This assignment is two fold and can form the basis of your first response assignment. We will go over your responses in class. I'd like you to respond here, or if you can't, to email me your responses so I can post them so you can see how others in class have responded.
READ AND ANSWER AS MUCH AS YOU CAN IN AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES--SPEND LONGER IF YOU CAN. SEE THIS IS AS THE BEGINNINGS OF YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT AND AN ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR PEERS.
1) Read carefully the finally section of "The Wanderer." Think about how it works as a conclusion to the poem as a whole. What social values are expressed here? Be specific: what does the speaker clearly value? What insight into the speaker's world do we have? Is he reconciled with his lot? Having reflected longer on the poem, do you think there are more than one poet involved or that we see here a poet who is torn been his pagan beliefs and the attractions of Christianity?
So the Creator of men laid waste this region,
until the ancient world of giants, lacking the noises
of the citizens, stood idle.
He who deeply contemplates this wall-stead,
and this dark life with wise thought,
old in spirit, often remembers long ago,
a multitude of battles, and speaks these words:
“Where is the horse? Where is the young warrior? Where is the giver of treasure?
Where are the seats of the banquets? Where are the joys in the hall?
Alas the bright cup! Alas the mailed warrior!
Alas the glory of the prince! How the time has gone,
vanished under night’s helm, as if it never were!
Now in place of a beloved host stands
a wall wondrously high, decorated with the likenesses of serpents.
The powers of spears took the noblemen,
weapons greedy for slaughter; fate the renowned,
and storms beat against these rocky slopes,
falling snowstorm binds the earth,
the noise of winter, then the dark comes.
The shadow of night grows dark, sends from the north
a rough shower of hail in enmity to the warriors.
All the kingdom of earth is full of trouble,
the operation of the fates changes the world under the heavens.
Here wealth is transitory, here friend is transitory,
here man is transitory, here woman is transitory,
this whole foundation of the earth becomes empty.
So spoke the wise in spirit, sat by himself in private meditation.
He who is good keeps his pledge, nor shall the man ever manifest
the anger of his breast too quickly, unless he, the man,
should know beforehand how to accomplish the remedy with courage.
It will be well for him who seeks grace,
comfort from the Father in the heavens, where a fastness
stands for us all.
2) Read "The Wife's Lament." Here the voice is that of a woman. How is her lot different to the male speaker of "The Wanderer"? How is it the same? What values does she express? What do they reveal to us about the society she inhabits? What do you think happened? Is her lot harder than that of her male peers? Do you think the poet actually is a woman or a man assuming a female voice? What clues do you have?
I make this song about me full sadly
my own wayfaring. I a woman tell
what griefs I had since I grew up
new or old never more than now.
Ever I know the dark of my exile.
First my lord went out away from his people
over the wave-tumult. I grieved each dawn
wondered where my lord my first on earth might be.
Then I went forth a friendless exile
to seek service in my sorrow’s need.
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.
My lord commanded me to move my dwelling here.
I had few loved ones in this land
or faithful friends. For this my heart grieves:
that I should find the man well matched to me
hard of fortune mournful of mind
hiding his mood thinking of murder.
Blithe was our bearing often we vowed
that but death alone would part us two
naught else. But this is turned round
now . . . as if it never were
our friendship. I must far and near
bear the anger of my beloved.
The man sent me out to live in the woods
under an oak tree in this den in the earth.
Ancient this earth hall. I am all longing.
The valleys are dark the hills high
the yard overgrown bitter with briars
a joyless dwelling. Full oft the lack of my lord
seizes me cruelly here. Friends there are on earth
living beloved lying in bed
while I at dawn am walking alone
under the oak tree through these earth halls.
There I may sit the summerlong day
there I can weep over my exile
my many hardships. Hence I may not rest
from this care of heart which belongs to me ever
nor all this longing that has caught me in this life.
May that young man be sad-minded always
hard his heart’s thought while he must wear
a blithe bearing with care in the breast
a crowd of sorrows. May on himself depend
all his world’s joy. Be he outlawed far
in a strange folk-land— that my beloved sits
under a rocky cliff rimed with frost
a lord dreary in spirit drenched with water
in a ruined hall. My lord endures
much care of mind. He remembers too often
a happier dwelling. Woe be to them
that for a loved one must wait in longing.
Michael S.
