Monday, August 21, 2017

For Wednesday: Elegies (see below)


For Wednesday: Elegies: “The Wife’s Complaint,” “The Husband’s Message,” and “Wulf and Eadwacer” (pp.56-62)

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: These are very rare poems in Anglo-Saxon, as they deal chiefly with love and the pains of love. What seems the most universal about one or more of these poems as they approach the timeless subject of love? How also do they put a uniquely Anglo-Saxon twist on the theme of ‘doomed lovers’?

Q2: “The Wife’s Complaint” is very similar in genre/theme to “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer,” though it approaches this material from the perspective of a female narrator. According to this poem, how does a woman feel exile differently from a man, and how is her “complaint” different from the other two wanderers?

Q3: “Wulf and Eadwacer” is a very cryptic song, alluding to characters and events we can only dimly make out. According to what little we have, what do you think is the story behind this work? Who are the main characters, and how does wierd keep them apart? You might also consider the importance of the refrain, “Our fate is forked” (what does this mean)?

Q4: Though “The Husband’s Message” might not be a response to “The Wife’s Complaint,” why did early editors suggest it was? What about the poem seems to respond to the earlier poem, and what ‘defense’ of his conduct does he offer? Why, too, might he have to end his reply with a coded message (in runes—see page 134-135 for more information about them). 

4 comments:

  1. Q2: “The Wife’s Complaint” is very similar in genre/theme to “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer,” though it approaches this material from the perspective of a female narrator. According to this poem, how does a woman feel exile differently from a man, and how is her “complaint” different from the other two wanderers?

    A: I have a different version, but in The Wife’s Lament I feel that the woman and men both feel the same about exile. Jared read the poem aloud while I was working the desk. To me, the exile was kinda like she was a harlot and has been exiled for sleeping around. I feel the exile for the other wanderers was more of a “oh woe is me no one likes my poems” when the girl’s complaint is “Oh woe is me I’m a whore.” And now she’s an outcast because of the choices she has made.

    Q4: Though “The Husband’s Message” might not be a response to “The Wife’s Complaint,” why did early editors suggest it was? What about the poem seems to respond to the earlier poem, and what ‘defense’ of his conduct does he offer? Why, too, might he have to end his reply with a coded message

    A: I could be way wrong, but is a piece of driftwood telling the story about how he needs the exiled woman to get back with the lord? These riddles get stranger and stranger as we go on. I guess the piece of wood wants the two to reunite claiming that the lord has everything any woman could dream of, except for her. I feel that this reply is sometime (x years) later to where the lord misses her and wants her back, but she’s gone all Beyonce in Lemonade and doesn’t need a man.

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  2. Q1 Answer: In “The Wife’s Complaint,” I didn’t catch anything positive from her. There are so many negative images: “never not had sorrow,” “murder in his thoughts,” “I was banished,” etc. The wife is obviously going through a rough time in this horrific marriage. From the get go, the reader doesn’t detect anything positive from this marriage. Like in “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer,” the reader can infer the depression and negativity of this time period. The poets are highlighting that where happiness comes in marriage, there can also be negativity, and hardships. In a way, “The Wife’s Complaint” and “The Husband’s Message,” paints a picture of Romeo and Juliet. From the beginning, their relationship was doomed, but they didn’t stop until their love eventually killed them. In a way, the wife is complaining about what has gone wrong, and the husband is relaying more of the everyday aspects of their life together.

    Q3 Answer: For me, I picture a husband and a wife. The marriage obviously is doomed from the start. To me, the husband is a neglecting husband, and not very doting on his wife. The wife has nothing positive she has taken away from the marriage, and the husband just focuses on the lord and what’s going on around them. I believe they tried to make this marriage work, regardless of how many signs they had showing how they were NOT supposed to be together. I believe they entered into a loveless marriage. I feel as if “Wulf and Eadwacer” are guys who would defend the wife. Almost as if the man they were referencing in the poem was the husband from the loveless marriage. The image of “our fate is forked,” just paints a picture that fate is already sealed. One can’t change fate because they want to. The way the “exile” works, as we have seen in previous poems, just points out the dreadful fate of exile and what could happen to those not abiding by the laws.

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  3. Q1) To me, the main universal theme was the distance between the love-stricken subjects and the inability to reconnect. Regardless of reason for the distance, there was a distance each time nonetheless. To me, the uniquely Anglo-Saxon aspect had to be the lack of resolution. We don't know if the wife ever went to her husband by the cuckoo's first lament. We don't know what became of the exiled woman. Most love stories in other cultures end in tragedy or in glee, not on an open-ended cliffhanger.

    Q2) Well, she most certainly was without a monk putting Christian morals and speeches in her text. In my mind, she just seemed to take being exiled much harder, and her tone reflected that. She could hardly cope on her own whatsoever, and the future looked bleak to her. She spoke of always having more tragedy and issues to fight throughout the entirety of her life, further seeding her tone in despair. She didn't have a coping mechanism aside from casting her lover into turmoil in her daydreams. "The Wanderer" and "The Seafarer" had more hopeful tones. "The Wife's Complaint" was simply done with the current and wanted what was in the past once more, not looking for a new future.

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  4. Q2: “The Wife’s Complaint” is very similar in genre/theme to “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer,” though it approaches this material from the perspective of a female narrator. According to this poem, how does a woman feel exile differently from a man, and how is her “complaint” different from the other two wanderers?

    The woman in the poems exile is similar to "The Wanderer" and "The Seafarer" because she too is feeling the pain of being an exile, but hers involves her relationship, or marriage, with a man falling apart. Because the man no longer wanted to be with her, she was exiled. She is heartbroken because the man has betrayed her in a way. She is bitter because she knows what a marriage is supposed to be. She feels grief and bittersness the same as the other two poets, but not for the same reasons.


    Q1: These are very rare poems in Anglo-Saxon, as they deal chiefly with love and the pains of love. What seems the most universal about one or more of these poems as they approach the timeless subject of love? How also do they put a uniquely Anglo-Saxon twist on the theme of ‘doomed lovers’?

    The most universal of these poems, to me, would have to be "the Wife's Complaint". Now, though most people who have gone through a painful break up or divorce don't have to be exiled from their homes or kingdoms, I do still think that in a way it can feel that way. A life you once knew so well is now over and it can make one feel isolated and kind of "exiled" from their old life and forced to start anew. Much like the woman in this poem was.

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Next Week and the 15-Point Quiz!

 We have ONE MORE class next week, on Monday, when we'll wrap up the class and talk about adaptations. Bring your paper with you IF you ...