Poetic Devices in Beowulf There is a small variety of poetic devices employed in the composition of the poem Beowulf, and they are repeated numerous times. The Old English poetry of Beowulf is notable primarily for its heavy use of all literature, or the repetition of the initial sounds of words. In the original manuscript version of the poem, alliteration is employed in almost every line (or two half-lines); in modern translations of the poem this is not the case. In lines 4 and 5 of the poem we find:Oft Scyld Scefing sceapena preatummonegum maegpum meodo-setla ofteahThe repetition of the "s" sound in line 4 and the "m" sound in line 5 illustrates alliteration, and this occurs throughout the poem , providing the listener with what the rhyme of modern poetry provides: an aesthetic sense of rightness or pleasure. The Old English poet “tied” the two half-verses together through their accented alliteration (Chickering 4). Each line of poetry ideally contains four major accents, two on each side of a strong medial caesura, or pause. “At least one of the two accented swords in the first half line, and usually both, begins with the same sound as the first accented word in the second half line” (Donaldson 67). This heightened alliterative link has created hundreds of pairs that are used over and over again, such as halig/heofon saint/heaven, dryhten/dugud lord/troop, fyren/feond sin/enemy. The pairs do not necessarily have to be complementary, but rather can be contrasting, such as adig/ear happy/unhappy and wearm/winter warm/winter. These dictionary contrasts provide the listener with additional pleasure by surprising his expectations. The al...... middle of paper...... overflowing sorrow for Herebeald (2444-64) The poetic devices used in this classic poem are not great in variety, but indeed considerable in their repetition. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A bilingual edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Donaldson, E. Talbot. "Old English Prosody and Caedmon's Hymn." Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph F. Tuso. New York, WWNorton and Co.: 1975.Magoun, Frances P. “Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry.” In The Beowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Tharaud, Barry. "Anglo-Saxon Language and Traditions in Beowulf." In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.