PERIPHRASIS and KENNING are also called CIRCUMLOCUTION.
PERIPHRASIS is a way to use more words than needed to make a point. It is an indirect way of making a point.
It is usually used to “soften” the statement in a way that it seems less harsh.
EXAMPLE
If Matt missed 30 classes and received an “F”, the teacher could explain the poor grade in two ways:
#1 – Matt received a failing grade, because he missed 30 classes.
OR USE PERIPHRASIS
#2 – The reason Matt failed this year’s math class is because he missed more classes than he should have, which led to his poor performance.
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If a friend asks you what she looks like in her new dress, and you think she looks awful, you might say, “Well, the the dress is not that bad, but you may want to keep looking for a better one.”
This is much nicer than saying, “The dress is ugly and you look ugly in it.”
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A KENNING is also a type of CIRCUMLOCUTION.
It is a poetic way of giving something a different name.
The story Beowulf is filled with Kennings.
EXAMPLE
Instead of saying the soldiers sailed across the ocean, the writer would write, “They sailed the whale-road”
Beowulf is often called the battle-king
His armor is called battle-gear or war-gear
Beowulf is known to unleash his word-hoard, which means his brain or his rhetorical speaking ability.
