Our group decided to chose The Wanderer, which is an old English poem preserved and translated from an anthology known as the Exeter Book, which is a collection of writings dating from the late 10th century. This poem bears the solitude of a once-great warrior, who now rots in exile, where the poem presents the warrior’s hardships. The poem also depicts the warrior’s faith and belief in “The almighty lord”, better known as God, but through the tragic occurrences in the poem the Wyrd or moira change for the worse as he loses his authoritarian leader and comrades in a violent battle, which leads to his exile. During the time period of which this poem was written was where the realization the spreading thoughts of Christianity despite the pagenistic view points of the Anglo-Saxons during this time. There was much culture class considering the majority of religion that was rooted with in Anglo-Saxon land at the time. Even in “The Wanderer”, these controversies were displayed where in the beginning of the poem the exiled warrior quotes, “ oft the lonely one experiences compassion, the creator’s kindness; though he with sorrowing mind,” displaying his faith and belief in God, and his hand in creation. This quote roughly translates into the warrior to be talking about himself and how his only compassion is from God himself. This holds a paganistic point of view, where even with his sins, the warrior can still rely on God knowing that he will help the Warrior in his time of need. As the poem transitions onward nearing the end, the displays of Christian point of views are shown. The warrior no longer believes God is with him because of his deeds, and adopting a Christian ideal, he begs for forgiveness, “[I] who seeketh mercy, comfort, at the Father in Heaven, where all our fastness standeth” . This quote definitely holds Christian ideals because while previously the warrior believed that God was with him always, he now understands that after having sinned, forgiveness and mercy must be sought out, in order for comfort from “father” or God to be regained. Cultural class was evident during the Anglo-Saxon era, and is displayed through the poem “The Wanderer” where Christianity and Paganism clashed head to head, with Christianity resulting triumphant in their numbers in believers and its depiction in works of literature.
Kevin Cheung, Raymond Yonami, Bryce Cheng, Alex Park
It is very interesting to learn about the Anglo-Saxon transformation from a pagan society to a Christian society. However, the group believes that, on a deeper level, the poem can itself represent a loss of culture, a loss of paganism. Christianity wins the battle and those who were fighting on the side of paganism are now left to their own devices, without a true religion, or “the joys of the hall.” “The Wanderer” represents the culture of the Anglo-Saxons that now struggles to find its identity. The losing soldier states, “So o’erwhelm’d this world the Creator of men.” Those peasants who once believed in God are now hopeless in their struggle to find a purpose in life.
ReplyDelete“The Wanderer” also connects to Greek culture in that is the main character is similar to Oedipus after Oedipus has been exiled. Both were glorious and heroic until they were proven inferior. They are filled with regret and the wish to return to some sort of home. Furthermore, they both wish to forget the past and move on, yet are incapable because their pasts have become an integral part of who they are.
On the other hand, “The Wanderer” separates itself from Greek culture and Oedipus in that it focuses more on the battles fought and the main character is more accepting of his fate. He is a gracious loser and claims “the sagacious must be patient, must not be too ardent.” On the contrary, Oedipus constantly tries to fight his fate.“The Wanderer” represents a culture struggling to find its identity.
Cody Dunn, Stephen Hwang, Tyler Wong, Carlton Lew