A Review Of The Poem The Wanderer
The Anglo-Saxon poem “The Wanderer” is a 10th century Old English poem. It is a 115 lined poem that consists of two seperate speakers throughout the text. Due to the fact that most Anglo-Saxon poems are anonymous no one knows who the writer of this poem is. The poem had to be preserved as an anthology, and almost had no title. Of course a complicated, yet beautiful piece of work such as this will somehow find its way to the light for all who read it to enjoy.
When it comes down to the formal properties of the poem; the piece is very alliterative and is very hard to interpret and/or break down, because there are so many ways to view the poem. The poem is also a monologue in a sort and does not exactly have a set meter like most Anglo-Saxon poems, but uses the caesura form. The author of the poem uses the kenning figure of speech. According to Hughouse writer, Jack Garigliano a “kenning substitutes a noun with two other words that, when compounded together, describe the substituted noun”. This type of speech can be seen all throughout the poem for example, the speaker refers to his ‘mind’ as his “spirit-chest,” and his ‘thoughts’ as his “treasure-chamber”. He also refers to the throne as a “gift-seat”.
The poem begins with a memory and the Wanderer seeking pity and forgiveness from God. He speaks on his troubles and hardships, and he has come to the realization that he must be forgiven by the lord after he is condemned into exile from all living creatures. He is lonely, cold, and saddened by his conditions. So he must rely solely on his happier memories to keep him alive and “well.” Because when you’re alone with only you and your thoughts you get a lot of time to reflect on the past and think of what the future might hold. I believe this poem is doing just that for the speaker.
It can be easily argued that is poem is an awakening in a sort. The author/speaker is telling his readers to appreciate life, nature, God, and the world around you because it can all be taken away from you at any moment. God is a giver but also a taker, and while the world seems like a good place it can be “sorrowful” and cruel. There is a sense of wisdom to be gained by the speaker after enduring such harsh conditions for years on end, and doing all this ‘alone.’
After reading through the poem one can become confused as to who is speaking when, and many say that there are two speakers in the poem. One being the Wanderer of course and the other speaker a “wise man”. We know that the wanderer is the main speaker in the poem, but the wise man plays an important role as well, but it can be questioned if his existence is even real. Could he be a figment of the Wanderers imagination? Or maybe even the wise part of his conscious that expels himself out of his own mind in order for him to keep his strength, and reminds him to keep pushing im order to work for his forgiveness from God. This part of him maybe allows him to have a deeper insight on the problems with humanity, and the negative things they hold true to be ‘right.’ This is definitely a poem that should be read more than once and can be deciphered and picked at in many ways, especially when viewing it through a religious, natural, or moral way.
