Response to Literature: The Wanderer The Wander is an Elegy-style poem that depicts the suffering, exile, and memoirs of an anonymous narrator who refers to himself differently according to what part of his life he is sharing; a "Lone-dweller", an "Earth-stepper", and the "wise man and the Warrior". Although, there is still a lot of debate on whether or not there was only one narrator throughout the poem. The Wanderer is believed to have been created around the 5th or 6th century, being orally "handed down" from generation to generation. However, it was actually written down in the 10th century. It was then duplicated in the Exeter book, the biggest manuscript collection of Old English poetry in existence, by scribes and is preserved …show more content…
He shares his pain and his desire for God´s mercy on his life. Also, it´s important to note that the "exile" he´s in isn´t exactly exile. Actually, his version of exile is being "forced" to aimlessly sail icey waters with his solitude and memories as his only companions. These first 5 lines paint a word picture that depicts a lonely and weary traveler, tragically sailing across viciously cold seas in a row boat. This "lone dweller" spares no details regarding the harsh climate and his emotional state; Forced Exile tends to have that effect on …show more content…
It´s also believed that the "earth- stepper" and this unspecified narrator are one in the same. These lines consist of the narrator´s description of not only the ideal wise man, but also the ideal warrior. The placement of these ideas is interesting. The narrator begins his descriptions of the ideal wise man and warrior shortly after monologuing about his suffering and solitude. The Earth-stepper´s testimony segues into the description of the Wise man. It´s as if the narrator has goes through a short phase of introspection. (the wise man is also mentioned several times between line
Essentially a monologue set within a frame, this poem creates two personae. The anonymous author gives a brief introduction and conclusion. The Wanderer, an aging warrior, who roams the world seeking shelter and aid. The Wanderer’s monologue divides into two distinct parts, the first being a lament for his exile and the loss of kin, friends, home, and the generosity of his king. In nature, he finds absolutely no comfort, for he has set sail on the winter stricken sea. Poignantly, the speaker dreams that he is among his companions, and embracing his king, only to awaken facing the gray, winter sea, and snowfall mingled with hail.
Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.
Anglo-Saxon literature often expressed concepts of survival, battle, exile, male dominance in society, and loyalty to the lord. These aspects are strongly represented in both “The Wanderer” and “The Wife’s Lament”. Both elegies deliver themes of self-exile and the mourning of lost companions. Ideas of longing and alienation are present in these two Anglo-Saxon poems through use of figurative language, structure, point of view, comparison, and various other literary techniques.
The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and The Wife’s Lament all contains faith verses fate. The three poems are very similar and very different. The three poems ranging from a lonely man, to a lost soldier, to a wife’s bedrail. The medieval poems show hurt, confusion, and loneliness.
Alliteration is defined as the repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables. It is a literary device that authors use to bring attention to certain important ideas or concepts in stories. Alliterations allow the reader to bring their senses together to hear and feel what they are reading by bring in sounds of the world around us into literate. This helps the reader visualize the story, therefore helping the reader to remember it. It is used in many stories as a way to hide metaphors and other subliminal messages. For example, alliterations with the 's' being the prominent sound could be visualized as a snake slithering, making a character have a slyness about him. Specifically in Anglo-Saxon literature, alliteration is significant because it is how authors organized their poems or stories, includes repetition which aids memorization, and emphasizes important parts of the text that the author wants the audience to know. Alliteration in important in both “The Wanderer” and “The Wife’s Lament” because it helps evoke certain emotions and feelings by using the different functions of alliterative language.
This text response will be looking the comparison of the two poems, ‘Drifters’ by Bruce Dawe, And ‘In the park’ by Gwen Harwood under the name of Walter Lehmann. Drifters is about a seemingly constantly moving family, it describes the process the family will go through leaving their newest home. In the park is about a seemingly single mother raising her children, it describes the mother sitting in the park with her children when a previous lover comes by and talks about the children. With in each poem, the form and structure, language techniques and the tone and message will be analysed and compared with the other to gather a grater understanding of the Australian voice.
