| Wanderer (poem) |
Article Index for Wanderer |
Website Links For Wanderer |
Information AboutWanderer (poem) |
|
It is a profoundly mournful poem, to the extent that it is an Elegy , in which the author, an aged man, speaks of an attack upon his people that happened in his youth. In this attack, his close friends and kin were all killed, and memories of the slaughter have remained with him all his life. He questions the wisdom of the impetuous decision to engage a possibly superior fighting force: the wise man engages in warfare to preserve civil society, and must not rush into battle but seek out allies when the odds may be against him. This poet finds little glory in bravery for bravery's sake. Two notable elements of the poem are the use of the "Beasts of Battle" motif and the "ubi sunt formula". The "Beasts of Battle" motif is here modified to include not only the standard eagle raven and wolf, but also a "sad-faced man". It has been suggested that this is the poem's protagonist. The "ubi sunt" or "where is" formula is here in the form "hwær cwom", the Old English phrase "where has gone". The use of this emphasises the sense of loss that pervades the poem. He vividly describes his loneliness and yearning for the bright days past, and concludes with an admonition to put faith in God, "in whom all stability dwells". It has been argued that this admonition is a later addition, as it lies at the end of a poem that is otherwise solely secular in its concerns. The structure of the poem is of four stress-lines of different lengths, divided by a Caesura . Like most Old English Poetry, it is written in alliterative meter. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|