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Critical Appreciation Of The Poem The Wanderer

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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

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