ReplyDelete1. The speaker’s isolation has caused him to reminisce the times when he and his fellow men shared land and wealth, before he was forced into exile after a failed attempt to defend their homestead. He parallels his own isolation with that of the “world” he is in, discussing the fragility that is wealth and vitality as the speaker knows it. The speaker uses the repetition of ‘transitory’ to instill in their observation, now viewed from the position of exile, how short-lived wealth and prosperity can be, which is ultimately controlled by God. I believe it is one poet, faced with conflicting ideologies he can’t deduce on his own.
If you have problems publishing a comment email it to me and I'll put it up. As you formulate your own responses, read your classmates' and engage with what they have said too if you feel inclined. Your first response assignment, which will have to goal of honing skills in close reading and accurate writing, will ask you to look closely what a speaker of your choice is saying and what that speaker reveals about his or her world. This assignment is practice and perhaps a basis for that. Be as full as you can in your response here in the time you have.
ReplyDeleteYoung K:
ReplyDelete1. The final section of “The Wanderer” serves as an appropriate conclusion for the entire poem. As expected, it’s made clear that war and conquest made up the core of this time period’s societies and the conclusion serves to show that this village was destroyed in the same manner that they had lived, through battle. However, the speaker, who appears to have been a survivor of this desolation and was seemingly exiled, appears as though he valued not glory nor “the kingdom of the earth” but salvation through God. Also, the speaker also makes clear that he values men who “keeps his pledge” and doesn’t “manifest the anger of his breast too quickly.” It seems as though the speaker realized how vicious and savage his world was at the time and referring to earlier in the paragraph, it was clear that the core value of these warrior was glory through battle. But, the speaker also realized that wealth, land, and “earthly glory” was all temporary and would vanish when you died. So while the speaker might not have been content or happy with this situation in life, he was understanding and accepting of his destiny and now looked for salvation through the Creator. After examining this poem closely, I think that there were two different authors for this poem because throughout the poem there are contradicting values. For example, it seemed as though it was the tale of an exiled warrior who was reminiscing at first but towards the end a religious aspect is introduced out of the blue. It is also strange that the speaker doesn’t really choose an ideological side but instead enjoys worldly things yet wants salvation from God. There is other evidence that there two poets, one being that the Anglo-Saxons weren’t introduced to Christianity until the half of the 1st century but this poem seems to have been written much earlier. In my opinion, after the original poem was written, it seems as though another poet, who was introduced to Christianity, either finished or rewrote the poem.
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2. Besides the obvious fact that the speaker is a woman, this poem gives a whole new perspective that we can look at since this from the same general time period but now it is through the eyes of someone who doesn’t go to war but of one that stays home, of someone who doesn’t hope to make it back but of one who hopes for a return. In terms of other differences, the tone of this poem is much more emotional in terms of grief, sorrow, and suffering. In addition, it shows the hardships of someone who was a wife to a man, which were much different. However, the aspect that stays constant through both of the poems is the theme of loss, exile, and war. It seems as though the speaker for this poem valued a stable family with a loving husband that didn’t leave along with a community that was friendly and didn’t plot against each other. It seems as though her husband was exiled which was hard enough but after she decided to find him, her community prevented her from finding him. Then, to add insult to injury, they exiled her from society as well. While it’s hard to judge whose situation was worse, it is clear the speaker of this poem suffered just as much as the speaker of “The Wanderer” which is made apparent from the emotion that is embedded in the poem due to a sense of loss and loneliness. After much consideration, I think that the actual poet might have been a man because during this time period women were considered much lower than men and most likely did not have the ability nor the time to actually write poems. Also, it seems as though the woman’s attachment to her husband seem a bit excessive and might have been what men thought their spouse thought of them. So, although nothing is certain, I believe that although the speaker might have been female, the actual poet was a man.
