Old English give certain evidence of an influence on syntax. The change to Old English from Old Norse was substantive, pervasive, and of a democratic character. Old Norse and Old English resembled each other closely like cousins and with some words in common, they roughly understood each other; in time the inflections melted away and the analytic pattern emerged. It is most "important to recognize that in many words the English and Scandinavian language differed chiefly in their inflectional elements. The body of the word was so nearly the same in the two languages that only the endings would put obstacles in
Old English is used by the poet where a word like "lo" or "behold" would be expected. This usage is similar to "what-ho!", both an expression of surprise and a call to attention. English poetry is based on stress and alliteration. In alliteration, the first consonant in a word alliterates with the same consonant at the beginning of another word, as with and . Vowels alliterate with any other vowel, as with and . In the text below, the letters that alliterate are bolded. A semi-fluent translation in Modern English would be: Lo! We have heard of majesty of the Spear-Danes, of