Beowulf’s Metonymies
Beowulf is an Old English poem base on the victories of a heroic character who fights to protect the Danes kingdom from a horrific monster named Grendel. This poem is characterized by its use of metonymy associated with ancient Germanic pagan culture.
Metonymy refers to a figure of speech using the name of a thing or concept closely associated with that same concept. For example, when someone talks about the crown, not in reference to the object but to the king or queen and the power of the monarchy. Through this poem, we can find various examples of metonymy that the writer uses to give flavor to the story. the author uses the term “wave-swimmer” and “ocean-keel” referring to the whole ship, he also describes the sail as “the sea-cloth” and the board of the ship as “flood-timbers.” when the author describes Grendel, to emphasize he is an evil monster, he uses the terms “demon” (line 86), “Capitan of evil” (line 749), and “shadow-stalker” (line 704) meaning he craves darkness because he is afraid of the light, even though Grendel does not consider himself a monster, the author often emphasizes light and darkness when talking about Beowulf and Grendel to say that Beowulf is the light, which represents the good in the world and Grendel is the darkness, which represents evil. Another example of metonymy in this poem is when Unferth asks Beowulf about the swimming contest he lost (line 499–501) the author writes “unbound the battle runners” meaning that a debate was going to take place.
Beowulf was described as the most brave and strong warrior of that time with great qualities worth of praise. He fought many battles against the biggest and ugliest monsters like Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and even a dragon. He was a person of many trusts for his great accomplishments, to the point that any king would put their lives in his hands, as it was the case of Hrothgar. To show the concept of heroism and the many experiences of a warrior, the author used metonymies like “The keen, inlaid, worm-looped-patterned steel was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely on the might of his arm.” (lines 1532–1534) the mention of the steel is in reference to a sword or battle. When the author talks about fighting in battle he uses the phrase “our boar-crests had to take a battering” (line 1326–1328) boar worn on the helmets of the warriors as a very important symbol, representative of ferocity in battle and loyalty to one’s king, and often used as talismans of power and protection. Warrior’s Death is also mention in the poem as “go to the gallows-tree” meaning is going to be killed or executed.
Loyalty is the base of the Anglo-Saxon culture, that is why rewards between the king or overlord, and his warriors were especially important. Warriors were dedicated and they sacrifice their lives for the benefit of the kingdom. In exchange, the king greatly rewarded the warrior along with glory and fame. In this context, the author mentions the king as “the ring giver” (line 1340–1345). When the warriors return from battle, they were expected to bring with them the treasures they gain from the war, then the king or overlord would distribute them accordingly to every warrior’s performance during the battle. The king or overlord was called the ring giver because he gave arm-rings or neck-rings to promote valor and fighting for the kingdom. The warrior who received the ring was honor by his fellow soldiers. These rings gave the warrior recognition, and they were symbols of strength and courage.
In conclusion, the literary technique known as metonymy is most often used in poetry to draw attention to a word or idea by slightly changing the dictation that the poet uses. A slight change in word choice can cause big changes in the way that the reader perceives a concept within a poem. Metonymy can accomplish this, often by abstracting an underlying idea or making it larger than life. One simple way to use metonymy in poetry is to call something by a name that makes it less technical or specific, and more abstract or typical. (https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-function-of-metonymy-in-poetry.htm)
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