Lora Regi
Old English Literature ,or Anglo-Saxon literature, encompasses literature written in old English ,in early medieval England from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman conquest of 1066. Most of the prevailing manuscripts of Anglo- Saxon period were written during its final 300years that is from 9th to 11th centuries.
The old English poem ‘The wanderer’ is preserved in anthology named Exeter book ,a manuscript dating from 10thC .The poem comes under ‘Wisdom poetry’ which is lyrical and boethian in their description of the up and down fortunes of life. The anonymous author portrays the wanderer as a man who is progressing through 3 phases .
1)Solitary man- A man who dwells on the deaths of other warriors and the funeral of his lord.
2)Man troubled in mind - A man who meditates on past hardships and on the fact that mass killing have been innumerable in history.
3)Man wise in mind- A man who realises that life is full of hardships, impermanence and suffering and that stability only resides with God.
“oft to the wanderer, weary of exile,
Cometh God’s pity, compassionate love,
Though woefully toiling on wintry seas
with churning oar in the icy wave,
Homeless and helpless he fled from fate.
Thus saith the wanderer mindful of misery,
Grievous disasters, and death of kin: ”
The alienated wander is being exiled to sea after the death of his lord and kinsmen’s slaughter. The first stanza of the poem itself reveals the depressed condition of the wanderer. He says no matter how hard a man tries to suppress his emotions, he can never avoid his fate. With the coldness of winter in his heart he goes in search for pleasure. Meanwhile he recalls all the treasures and pleasures he had with his lord in grand halls. The lord-less man in exile dreams of all the happy days and later awakes into the stark reality of isolation and uncertainty, which is more miserable. An optimistic light that strikes the wanderer makes him to compare the circumstances which his lord and kinsmen went through ,and this bring a slight consolation. He then realises that the world is constantly fluctuating and a man’s life experiences, good and bad are ultimately what makes him wise. Hence a man should not be boastful, hasty, greedy and fickle. At the end of the poem wanderer turns towards God. He claims that God being a nice creator, made everything for a reason. He gifted unpredictability and hardships to make man strong and wise. Wanderer reminisce memories of battle, favourable horse, festivals and glorious leaders. He says that presently the kingdom turned into a dark place where it is covered with serpents, music and powerful weaponry resides no more, and people turned frightened and helpless due to snowstorm and longer nightfall. The wanderer now resembles to a wise sage and asks people to be steady in faith and be calm. The author concludes the poem by advising all men to look to god for comfort, since he is responsible for fate of mankind.
The wanderer is the most famous and debated Anglo-Saxon poem. Critics often argues on the number of the speakers in the poem. Because the shift from personal experience to general advice tends us to believe that there are two speakers. But some exhorts that the shift in his life experiences, resulted in two different monologue. Author through metaphors, prompts us to think and question on the relationship between pagan and Christian themes. The poem is usually coupled with ‘The seafarer’ as it deals with similar themes. The themes of man and the natural world, pity, outcast, religion, suffering, decaying material world etc are drawn.
The wanderer is 115 lined alliterative Anglo-Saxon verse. The application of certain literary devices in the old English poem makes it more ornamental concerning the present. The use of caesural stops (oft to the wanderer weary of exile) increases the intensity of the poem. Enjambment (3rd and 4th line) helps to speed up the pace of the poem and creates a sense of urgency which results in the rising emotion of the reader. The poet doesn’t restrict literary devices to the above mentioned, rather he adds kenning (hall men ,gold friend)and many more. Hence the wisdom poem, through wanderers physical and mental wall depicts ‘boethian’ notion and ‘everyman’s life’.
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