Lexical variation (the use of kennings) helped to create a more expressive and varied poetry

The more words which were available to express a particular notion, the more the poet had creative opportunities

The kennings enabled the poet to maintain the rhythmical structure of lines of poetry and the repeated pattern of sounds they contained

This poetic form descended from ancient oral tradition

Poems were composed, performed, and passed on without any use being made of writing

The professional minstrel sang the old stories while playing a small harp-like instrument

Alliterative structuring was one of the ways in which an orally transmitted text could be remembered for accurate retelling

Alliteration and rhythm were used as “phonological mnemonics” (that is, memorizing devices which make use of a language's sound system)

The task of remembering Beowulf (3,182 lines) was much facilitated by the phonological structuring that used alliteration