NOTE: Remember, try to read these poems aloud so you can pay attention to the sound, the rhythm, the mood, and the word-choice of each work. Experience it as a work of music and melody before you dive into the "meaning." Then answer 2 of the questions below in a few sentences--show me evidence that you've read the poem and are offeirng a thoughtful, honest response to what is a tricky and open-ended question.
Answer
TWO of the following:
Q1: How
does The Wanderer relate to The Ruin and/or Deor? What elements of the sound/mood and the message suggest that
it is in the same genre (style) as our previous poems? Think about how you
recognize a song is a pop song, or a
country song, or an industrial song—it’s the sound, but also the mood, message,
and expression.
Q2: The Wanderer mentions a “Heavenly Father”
at the end of the poem, yet elsewhere talks about “Wierd” and the “Maker of Men”
in a darker way. How do you think the poem reconciles these different ideas of
the powers-that-be? Who is in control
of the world, according to the poet? Can faith save you in this Anglo-Saxon
world?
Q3: The Seafarer, more than the other poems
we’ve read, is the most blatantly autobiographical—the opening even says, “The
tale I frame shall be found to tally:/the history is of myself.” And yet, the
poet never even attached his name to the poem. Based on this, what do you think
it meant to write about your own life one thousand years ago? What was the poet’s
purpose in using his own experience as a theme of the poem?
Q4: Choose
a favorite passage (no more than 4 lines) from one of the poems and explain why
this poem speaks to you: what sounds, words, metaphors, or ideas seem exciting
or even modern to you? Why might this passage alone “save” the poem from the
relics of history?
Q1) In “The Wanderer,” as well as “The Ruin” and “Deor,” the poets all have this dark mood expressed, which categorizes them into the same genre. “The Ruin” is talking about death, but in a way that makes one fearful of what’s to come for their afterlife. “Deor” has vivid imagery of suffering and ice-cold exiles that don’t sound very appeasing. The speaker is reminded of the constant suffering they have faced. The people have been living their Pagan lifestyle, but when it gets to be too much to handle, they remember it’s ultimately up to God on how to deal with those who do and do not seek Him. With the use of the repetitive phrase “that went by; this may too,” the speaker doesn’t give much hope to the reader of what’s to come in the future of the people. They are constantly having to skate by in life, because I believe deep down they’re living a life of fear: fear of death and fear of the unknown.
ReplyDeleteQ2) For the people in the poem, they are trying to balance their Pagan ways, as well as seek God. The speaker once again paints a negative, bitter image with the symbol of the ice: the cold weather and the cold-hearted men. For these Anglo-Saxon people, I think they believe that their Weird is set; whatever fate holds for them is set in stone. However, at the end, the speaker is pondering on the ways of the world. He realizes a good man keeps faith. In the Anglo-Saxon time, you could be saved by faith, but it all depended on how you continued to live your life. The Heavenly Father is responsible for their solace and keeps their fastness in check. According to the poet, the Heavenly Father is associated with goodness, and the Weird is most always associated with negativity and bitterness.
Q3) Writing about your own life one thousand years ago was unheard of. Based on the little writing we actually have from the time period, no one wanted to have their writing publicized or shared with others. I believe if you had something written down from your life, it obviously had to be important enough to potentially be shared with others. I think the poet’s purpose of sharing his account to serve as the theme allows the readers a real-life example to look at and observe. Since these works weren’t really supposed to be written down, like folktales and fables, I believe the poet wanted to personally teach a lesson/ have the reader learn something. The best way to do that is to remember the story by writing it down, not just for the current generation, but for generations to come.
Q4) My favorite passage is lines 70 to 72 from “The Wanderer.” It reads: “A man should forbear boastmaking/ until his fierce mind fully knows/ which way his spleen shall expend itself.” When I first read this, I thought, “what an image!” The reason why I chose these lines as my favorite is because I immediately related them to “don’t put the cart before the horse.” It you were to apply for a new job, you shouldn’t boast about your “new job” before even going through an interview. Case in point, don’t put the cart before the horse. You shouldn’t boast about what could be before knowing what the end result actually is.
