| Alliterative Verse |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT ALLITERATIVE VERSE | |
| literary devices playing with sound | |
| medieval literature | |
| old norse poetry | |
| icelandic literature | |
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In Prosody , alliterative verse is a form of Verse that uses Alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as Rhyme . The most intensively studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic Language s. Alliterative verse, in various forms, is found widely in the literary traditions of the early Germanic languages. The Old English Epic '' Beowulf '', as well as most other Old English Poetry , the Old High German '' Muspilli '', the Old Saxon '' Heliand '', and the Old Norse '' Poetic Edda '' all use alliterative verse. Alliterative verse can be found in many other languages as well, although rarely with the systematic rigor of Germanic forms. The Finnish Kalevala and the Estonian Kalevipoeg both use alliterative forms derived from folk tradition. Traditional Turkic verse, for example that of the Uyghur , is also alliterative. COMMON GERMANIC ORIGINS AND FEATURES The poetic forms found in the various Germanic languages are not identical, but there is sufficient similarity to make it clear that they are closely related traditions, stemming from a common Germanic source. Our knowledge about that common tradition, however, is based almost entirely on inference from surviving poetry. One statement we have about the nature of alliterative verse from a practicing alliterative poet is that of Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda . He describes metrical patterns and poetic devices used by Skald ic poets around the year 1200. Snorri's description has served as the starting point for scholars to reconstruct alliterative meters beyond those of Old Norse. There have been many different metrical theories proposed, all of them attended with controversy. Looked at broadly, however, certain basic features are common from the earliest to the latest poetry. Alliterative verse has been found in some of the earliest monuments of Germanic literature. The Golden Horns Of Gallehus , discovered in Denmark and likely dating to the Fourth Century , bears this Runic inscription in Proto-Norse : x / x x x / x x / x / x x |
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