Free Write #5 – Kennings

If this word is new to you, as it was to me, it is a literary device in which a poetic phrase substitutes for a noun. A memorable kenning occurs when one element of the phrase creates a striking, unexpected comparison. Ex. sky-candle (the sun). (With thanks to Mike Schmidt.)

Write 5 kennings and say what they mean in parentheses.

Wicket from Word Well – where my well is the song I’m listening to by Rachael Yamagata

STARLIGHT

This. is. hard.

Ummmm…

Actually, I have to turn the music off! It’s stealing my brain’s power to think.

Wounded thumper = Broken heart

Cell killer = Cancer

Avian bed = bird nest

Sky beacon – starlight

Man, I’m a poet, should’t this be way easier?

*she stares at the screen*

Idea slasher = blinking cursor (!!)

Word home = book

Food rester = plate

Finger circle = ring

Wait – Five! Just create five! I did it!

Brain challenge = kenning

6 minutes left…

What to write? What to write?

Yesterday I wrote a sonnet. That was a great challenge. A Shakespearean sonnet, to be specific. What’s a kenning for that?

Masterful rhyme story = Shakespearean sonnet

Maybe I’ll just keep going…

Neck snuggler = scarf

Lobe bling = earring

Pucker paste = lipstick – hazaaaah! now I got it…

Stink subsider = mouth wash

Pit perfume = deodorant

Enamel shiner = tooth brush

There’s a theme here! Hygiene?!

Foot glove = sock

Tongue dance = french kiss

Melon room = bra (!!!!)

Skin message = tattoo

Bark body = tree

For more fun courses like this one – visit Wounded Writers Ask!

(Hi Irene!)