The Wifes Lament Essay - 1532 Words

The Wifes Lament 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. There are some things that we do know about this poem. It is most often referred to as an elegy because of the mood of mourning and regret. Upon further reading I discovered that this poem is like others of its time period. Many†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"I have the right to say what miseries I have endured since I grew up, new or old-never greater than now.† Even though this poem is relatively short, the vivid expression of grief is somewhat awe-inspiring. The first interpretation of who the speaker is in The Wife’s Lament is very shaky and not well accepted among scholars and even the average reader. This interpretation is that the speaker may be a male and not a female as we all believe. It was very common in Anglo-Saxon times for the lord of a group of people to be more to them than a ruler. Very often he would become a close friend to his people and they loved him like family. The relationship between lord and man was more than just a business arrangement and although they were working for the lord, he was respected much like a father figure would be. The problem with this interpretation is that the grammatical gender is feminine. This is the reason why everyone assumes that the speaker is a female. Supporters of this reading of The Wife’s Lament believe that somewhere along the line of translating the poem the translator made a mistake and changed the gender of the speaker. As I have already said, this interpretation is very rough around the edges and rather hard to believe. I believe that if the speaker were male then there would be no real reason for his being exiled in this fashion. It was not a custom for communities to allow â€Å"foreigners† in thus falsifyingShow MoreRelatedLoss and Reflection in The Wifes Lament860 Words   |  3 PagesLoss and Reflection in â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† Isolation from society can evoke a deep loneliness and self-reflection. The poem The Wifes 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 Wifes Lament uses setting, tone, and conflict to develop the theme of great loss. He/she augments a situation in which meditation on lifes past joys is the only redemption in a life sentencedRead MoreThe Seafarer, The Wanderer, And The Wifes Lament896 Words   |  4 Pagesthat’s most commonly used to honor the dead.’ Considering the Anglo-Saxon traits of loneliness,sadness, and tragedy, â€Å"The Seafarer,† â€Å"The Wanderer,† and â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† all exhibit typical characteristics of this influential time period through the How to Read Poetry notes. To begin with, â€Å"The Seafarer,† â€Å"The Wanderer,† and â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† all exhibit the trait of loneliness. â€Å"I can make a true song about myself, tell travels, how I often endured days of struggle, troublesome times,...† In thisRead MoreThe Absence of Women in Beowulf, The Wifes Lament, and the Battle of Maldon1941 Words   |  8 PagesThe Absence of Women in Beowulf, The Wifes Lament, and the Battle of Maldon It could be argued that women are indeed present in the minority in surviving Anglo-Saxon poetry, and that therefore, they are made conspicuous through their absence. The fact they may appear less frequently in Old English Literature does not necessarily mean that women were any less significant in society at this time, although this is the conclusion reached by some. It is assumed that women did, in general, have lessRead More The Anglo-Saxon poems, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Wife’s Lament3469 Words   |  14 PagesThe Anglo-Saxon poems, â€Å"The Wanderer,† â€Å"The Seafarer,† and â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† The Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, era of England lasted from about 450-1066 A.D. The tribes from Germany that conquered Britain in the fifth century carried with them both the Old English language and a detailed poetic tradition. The tradition included alliteration, stressed and unstressed syllables, but more importantly, the poetry was usually mournful, reflecting on suffering and loss.1These sorrowful poems fromRead MoreFaith Versus Fate in the Poems The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and The Wifes Lament660 Words   |  3 PagesThe 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. The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and The Wife’s Lament all contain keening in the personalized poems, in many lines. The Wanderer is a poem based on a soldier who went into exile because of the death of his dear lord. In line twentyRead MoreTheme Of Exile In The Seafarer1451 Words   |  6 Pagesseparation and banishment between people and also between the people and their native country, meaning exile. During this time exile caused a great deal of pain and grievance. The three poems written in this period, The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and The Wife’s Lament were not only translated and written in the Medieval Period, but also related to this period in terms of exile. Relating to the Medieval Period, each of these poems has the overall theme of exile meaning the speakers in each poem are in a stateRead MoreThe Anglo Saxon Era Of Rich History And Reflected Literature1486 Words   |  6 PagesPeriod began in 449 and ended in 1066 AD. This was a time of Viking conquering other nations, patriotism, and Pagan to Christian religious conversion. There are only few recorded authors of this era as a result of literary works such as Beowulf, Wife’s Lament, and The Seafarer being passed down orally through generations of time. The literature serves as a reflection of this ancient time rather than having an impact on this time period. This was a period of great conquering, pride and honor, and ChristianRead MoreThe Importance Of A Common Bumper Sticker Quote903 Words   |  4 Pagesreality became clear; women are to be an object, a fixture, a malleable ball of clay left for shaping at the hands of the man she shadows. However true this may be, this paper, my last soapbox to preach observations upon, aims to reference: The Wife’s Lament, Beowulf, Paradise Lost, The Flea, and The Poetess’s Hasty Resolution to reiterate and further emphasize the use of, shift in, and development of gender roles. My primary focus resting upon the roles of women in literature throughout the time-periodsRead More Medieval Women Essay1034 Words   |  5 Pagesisolation and desperation felt by these women is captured in the â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† as the speaker describes her inability to control her own situation. The female characters Wealhtheow, Hildeburh, and Freawaru in Beowulf also display the limited role of women as peace-weavers. The only female character with some power in Beowulf is Grendel’s mother, who retaliates for the death of her son. The speaker of â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† is a peace-weaver who has been abandoned by her tribe. She describesRead MoreRethinking Gender And Space On Old English Literature877 Words   |  4 PagesRethinking Gender and Space in Old English Literature Beowulf and The Wife’s Lament are written between 100 and 1600 centuries. There has been different interpretation of the poems, some, an attempt to fit the events in the poems into the 21st century which has led to distortions and misrepresentation especially of the female characters and their representation in these poems. According to Shari Horner, twentieth century critics have tried to read women in Beowulf particularly as garrulous, weak