Aspects of grammar in Beowulf

Beowulf was written in Britain but it is set in Scandinavia, and it is known only from a
single manuscript which dates from close to AD 1000. It is the oldest surviving epic poem in
British literature. Beowulf is admired for the richness of its poetry - for the beautiful sounds of
the words and the imaginative quality of the description. About a third of the words in Beowulf
are words known as kennings. Kennings are words that are in themselves metaphorical
descriptions, and were a typical feature of AS poetry.
As far as it concerns its grammar, Beowulf presents problems, because most of the early
texts are either poetic or translations. The patterns of meter and alliteration exhibited in the poem
were not imposed by the poet on his language, but were part of the language that he spoke, the
rules of which constituted his metrical grammar. The half-lines of the poem, which are the basic
units of composition, are marked by the metrical grammar for placement in the verse clause.
As a result of its antiquity and native tradition, in determining the basic structure of the
sentence, the linguists rely heavily on the texts that appear to be least modified by literary
conventions or introduction of non-native patterns through translation.
SOV order could be supplied from the earliest literary texts. We can find evidence for
OV Order in simple clauses in Beowulf too. The first three lines of the Old English
Beowulf provide strong support for the conclusion on OV order:
Hwt, w Gr-dena in gardagum
odcyninga rym gefrnon,
h elingas ellen fremedon.
Listen, we have heard of the glory of the Spear-danes,
of the kings of the people, in days of old,
how the heroes performed deeds of valor.
Order in comparative constructions. Among other patterns characteristic of OV
sentence structure are comparative constructions attested in the early texts. Beowulf
doesnt represent an exception:
t S-Gatas
slran nbben
that than-you the Sea-Geats better-one not-have
that the Sea Geats do not have a better one than you
The use of postpositions:
Scyldes eafore
Scedelandum in
Scyld's offspring in the Scandinavian lands
or
frawine folca Frslondum on

lord of the people in Friesland.

Demonstrative pronouns used to introduce relative clauses; in Beowulf forms of the
demonstrative pronoun s, so, t were used without a particle (Gothic used a particle)
to introduce relative clauses:
beaduscrda betst, t mne brost were,
the best of military garments, that protects my breast
OV order for adjectives and genitives:
t ws gd cyning! He was a good king.
odcyninga rym
the glory of the kings of people
wuldres Wealdend
the Lord of glory
Word order in marked constructions; the basic structure of sentences may be modified
to emphasize elements, especially in poetry, as in the following example where fter is
placed for the purpose of emphasis.
m eafera ws fter cenned
To-them son was after born
A son was then born to them.
The word order of questions:
Hwanon ferigea g ftte scyldas
Whence do you bear ornamented shields?
Expression of negation: negation is expressed by means of the particle ne, as also in
Proto-Indo-European and some of the other dialects. It may be found in its full form with
reference to an entire clause where ne is commonly placed before the verb, as in:
H bot ne lh, He didn't fail to perform the promise
As is widely found with negatives, words were often added to strengthen the negation; the
strengthening element is commonly a noun, as in Old English and Old High German wiht 'being,
thing', but a form of the negative itself may also be added:
N he hru winedrihten wiht ne lgon, They did not blame their lord a whit
Sentence adverbials: Adverbs are very prominent in the early texts. Examples from
poetry illustrate that prominence. They often fill the third accent in the poetic line, as in:
lof landfruma lange hte.
The beloved king
had long ruled.
Formed with various suffixes, they referred to time, place and manner. Those with a nasal suffix
indicated action away from a point:
Sgde s e ce
frumsceaft fra feorran reccan,
He said, he who could
tell the origin of men from far in the past.
Adverbs of manner were based on various suffixes, some with u-stems, as is still clear in OE
gearwe, as in:
gamol of geardum;
hine gearwe geman

old in years

him readly recalls.

Expression of uncertainty and modality: Shorter expressions may also be inserted in

the middle of sentences, such as the formula used twice in Beowulf:
gif mec hild nime
if the battle should take me
Expression of tense and aspect: While tense is the primary meaning expressed by
inflections of verbs, residues of aspect are also attested, though chiefly with verb forms
prefixed with ga-. For example, the form of feallan in Beowulf clearly indicates
completed action of the wounded Grendel:
mdes gemor meregrund gefoll
sorrowful in mind he fell to the bottom of the sea
By contrast, the unprefixed forms express continued action:
ws wundor micel, t se wnsele
wihfde heaodorum, t h on hrsan ne fol,
That was a great wonder, that the winehall
withstood the brave battlers, that it was not falling to the ground