Elements of Literature

Anglo-Saxon poetry, like that of the epic Beowulf, contains many of the same literary elements. For example, they all embody Anglo-Saxon ideals, such as allegiance to a lord. All Anglo-Saxon poems contain alliteration in order to obtain a singsong effect and stress syllables. These literary elements can also be observed in the lines of Caedmon’s Hymn. The hymns praise God, thus showing loyalty to the Lord. “When Caedmon awoke, he remembered everything that he had sung in his dream, and soon added more verses in the same style to a song truly worthy of God.” (pg 85) Caedmon’s Hymn also contains the alliteration present in Anglo-Saxon poetry. For example, examine lines 2 and 3. Line 2 states “The majesty of his might and his mind’s wisdom” while Line 3 states “Work of the world-warden, worker of all wonders”. The alliteration in Line 2 (majesty, might, mind) is also where the stressed syllables occur. The same applies for Line 3 (work, world-warden, worker, wonders). Similar to Anglo-Saxon poetry, Caedmon’s Hymn also contains four stressed syllables per line and a caesura in each line.