Hrafnkel’s Saga Literary Elements

Epic poetry

Ancient Iceland

Omniscient third person

The tone is epic, because Hrafnkel's father is an important leader, making him like a prince. The stakes are raised when Hrafnkel kills an innocent man for his pride, setting him against the community.

Hrafnkel is the protagonist; Samur is the protagonist

Hrafnkel kills Einar, son of Þorbjörn, who appeals to the chieftain against Hrafnkel. Einar was an employee of Hrafnkel who was caught riding Hrafnkel's prized horse during work, leading to a conflict where Hrafnkel executed him. Now, the community is on the hunt for Hrafnkel, who must survive them and rebuilt his life from scratch.

After long journeys, Hrafnkel attempts to reestablish himself in the community by defeating his foe, Samur who judged him harshly for the death of Einar. He conquers Samur, earning the honor of his father's name, and instead of killing Samur, he spares him.

The use of foreshadowing occurs in Hrafnkel's religion when he prays to the gods from a position of arrogance, setting in motion the fate that will reshape him as a person.

Understatement is rarely used in this form of epic poetry.

There is allusions to other important Norse legends, especially the stories of Freyr the deity. Through the temple, Hrafnkel references religious texts from ancient Iceland.

Imagery is used to shape the story primarily through the cycle of order and chaos. In the realm of order, they live in a society with rules and laws that protect their citizens. In the wilderness, the game is purely to survive, and Hrafnkel goes through the wilderness in a cycle.

The atheism of Hrafnkel's middle life is strikingly paradoxical to the poem's ultimate themes. He is angry with the gods whom he was once delighted, misunderstanding his humiliation and judgment. In the end, it is seen that ultimately, the gods 'punished' him out of affection, making him a heroic conquerer.

The parallelism between Samur's judgment against Hrafnkel and Hrafnkel's later judgment against Samur is worth noting; also there is parallelism between Hrafnkel's murder of Einar and his sparing of Samur which proves his growth.

The honor of Hrafnkel's father is synecdochic, because it shows that Hrafnkel took advantage of his privilege. His father was well-respected and honored, so he inherited that honor, but once stripped of it, had to reestablish himself through private experience. This is a synecdoche for the whole hero's journey.

Hrafnkel argues that the gods are personifications of forces that do not need personification. Early in life, he personified them and prayed to them for blessings, hoping they would spoil him. Instead, the forces brought him into contact with his instincts, making him a fuller person. He becomes a manifestation of the natural forces he encounters in the wilderness.