” for king in heroic lays; “wave-steed” for ship in Eddic poetry
Additional Notes
A compressed metaphor in kenning form. Creates vivid imagery through compound structure. Common in Norse and Old English verse. Distinct from extended metaphors. Study Beowulf for examples.
Also Known As
Compound metaphor Norse metaphor Periphrastic image Compressed metaphor
Skip to main content