Though it is possible that there are two speakers in the poem "The Wanderer", it appears to me that from a certain perspective, there may be only one. In trying times, it is human nature to remember what once was - to reminisce, to feel sorrow in missing what was once great and to take pride in those memories. However, I know from experience that in times of loneliness, one may frequently go back in forth between ideas, whether that be between acceptance of circumstances or longing for the past. I say the poem may only contain one speaker because it is proven that in times of hardship, people often turn to religion. Humans have a natural inclination to search out a purpose, to want something to believe in or something to rely on to distract from loneliness or hardships. It is likely that before the man was exiled he didn't feel the need to believe anything other than that of the pagan lifestyle. He had everything - riches and power. Why would he need to believe in anything else? However, loneliness changes a person. His situation isn't just alone in his home or alone at the mall. In a sense, he's alone from the world. It seems that he's just wandering aimlessly through empty ruins. The only hope left to keep him going and to give him purpose would be some sort of belief system - to rely on a creator because it's all he has left. He has no desire for earthly good anymore because he can no longer have them, though he goes back to remembering them. Ultimately, I think it's not what he wants to believe, and it's clearly not the life he wishes to lead, but it's all that he has left to cling to. Everything else has faded away. The idea of a creator and some sort of saving grace is the last sort of comfort this "wanderer" could find, and when that's all a person has, they're going to feel strongly about it. He's looking for solace in his isolation - "comfort from the Father in the heavens".
ReplyDeleteAshley Martinez
DeleteUpon my first reflective read of the ending of The Wanderer, there were a few things that caught my eye and made me research a little deeper into a few things that the poet mentions, which will be visited later. It is apparent the social values that are expressed do not quite match those of the speaker. The social values of the society were wealth, money, and the power that came with warfare as show by the presence of “He who… oft remembers long ago.” “Where is the horse? Where is the young warrior? Where is the giver of treasure? Where are the seats of the banquets? Where are the joys in the hall?” In my opinion, we are able to assume that these things were major pillars of the society because of the way they are mentioned in the poem. It appears that these values where what, paired with greed, destroyed this society. The values of the speaker are different, however. The speaker seems to value his relationship with God and the ability of the Savior to restore mankind, “It will be well for him who seeks grace, […] comfort from the Father in the heavens.” The speaker gives us a look into how this society essentially tore itself apart. It was the greed of wealth, of power, that drove this society. Battles and war, the profit of which the society relished in, tore down its walls. As far as the speaker reconciling, I feel that he has. The poet uses the word “transitory” to explain that the things that people treasure on Earth aren’t permanent. I feel that the speaker has accepted that as well as the destruction of his society. He uses religion as a means to come to terms with all of this. I believe that there is only one poet that is caught shifting between Pagan beliefs and the appeal of Christianity. However, I do believe that the poet is leaning towards Christianity. In the beginning of this section, he alludes to the Creator, which is often a reference to God. We can see a lot of words in the poem that we know are typically related to Christianity, such as: “Creator,” “glory,” “grace,” and “the Father.” However, there are a few things that suggest a Pagan background. This poem was written about the Anglo Saxon people that come from a mix of Germanic tribes and nomads. This led me to dig into Norse mythology, which is from North Germanic tribes, and derived paganism. There is a prominent aspect called the Norns. They equivocate to the Fates of Greek mythology. Because the poet uses “the operation of the fates changes the world under the heavens,” makes it seem that they are speaking of the Norns, instead of the idea of fate. Generally speaking, when one speaks of fate, it is a singular. The use of the plural, in my opinion, shows that there is a personal religious debate going on in the heart of one poet.
ReplyDelete(Cina Nguyen)
DeleteI do agree that the social values of "The Wanderer" were wealth, money, and power. And yes, the greed to destroy the society were rationalized that it could be restored by the Savior. I feel that the speaker is looking at faith as an escape to these horrible, vast changes and hope for a better ending. I also agree with you that the poet is just one person, making connections back and forth between reality and religion. Also, the keywords in the power led to the evidences that is is in fact, a Christianity based- poem and view.
Jerome A.
ReplyDeleteIn the final poem of the wander, the speaker is still reminiscing about the ancient world before it became into ruins. He wants to know where is the all the excitement, glory, and important head figures this world was once known for. The speaker is also saying that earth is full of trouble, everyone and everything including money is part of the problem.
In The Wife's Lament, she talks about being more in tuned with the Lord and trying to please him by making a new home, new friends, and possibly finding someone to love. It sounds like she's wishing bad things upon her husband such as ''May that young man be sad-minded always hard his heart’s thought while he must wear a blithe bearing with care in the breast a crowd of sorrows.''
