“You will go into battle and the harps will keen for you.”
-The Grey God Passes
In current modern usage keen is rarely used to describe sound, but rather the sharpness of a blade or of a person’s wit. More importantly, Howard uses keen as a verb in this lone passage, the key passage to the love tragedy imbedded in the war story.
keen 1
(kēn)
adj. keen•er, keen•est
1. Having a fine, sharp cutting edge or point.
2. Having or marked by intellectual quickness and acuity. See Synonyms at sharp.
3. Acutely sensitive
4. Sharp; vivid; strong
5. Intense or bracing
6. Pungent; acrid.
7. a. Ardent; enthusiastic
b. Eagerly desirous
8. Slang Great; splendid; fine
________________________________________
[Middle English kene, from Old English cēne, brave.]
