Krummavísa (English: Raven Verse) or Krummi krunkar úti (English: A Raven Croaks Outside) is an Icelandic folk song or nursery rhyme. The song was published in 1906 in the book Íslenzk þjóðlög (Icelandic Folk Songs) by Bjarni Þorsteinsson [is]. Bjarni learned the song from Ólafur Davíðsson, who in turn learned it as a child in Sléttuhlíð.[1]

Krummavísa
Krummi krunkar úti
by Bjarni Þorsteinsson
1906 printing
LanguageIcelandic
Publication date1906 (1906)
Lines8
Krummavísa at Icelandic Wikisource

As with all traditional Icelandic poetry, Krummavísa conforms to the set of rules called bragfræði (prosody). According to this system, a poem must be alliterative: a line of verse must have two words beginning with the same letter, and the first word of the next line must also begin with the same letter.[3] Here, for example, the first line has two words beginning with a K (krummi and krunkar) and the first word of the second line also begins with a K (kallar).

References

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  1. ^ Þorsteinsson, Bjarni (1906). Íslenzk þjóðlög. Copenhagen: Siglufjarðarprentsmiðja. p. 510.
  2. ^ Icelandic Folk Song - Krummi krunkar úti on YouTube
  3. ^ Sigmundsdóttir, Alda (2016). "Amazing alliteration". The Little Book of Icelandic. Little Books Publishing. pp. 56–57. ISBN 978-9935-9298-6-0.