Q3) I'm sure it was highly frowned upon and taboo as many may use that technique to brag and boast highly of him/herself. The Anglo-Saxon culture seems more humble than to explicitly say, "Yeah, I did that. That was me. I flexed on 'em; praise me as I am the pinnacle of humanity."
ReplyDeleteThese people seeked glory, I'm sure; they just wanted it more indirectly, and they reserved the right to sprinkle in some dramatic twists. Their glory was more found in warfare and in actions than writing. Perhaps they simply didn't see a point in mentioning themselves as it did not matter to the culture much. Though stories mattered highly to the culture of the people, according to what I've gathered, the person it applied to did not. This approach even makes the stories told more immortal than those proclaiming glory to a name. "And then Jimmy, the class clown of 1033, swam into the ocean to chase after the all-creators." Hell no. We want this meta-human in Beowulf who sorts out all of his issues with a sword, his wit, and his hands. The fictionality of it all is what makes it endearing, I feel.
The poet of "The Seafarer" most likely used the mention of it being a personal tally to make the poem seem more realistic and relatable for future generations.
Q4) My favorite passage comes in lines 108 to 110 in "The Wanderer."
"Wealth is lent us, friends are lent us,
Man is lent , kin is lent;
all this earth's frame shall stand empty."
That line is the Mike Tyson haymaker of poetry. "All this earth's frame shall stand empty." Damn. That is one intellectual, foreseeing, optimistic Anglo-Saxon. This is a man who, even all those years ago, understood how silly earthly and material possessions truly are and how temporary this world truly is. I'm not one to say there is an afterlife or a further meaning to our existence, but this sounds like a man who looks toward his beliefs for solace. He pursues his solace in eternity with hope.
But that's not what I'm getting at here. This dude just said, in more modern terms, "Everything burns. We all die." What an existential body blow. The emptiness expressed through this line is why it will stand the test of time. No intellectual ever goes without his/her existential crisis. This line will relate to most any person who reads it, though the solutions thought up may differ from that of the long deceased poet's.
Q1: How does The Wanderer relate to The Ruin and/or Deor? What elements of the sound/mood and the message suggest that it is in the same genre (style) as our previous poems? Think about how you recognize a song is a pop song, or a country song, or an industrial song—it’s the sound, but also the mood, message, and expression.
ReplyDeleteA: I’m probably going to butcher this, but in The Ruin, the author was reminiscing over the ruins of a great city as now it’s nothing but ruins. In The Wanderer, the author (who we know as the wanderer) seems to be grieving a loss of his king or his clan. I take it as his clan went to war and many did not return as planned.
Walls stand battered by the wind,
Covered by frost, the roofs collapsed.
The wine halls crumbled; the warriors lie dead,
Cut off from joy; the great troop all crumpled
Proud by the wall. One war took,
Led to his death.
I view this poem as a country song because he’s reminiscing. I imagine he is walking through the tattered town as he sees bloody souls and battered walls. He also brings religion into it as he states “He has sought a lasting boon. It is best for him who seeks love, Help from the heavenly Father where all stands firm.” To me, that is country song materials because everyone knows country music is known for being depressing or talking of God. I know when I need a good cry or I want to take a moment and relive the past, I plug my headphones in and blast my country playlist. The Wanderer talks about how he has lost his loved ones and his lord so to me that’s pretty sad.
Q4: Choose a favorite passage (no more than 4 lines) from one of the poems and explain why this poem speaks to you: what sounds, words, metaphors, or ideas seem exciting or even modern to you? Why might this passage alone “save” the poem from the relics of history?
A: Did this man just die at sea in The Seafarer? I think he died because my favorite passage seems to be where he is accepting the end. He talks about life is leaving him.
As life leaves him,
Nor taste the sweetness
Nor feel the painfulness,
Nor raise his hand high,
I enjoyed this passage as the man seems to accept his death coming and he knows something better is coming along in the afterlife which I felt was pretty intense. I feel this passaged saved The Seafarer from relics because of the religious view stating “yeah life sucks and we all die, but we have something better coming along.”