The Wanderer?

Question

what are the motives and themes in this Old-English poem??? thx

Answer 1

Most poems of the time,including the wanderer, share certain themes and concerns – the passage of time and the transience of earthly things, the pain of exile and separation, the ache of absence and longing – as well as
certain images and scenes such as ruined or abandoned buildings, desolate landscapes,
storms at sea, darkness, night and the chill of winter. These themes, and the traditional language
in which they are presented, are found in other Old English poems—certain passages of
Beowulf may be called 'elegiac', if not outright 'elegy'—and the contemplation of earthly instability
sometimes seems to pervade Old English literature. The tone and language of elegy may
have roots deep in the traditions of Germanic poetry, but it is also influenced by late classical
works such as Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy; the recognition that the "world under the
heavens" is a place of tragic impermanence would probably be regarded as equally good
Christian doctrine and pagan wisdom.
***
Most of the Old English poetry that has survived is contained in only four manuscripts. The
richest and most diverse of these is Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, a large anthology of
secular and religious poems. The book was given to the Cathedral library at Exeter by the
bishop Leofric some time before 1072 CE (and has remained there ever since), but it was written
probably a century earlier, somewhere in the south of England. Because some pages have
been lost from the manuscript, we cannot say how many poems it originally contained, and
we do not know the impulse behind its compilation. But the Exeter Book is a fascinating and
miscellaneous collection which ranges from serious religious poetry on the Advent and Ascension
of Christ, to verse lives of St Guthlac and Juliana, to a reworking of a Latin poem on
the Phoenix, to a collection of almost 100 verse riddles which are often comical or obscene.
The poems are probably by many different authors; a poet named Cynewulf encoded his own
name (in runes) in two poems, Juliana and Christ II, but all others are anonymous and untitled.

Answer 2

Three notable elements of the poem are the use of the "Beasts of Battle" motif, the "ubi sunt" formula and the siþ-motif. It is a profoundly mournful poem, to the extent that it is an elegy, in which the speaker, possibly an aged man, speaks of an attack upon his people that happened in his youth. In this attack, his close friends and kin were all killed, and memories of the slaughter have remained with him all his life. The "Beasts of Battle" motif is here modified to include not only the standard eagle, raven and wolf, but also a "sad-faced man". It has been suggested that this is the poem's protagonist.The "ubi sunt" or "where is" formula is here in the form "hwær cwom", the Old English phrase "where has gone". The use of this emphasises the sense of loss that pervades the poem.

Beautiful poem.

Answer 3

There are many ways of finding the infomation you want, and I have included the links you will need to help you. Of course, in addition to this, you can also use the resources at your local library, they are only too happy to help you with your searches and queries.

http://www.google. com

http://www.wikipedia. org/

http://uk.search.yahoo.com/ web

http://findarticles. com/

http://vos.ucsb.edu/index. asp

http://www.aresearchguide. com/

http://www.geocities.com/athens/ troy/886...

http://www.studentresearcher.com/ search/...

http://www.chacha. com/