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Völuspá

Mythology
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

The most famous poem of the Poetic Edda, in which a seeress recounts the history and fate of the cosmos.

Detailed Definition
Völuspá (“Prophecy of the Seeress”) details creation, the Æsir’s rise, Baldr’s death, and Ragnarök. In poetry, it is the foundational mythic text, blending prophecy, cosmology, and elegy to define Norse eschatology and divine tragedy.
Example
Example in poetry:
Völuspá, the “Prophecy of the Seeress,” foundational poem of the Poetic Edda; It recounts creation, the gods’ golden age, Baldr’s death, and Ragnarök; Poets quote its lines—“I remember giants born before time”—to invoke cosmic memory; Its structure blends myth, prophecy, and elegy, offering models for epic poetry; The seeress’s voice demonstrates female authority in oral tradition; Contemporary poets adapt its refrain (“She sees…”) for climate or social warnings.
Additional Notes
Völuspá (“Prophecy of the Seeress”) is the foundational poem of the Poetic Edda, spoken by a völva (seeress) who recounts creation, the Æsir’s rise, Baldr’s death, and Ragnarök, ending with a vision of renewal; its structure—moving from chaos to order to destruction to rebirth—offers a cyclical cosmology rare in Western myth; for poets, Völuspá provides rich models of alliterative verse, prophetic voice, and apocalyptic imagery, while its blend of Christian and pagan elements invites analysis of cultural syncretism in medieval literature.
Also Known As
Voluspa
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