The allusion to Geoffrey of Monmouth
In the legendary tale of History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote a tale connecting the first kings of Britain all the way back to the battle of Troy from Homer's Iliad. Now, Sturluson does the same, tying the nation of Denmark to the battle of Troy, alleging that the Danish are the descendants of Trojan heroes. This points to the epic quality of the Danish people and of their history.
The allusion to Edda Poetica
This is basically a prose retelling of stories that were passed down generationally in Sturluson's culture. The masterpiece of Scandinavian history could be argued to be Edda Poetica which details the stories of Odin and Thor and the creation of Yggdrasil, the universe tree. These stories link Norse gods to real people, namely the king Skjöldr who was the first king of Denmark.
The allegory of god friends
What about the neighboring religions and mythologies? Do the Danish despise nearby gods? No, we see in Sturluson's story, the section called "Skáldskarparmál" that Ægir and nearby skaldic god, Bragi, are friends, and in fact, the author lets us peer into one of their hangouts, as they discuss the essence of wordplay, and the various types of poetic devices that humans could employ if they so desired. The allegory is a picture of art, because two divine, independent points of view are celebrating their selves and their intellects, as friends.
The kenningar motif
These are roundabout motifs that leave the reader with mysteries instead of declarative ideas. The idea is juxtaposition, essentially, because one half of the expression leads to certain logical conclusions, but the answer to the question is divergent and comparative. The two gods chatting in "Skáldskaparmál" are interested in circumlocution. So, the motif of the kenningar expressions is a circle, because of their circular logic.
The allegorical tale of poetry
In "Hàttatal," Sturluson details the discipline of Icelandic poetry, which is rumored to be among the most sublime in all the world's poetry, but it starts with composition, says this author. He tells the story of what a poem is supposed to do, and what it is not supposed to do. As if to actually arm his reader for the quest of writing poetry, he teaches his approach, his devices, his tactics for imagining lines—all in an attempt to codify the practice. He ends on this archetypal detail: A true poet doesn't follow the rules.