“Journeys allow travelers to reflect on their own experiences because of new knowledge gained and greater insight into themselves and the world around them.”
This poem is about great strife in one mans life and shows how one single outlook or journey can change one mans perspective to start to live differently. But who is the man? What is the journey he just took? What theories or morals did he take from this great extensive spiritual journey? Is
The poem “The Wanderer” speaks of a man who has been exiled from his clan, and is now forced to roam the land alone. Separation from his fellow kinsmen and lord seems to be the worst fate imaginable. The man speaks of his great loss, remembering the time when he was happy with his liege,
Even when people are in their greatest moments of despair people have the ability to find hope. Much like in the Anglo-Saxon poem, “The Wanderer”, the main character, having lost his kinsmen and lord in war, battles with his own loneliness but attempts to remain hopeful for the day that he will find a new home and purpose in life. Through the use of elegiac tone and symbolism the unknown author shows that if a person wants to overcome their depression they must remain hopeful.
In the medieval period, the Old English elegies use unnamed speakers that offer similar descriptions of devastated landscapes and immense personal hardships. However, where the unknown authors’ of the Old English elegies often present smilier descriptions and themes across their respective works, they do not present similar opinions on larger concerns like religion and the role of community. This is a concept that is interwoven into the framework of the Old English elegies “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer”. By comparing and contrasting these two works, this paper will argue that the unnamed narrators’ vivid descriptions of landscapes, circumstances surrounding their exile, and climactic perspectives on the earthly community function solely
In the poems “The Wanderer” and “The Dream of the Rood,” anonymous authors give way to the idea that an Almighty God will solve every problem a person has by doing two things: 1) drawing upon the memories of a warrior who has lost everything near and dear to him due to war, and 2) entering the dream of a man who has been exiled and isolated. Each piece takes its reader through the trials and tribulations that one may not relate to in this era, yet the reader is still there alongside the character wanting them to find peace with their world and themselves. Initially, it is believed that the characters will overcome their hardships and achieve the happiness they seek. However, as the reader delves deeper into the character’s story, there is an overwhelming sense of incompleteness. What actually happens at the end of each piece is not written in stone - telling us the story is not whole - nor has a conclusion been reached. The intrapersonal thoughts being shared with the reader reveal the obstacles that keep an overall wholeness from occurring.
A comparison of Sharon Olds’ “Still Life in Landscape” with Linda Pastan’s “I Am Learning to Abandon the World.”
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” declared by an influential leader Martin Luther King Jr. As a soldier againsts unfairness, King strongly states that people should fight for freedom. Driven by human nature, humans are always chasing freedom. In “A Century Later,” the Pakistan-born British poet Imtiaz Dharker uses the poetic devices of symbolism, diction, and allusion to explore how perseverance drives freedom.
While “The Seafarer” and “The Wanderer” have similar key themes, there are also quite a few unique differences between one another. Both men struggle in their lives, but the seafarer chooses to live the kind of life he wants, yet the wanderer does not have a choice. The seafarer claims to continue travelling since the sea gives him an adrenaline rush and embraces the sea. He feels that it is his duty to travel the sea. The wanderer has no choice in experiencing what he is experiencing as he has been forced into exile, which makes others feel even worse for him. It says in line 9 of “The Wanderer” that “[being] lonely and wretched, [he] wailed [his] woe,” which very much implies that he currently hates his life and would never wish it upon anyone else. A second difference between the two poems are the poems’ individual opinions on time. The seafarer believes that life gets increasingly difficult as time goes on due to the loss of glory and honor overtime. The seafarer also believes this could be due to one being closer to eternal life with God as time goes on. The wanderer, however, has an opposite opinion. Towards the end of the poem, he looks optimistic on life and knows that life can and will always get better. He himself is the only