In Finnur Jónsson's complete edition of skaldic poetry the fragments are conjectured to be all from the same poem, a Knútsdrápa ("Lay of Canute"), and arranged in a suggested order.
Hallvarðr's refrain is very similar to that composed by his fellow poet, Þórarinn loftunga, who also compared the roles of Canute and God in his Höfuðlausn.
[6] He, however, differs somewhat from the other poets in describing Canute with imagery derived from Norse mythology, including references to valkyries, giants, the Midgard Serpent and the World Tree.
[7] Finnur Jónsson described Hallvarðr's poetic expressions as strong but not very original and the surviving verses as formally quite good but not very individual in character.
[4] Roberta Frank is more positive, describing Hallvarðr's poetry as "skaldic verse at its richest and most allusive, a startling blend of Christian and pagan imagery like that carved on the Gosforth cross.