Norse poetry can be divided into three classes, depending on form and content.

Rune poems were usually inscribed on monuments and serve to praise an individual. They are brief and usually have a simple meter and style.

Eddaic poems describe the Norse gods and ancient Norse heroes and their exploits. Eddaic poetry also has relatively simple meter and style. The stories are exciting, packed with action, and frequently contain valuable object lessons.

Skaldic poems typically praise the deeds of notable people, and they were usually written during the lifetime of the person being praised. While most of the surviving skaldic poetry dates from the medieval period, at least some of the poems are believed to date from the Norse period. They seem to have been carefully remembered and preserved for generations. The runestone shown to the right is the only skaldic verse known to have been written down in the Norse era. The poems have complicated meters, strict patterns of alliteration, and ornate metaphoric language, with wordplay to delight the sophisticated listener. The poems usually celebrate the exploits of a particular king or leader, and are thought to be reliable testimony to the events, even though (in some cases) they weren't committed to writing for centuries after their composition. Unfortunately, the factual information in such poetry tends to be limited.

Skaldic poetry uses a variety of circumlocutions, such as kennings. A kenning uses a phrase as a metaphor to represent an idea. The usual form is a noun, qualified by another noun in the genitive case. For instance sweat of the sword is used to mean blood, or horse of the sea to mean ship. Some of the kennings can only be understood by someone with an extensive knowledge of the culture and of the great stories. For example, flame of the Rhine is used to mean gold but would probably be understood only by someone who is familiar with the Völsunga saga in which the great gold treasure of the Volsungs (which Sigurð won from the dragon Fáfnir) ended up at the bottom of the Rhine River. Kennings can have multiple levels. For example, a poet might use a kenning for gold, and then use that phrase in place of the word "gold" in yet another kenning, such as flame of the sea-stead's path. Sea-stead's (ship) path is water, so flame of the water refers to gold. Some kennings depend on hyperbole. Enemy of gold refers to a man who does not like gold and gives it away: a generous man. Some kennings take the form of puns, such as using sky of the eel to represent ice in identifying someone as an Icelander.

Source: Hurstwic