(Cina Nguyen)
ReplyDeleteThe social values that are being expressed here are tradition and love. The speaker seems to long over the past, and how the place used to be filled with crowded groups of people who meet often to laugh and party. The speaker sounded lonely and reminiscent of how the city was full of power, noises, and richness in culture, and now, only emptiness and barrenness. It seems that he had missed the old times and wondered what could have happened so strongly that it had swept entirely all of the goodness away- all the people, warriors, and its tall, proud buildings and joyous halls. The insight of the speaker's world remains wastes, "lacking of noises…idle.. dark..troubles…snowstorms…slaughter…greed." The speaker illustrated that the world he used to love was overcome by greed, hatred, and wars- so often that it had destroyed all of the bonds, the heaven-likeness of the wondrous creation. He felt as though his city was raped by darkness of the human souls who were willing to smash their constructions in a way for a better ambition. It seemed that that speaker rebuked them of their foolishness - asking whether they were satisfied with what they had done. I feel that there is only one poet who is torn between his pagan beliefs and the attractions of Christianity. The poet who contemplates the ugliness of the world and convinces himself, and the rest, that darkness can be overcome by grace and submitting to the heavens. Afterwards, then everything will turn to look beautiful and wonderful again. No more pains, sufferings, nor wars.
"The Wife's Lament" is different from the male speaker of "The Wanderer" in that it was completely merged in loneliness and despair. Although the speaker in the Wanderer also showed moments of despair, there were still hope. The Wanderer carried more more of a nostalgic feeling and regret. The Wife's Lament, however, "describes" her life as desolate, disastrous, and grievous. she mentioned lines like "griefs I had since I grew up… I grieved each dawn" to express her heavy burdens. This reveals that her society was covered by injustice. She is a woman who had endure pains while a man was manipulating his power and force on her. She often referred to her Lord, to see if he is witnessing her abuse, or see her Lord as her dreamed man- not her wicked partner. Her lot is definitely harder than that of her male peers because she actually felt and experienced what she delivered- first-hand. Whereas her male peers seemed to make statements about how he felt while watching others. I do believe that the poet is actually a woman because she demonstrated perfectly the grievances that women acquire through daily lives such as in thought and heart. I don't think a man can feel what a women feel as close to these feelings, even when he thinks he understand .. or can think in a women's perspective.
In The Wife’s Lament, the speaker’s experience is different than that of the speaker in The Wanderer in that she has been exiled due to the actions of her husband while in the other poem it is because of something he did himself. The similarity is that they were both exiled from their communities. Her values seem to be associated with friendship and the idea of promises. She states “So often we swore that only death could ever divide us, nothing else- all that is changed now.” She seems to be a very obedient woman who valued her role in society as her husband’s wife. Her values show us that in her society, a woman’s life was directly influenced by the actions of her husband, regardless of how she behaved. To me, it isn’t evident exactly what happened other than her husband betrayed their community somehow and she was left behind and separated from him. I believe that her experience is more difficult because it is beyond her control. If she were a man, her actions would have been determinant of what happened to her but because she is a woman it is based on the things her husband did. I believe this is written by a woman due to the opening lines, “I make this song of myself, deeply sorrowing, my own life’s journey.”
ReplyDelete(Trevor Porter)
ReplyDeleteIn The Wife's Lament, it seems difficult to discern whether the woman was expressing her feelings toward one "lord," or multiple "lords." Assuming there was one lord, the woman gave some insight into how important a lord was to her society, and how these lords gave people a social identity, as well as a sense of purpose. Loyalty was of the utmost importance during this time, and if a lord was deposed, those loyal to him were exiled; and to be exiled in a collectivist society was one of the worst punishments imaginable, at the time.
Something that I found interesting was the speaker's mention of having a "blithe bearing," which I would interpret as putting on a facade of happiness. She mentions this a couple times, and it hints at how frustrating it was--possibly more so for women--to keep all personal concerns away from the public eye, while pretending to be happy. The speaker seems to hold some resentment toward her husband for not having to bear the same burden. This is exemplified when she wishes that the man should "wear a blithe bearing with care in the breast a crowd full of sorrows."
It seems that men didn't have the same social expectations that women had, particularly when it came to expression, which is what leads me to believe that the author was likely a woman. She couldn't express herself publicly, so she wrote a poem to tell her story.
