Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The poem is told from the perspective of a third-person subjective point of view.
Form and Meter
The epic poem is written in a heroic couplet form.
Metaphors and Similes
Kriemhild dies at the end of the poem when she is told to pick up a ring Dietrich threw at her feet. The ring is used in this context as a metaphor to represent the main female’s inferiority when compared to her male counterpart.
Alliteration and Assonance
We find an alliteration in the line “were there to be clad in knight's full garb”.
Irony
An ironic element in the poem is the way in which the females, even though they are always seen as inferior, always end upsmarting the males around them.
Genre
Epic poem
Setting
The action described in the poem takes place in the distant past, in the territory under the rule of the Burgundy king.
Tone
The tone used in the poem is a dramatic one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Kriemhild and the antagonists are Hagen and Gunther.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is a political one and is the result of the main characters’ desire to gain the riches thrown into the river.
Climax
The poem reaches its climax when Siegfried is killed.
Foreshadowing
The prophetic dream Kriemhild has in the beginning of the poems foreshadows the dead of her beloved brother.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
One of the main allusions in the poem is the idea that there is nothing more important when compared with a person’s honor.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The sword is used in the poem as a general term to make reference to the power men possessed.
Personification
We find a personification in the line “splinters seen to fly”.
Hyperbole
We find a hyperbole in the lines “They hastened where they found them / saddled many a steed; /In the court of Siegmund's castle / they tilted with such speed”.
Onomatopoeia
We find an onomatopoeia in the line “they sang the mass' song”.
