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Norse kenning

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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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 compound expression from Old Norse poetry substituting a descriptive phrase for a noun

Detailed Definition
Norse kenning is a metaphorical circumlocution from Old Norse skaldic poetry that replaces a simple noun with an evocative compound phrase—like “sky-candle” for sun or “wound-sea” for blood—demonstrating poetic virtuosity while encoding mythological and heroic worldviews through indirect, allusive naming.
Example
Example in poetry:
Norse kenning uses metaphorical compound phrases: “whale-road” for sea; “battle-sweat” for blood; “sky-candle” for sun; modern adaptations in Seamus Heaney’s “North” (“longship’s swimming tongue”); contemporary poet A.E. Stallings uses “wine-dark” as Homeric-Norse hybrid; Ezra Pound’s “The Seafarer” translation revives kennings for exile.
Additional Notes
Norse kennings are figurative compounds from Old Norse poetry (e.g., “sky-candle” = sun); require mythological knowledge; used for poetic density and allusion; related to metaphoric compound and hyphenated image
Also Known As
Old Norse periphrasis Viking metaphor skaldic compound Germanic kenning Kenning
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