The Wife's Lament And The Seafarer

In Billy Collins’ poem, Neither Snow, the speaker shows a reflective tone towards the idea that every individual has their own perspective on any given situation through figurative language and choice of detail. The speakers’ reflective tone is visible through a shift in the diction choices he uses and a rhetorical question he presents. Early in the poem the speaker compares snow to krill with the words “looked like”, the connotation behind these words which are repeated suggest and emphasize uncertainty in thought as well as a belief that the image can be interpreted in more than one way. As he thinks more about the events of that Sunday afternoon however, he comes to the conclusion that “it was a run of white plankton”.

In this stylistic analysis of the lost baby poem written by Lucille Clifton I will deal mainly with two aspects of stylistic: derivation and parallelism features present in the poem. However I will first give a general interpretation of the poem to link more easily the stylistic features with the meaning of the poem itself.

Even though the “ Wife’s Lament” and “Seafarer” have similar tone in essence, however the Seafarer hope is set on heaven. On line 68, the narrator states that “the wealth of the world neither reaches to heaven or remains” (19) . Describing that this world is only meant to be temporary and the destitution that one going through will one day be done. In the poem there is not clear cut what is the cause of his exile, but the reader notices that the Seafarer is on misfortune journey. He could not find happiness in cities that he visits, “And who could believe, knowing but the passion of cities, swelled proud with wine and no taste of misfortune” (lines 26-29). That illustrate unfortunate state that could not satisfy by the earthly world that he is living in. He further exclaims his concern that the sea is the place where he finds peace (line 30). In the midst of suffering the Seafarer looks to God for help that as he comes to realize the earthly home has long gone for him. His perspective is that God is in control and he must submit to him, “ A man must conquer pride not

In the nineteenth century women of dignity and grace married men who could provide enough money so that the she could “go housekeeping”. Marriage wasn’t a bond of unity and love, in most cases it was an agreement of sorts that the groom would provide stability to his bride and she intern would provide meals and a clean home. Eunice’s life did not go according to the plan that she or anyone else had imagined for a respectable, middle-class New England woman. In contrast she did transect many of the stereotypes for low-class, immigrant women.

In The Wife’s Lament, the wife is forced to exile. The wife reveals the feelings of suffering, regret, and loneliness. The wife’s misery began when her Lord left her behind. The Wife set out to find him but her Lord’s Kinsmen didn’t want them together anymore, and this is when the forced exile takes actions. “My man’s kinsmen began to plot by darkened thought to divide us two so we most widely in the world’s kingdom lived wretchedly and I suffered longing.” (Lines 11-15). The wife believes she will one day be reunited with her Lord so she moves away to new land. The wife then finds out her Lord wants to commit a crime. “Hiding his mood thinking of murder” (Line 20). This scares the wife and forces her to move into the woods under an Oak Tree. This shows the wife as weak which is not an Anglo-Saxon belief. The wife also believes a man who is weak should never show it, should always pretend to be fine. She believes this because men have the upper hand, they hold more power. A man who shows he’s weak has no belief as Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-Saxons think nobody should ever be weak, they should always be brave. It shows how she’s scared of her lord, so scared she runs into the woods and stays under an oak tree. This exile shows women have no power.

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.

Unfortunately it all came to an end when the plague spread throughout the kingdom and death took many lives. The once precious kingdom was now an empty courtyard and ruble. "The Wife's Lament” is written in first person point of view. That person is the wife who is in desolation due to the exile of her husband.

In the poem “The Wife’s Lament” there is a transfer to a female point of view which was rare during times of a patriarchal society. A theme seen is this poem is exile. The wife who faces exile from her lord later reaches a state of bitter unhappiness. The wife expresses her longing for her husband through use of ubi sunt:

Exile, is defined as a state of being barred from one’s native country. How could that even be possible; Being kicked out of a place of inhabitance. Many say that you’d have to do something unthinkable to have a punishment as grim as exile. During the lawless time of monsters and unruly Kings, the Anglo-Saxon era of poems make that all very practical. The creators of each poem discuss the personal endeavors of each exile and how they each come to their own acceptance, or not. “The seafarer”, “Wanderer”, and the “Wife’s Lament” use various literary devices to express the emotional toil, sorrow, and each theme of their exile.

Over the years, there have been many interpretations of who the speaker of The Wife’s Lament could be. These range from very interesting ideas to ones that seem a little rough around the edges. It is obvious that no sure answer can be found due to the fact that whoever wrote this poem is dead and that the answer will always be in speculation even if it is correct. Hopefully, at the end of this quest I will be slightly more enlightened as to who the true speaker may really be.

Isolation from society can evoke a deep loneliness and self-reflection. The poem "The Wife's Lament" from the Exeter Book expresses the desolation of exile. The dominant theme is the contrast of a happy past and a bleak present of isolation. The anonymous author of "The Wife's Lament" uses setting, tone, and conflict to develop the theme of great loss. He/she augments a situation in which meditation on life's past joys is the only redemption in a life sentenced to confinement. “The Wife’s Lament” is an excellent example of nostalgia, resentment of the present, and hopelessness about the future.

Literary devices exist throughout all literature, and allow the audience to have a deeper emotional connection to the piece. Literary elements are very influential devices used to enrich society’s perspective. Each device fits into a specific role to help one better understand the underlying meaning. The use of literary tools affect the audience’s viewpoint based on the author’s perspective and theme. A poet’s decision of scholarly and eloquent fundamentals, for instance; the setting and speaker, influence the progression of the theme.

The Seafarer, by an unknown author, relates to certain passages from the Bible. Throughout the poem are several phrases where references to Christianity can be found. This includes religious teachings and moral advice that are similar to the words of Jesus. It would make sense to say that The Seafarer may have been inspired by the Christian religion. A passage from The Seafarer gives a religious teaching about how someone can not help another reach heaven.

The word “epic” ignites a multitude of reactions in the minds of literature lovers and passive readers alike. Some people may think of the slang version of this term while other may fondly remember the theater. However, when one is conscious of literary analysis and literature, they can always fall back to the genre of an epic poem. In literary terms, an epic poem is considered to be a lengthy, narrative poem that has a focus on the exploits of a hero and is full of immense amounts of style and figurative language. Normally, by following this hero throughout the poem, the readers are introduced to the alignment between the poem with a specific nation or national identity. Several characteristics of epic poetry lend to this concept, especially those found in both The Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost. Both epic poems focus on historical context and on the characteristics of a heroic journey, the scale of the setting, and divine intervention in order to establish a trend of English nationalistic and religious identity.

Not only are metaphors utilized throughout the poem, but a literary device known as Imagery is as well. Imagery is alternative as important a device for it allows for the reader to have a clear picture of what the character in the poem is visualizing. Furthermore, it also helps covey the theme the author is aiming to represent to the reader. Imagery is made known in stanza two line three, which states, “Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the readers the traveler is coming up with a reason for why one path could be more favorable over the other. The reader analyzes this line of imagery to obtain a clearer representation of the traveler’s decision-making process. Another line where the author uses imagery is in stanza two line five, which states, “Had worn them really about the same” (Myer, 1091). Here the author is using imagery to inform the reader that the paths are “worn” down, which informs the reader that both of his choices have been equally chosen by people before him. These examples help the reader begin to form the theme of self-justification in decision-making. After analyzing the metaphors and the imagery Frost uses in this poem, the reader can conclude so far that the theme the poet is conveying