In this passage the speaker is clearly rejecting materialism, “Here wealth is transitory,/here friend is transitory,/here man is transitory, here woman is transitory/this whole foundation of the earth becomes empty.” In-lieu of putting religious beliefs first. As someone two sees the poem as one speaker at two different times in their life, the Christian one being of the more current times looking and reflecting back on the past pagan version of himself, I see a man who has lost everything and now questions why he valued the things that he did such as the mead hall or other wealth. We see that this man has lost many things but found peace with his world knowing or leaning on the heavenly world as home base, “comfort from the Father in the heavens, where a fastness/stands for us all.” I got from the excerpt that he might have not been okay wih where he is but over time has come to terms with the path he remembers the good times but also knows that like the ruins he is passing, what once was a good memory now stands a wall, attacked and beaten. “Alas the glory of the prince! How the time has gone,/vanished under night’s helm, as if it never were!” he has these memories but everything is fleeting.
ReplyDeleteThe Wife's Lament's usage of first person, sorrowful tone and imagery show the speaker's longing for both her husband and her desire to fit back in to the culture of Old England.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the poem, the speaker uses the pronoun "I" to establish ownership of her feelings. At this time, women were not privy to the same resources and privileges as men. This usage allows the audience to establish a personal connection with the speaker. In contrast to poems such as "The Wanderer", "The Wife's Lament" is an internal struggle. She is the ruin. Once the connection is made with the audience, they can more vividly picture the woman's pain. When she says, "my man" or "my lord", these feelings of loss are given more power because her relationship is one of the few things she owns. Once this is taken away from her, what does she have left? This is the what drives the emotional connection between the audience and speaker and makes the piece a lamentation, rather than an observation of her society.
Tariq Islam:
ReplyDeleteUpon reflection of "The Wanderer" I have concluded that the social values of this time period is war, battle, and glory in death. However, I noticed a crucial anomaly. The speaker, himself, does not align with the societal norms. Perhaps this is why he seemed to be cast out of his village. The poem explicitly states he was an exile; however, I would go as far to say his exile was self-imposed rather than forced.
He goes back in forth between values that align with the Christian Faith and the Pagan Traditions. Based on the passage, as a whole I believe he is struggling with his inner self. Strangely, this poem reminds me of the Viking, Ragnar Lothbrok, from the History Channel Series "Vikings". Like the Wanderer, Ragnar struggles with his inner self deciding whether the Warrior Traditions are superior to the Christian Beliefs.
Based on this conclusion, the speaker clearly values the afterlife. The speaker states,
"All the kingdom of earth is full of trouble,
the operation of the fates changes the world under the heavens.
Here wealth is transitory, here friend is transitory,
here man is transitory, here woman is transitory."
He believes the societal values are not permanent, which is opposite to some pagan traditions. Pagan traditions include the burial of these treasures with the body as these treasures are eternal. Christian faith states that these treasures are lost after death.
After reading the "Wife's Lament", I concluded that the speaker, a woman, has experienced a toll much worse than that of the speaker in "The Wanderer." In this poem we understand the traditions from a different point of view. The woman in this poem does not reference the glory of battle or the friendship of the meadhall. She expresses grief because of her lord's exile. She expresses the struggle because she has been exiled. She expresses the pain of loss, and constant hope of return. This is opposite of the man who talks about glory in death and battle. The speaker of "The Wife's Lament" is similar to the speaker of "The Wanderer" because they shared the struggle of exile. The main difference is the woman is treated as a second class human under the patriarchy that has been established.
Colin Windmill
ReplyDeleteIn the Wanderer, the poet is expressing a yearning desire for the past. The poet seems to have been exiled from these lands many years ago, he is speaking of how magnificent these halls once were, how there were many warriors and swaths of treasure. He is curious to know what happened to these great peoples, if it were war, famine, or disease that brought an end to these marvelous peoples. He transitions to dark storm that is encompassing all of the lands, I believe this is talking about the fate of all who do not believe in God, because God is the one who ultimately decides what happens. I also believe that the poet is talking about embracing the values of Christianity, and forgetting earthly values like wealth, women, man, etc. For God is where stability lies in such dark times. There seems to be a paradox between being a Christian and the days when the poet was a non-believer. He talks about how the old days were vibrant and wonderful, then he states that there was a dark shadow that covered the lands. Its as if the past was a beautiful time but he’s trying to find that same beauty in God.
Isaac Bee: in "the wanderer" poem it's talking about the past and how great the halls use to be. He's curious to find out what happened to all the glorious and great people. The main values were wealth, money, and power. He's looking at faith as an escape from his reality; so to speak. In the "wife's lament" a woman has talks about grief from her lord's exile. The two speakers are similar because they both come from a past of exile so they have that common share together. Her value is also tied in between friendship and the ideas of promises.
ReplyDelete