The broad selection of poems we read this week represents, in several important ways, a transition in English language poetry from narrative poems to poems more concerned with the internal struggle of characters. In these lyrical poems less emphasis is placed on story and more on mind-set. “The Wanderer,” is in itself a self contained demonstration of this larger shift in poetic style. The Norton Anthology gives no date for the poem, because no date is known, but we know it was written before any of the other poems we read, with the possible exception of “The Wife’s Lament.” Thus, the change is not yet fully developed and “The Wanderer,” is a combination, in narrative style and content, of the Beowulf style of the poetry and the one that would come to dominate in the 16th century with the work of poets like Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard.
“The Wanderer,” is clearly a poem that deals heavily with the internal, emotional struggles of a single character. The poem’s main speaker outlines the feelings his recent hardships are causing him, “Then the wounds are deeper in his heart, sore for want of his dear one,” (112). However, the poem also has narrative elements to it, “…removed from my homeland, far from dear kinsmen…ever since that time, many years ago, that I covered my gold-friend in the darkness of the earth; and from there I crossed the woven waves, winter-sad, downcast for want of a hall, sought a giver of treasure,” (112). It isn’t the kind of well-defined story apparent in Beowulf or other more clearly narrative poems, but it also is a lot more than the typical lyrical poems where a vague, implied love affair is the only story.
The poem’s interesting narrative style is also evidence of the changing poetic style at the time. The lyrical genre of poetry that was to become popular was mostly characterized by the use of first person narration. At first glance, “The Wanderer,” follows this pattern. However, it doesn’t quite. The majority of the poem is the internal monologue of single character, but that character is not the poem’s narrator, and all his thoughts are set off by quotations. The poem’s narrator sets this up in the second paragraph, “So spoke the earth-walker, remembering hardships, fierce war-slaughters- the fall of dear kinsmen,” (112). This single sentence, along with the three concluding sentences, also delivered by the poem’s narrator, set us one extra step apart from “the earth-walker,” the poem is about. This poem then, while it feels like a first-person poem, isn’t there just yet.
Even when “the earth-walker,” is speaking he seems reluctant to use the pronoun “I.” Instead, he spends a majority of the poem discussing the emotions of a hypothetical man in an identical situation, “He who has experienced it knows how cruel a companion sorrow is to the man who has no beloved protectors,” (112). This separation of the characters and the emotions, and the even further separation of the narrator from the emotions is essentially the gap that still remained between “The Wanderer,” and the internal, first person poems of the future.
I agree with you completely that the lyrical poetry we discovered this week differs strongly from the narrative form of Beowulf. This first person form allows the reader insight into the mind of the narrator, whereas in Beowulf the audience is rather limited in the motivations behind the character's thought process. In Beowulf you're forced to rely on the actions of the narrative to determine the character's reasoning. Yet with the development of lyrical poetry, the authors were able to create a style of writing that conveyed to their audience their reasoning behind certain facets of their overall themes.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the poetry we read, this one was my favorite. Maybe it was the difference in subject compared to the other ones. What seems off to me is that this one, unlike all the others, is the only one not about "love" in the use that we think love as. It's more a love of kinsmen. Why do you think this poem, be it about a different kind of love, is just as important as all the other poems about love of attraction? It seems odd to me that they are all grouped together.
ReplyDeleteSee my comments under "What's Got Me Responding". Well done.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the use of the narrator as debilitating to make it less of a lyrical poem. The narrator seems to be exceptionally wise throughout the poem. The narrator's insight is clear when he says "It will be well with him who seeks favor, comfort from the Father in heaven..." in the last two lines of the poem. This gave me the belief that the narrator could be someone of divinity. His insight into the earth-walker's mind is also exceptional and one could argue that only a divine power could have discovered the earth-walker's inner monologue. Therefore, I think the narrator is irrelevant because he is actually aware of the inner monologue.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely that "The Wanderer" represents an early stage in the shift from narrative style poetry to lyrical poetry. The points you make about how the poem isn't exactly in first person ALL OF THE WAY, and how there appear to be both narrative AND lyrical qualities to the piece are extremely valid and thought-provoking. I'll be honest, "The Wanderer" was so NOT my favorite poem that we read this week, I much prefer "The Wife's Lament" for some reason, and I found myself bored by the subject of "The Wanderer." Your insights made me reconsider how I view the piece, however - instead of just outright disliking the poem and choosing to ignore its existence for the rest of my life (or at least, undergraduate career), I can see how the poem marks a shifting in the style of the time in which it was written, which is a valuable thing for any work of literature to express. "The Wanderer" might have gone on being worthless in my eyes were it not for your rumination, so thanks!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading David's comment and rereading "The Wanderer", I'm kind of wondering if the Narrator's lines out of quotations were a later addition of some sort. This work as well as a large amount of works from the early Middle Ages were definitely not focused on the subject of love as the poems of the later Middle Ages were. This is probably very well due to the fact that England had been involved with all sorts of military campaigns domestic and abroad for centuries and this was so ingrained into their society and individual lives that kinship, lordship, and duty were often at the forefront of the Medieval mind and there was little to no time for love. The affection for and commitment to lord and kin as seen in "The Wanderer", was a really kind of a prototype for later proper chivalry.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a really good call to say that "The Wanderer" is direct evidence of the beginnings of a very broad change in literature of the Middle Ages. This must be the earliest work that I've seen that provides such intense insight to a lifetime of emotion without telling some type of archetypal story. It's probably the closest thing to abstract that I've seen in such an early time period. The last two paragraphs spoken by the Wanderer seem almost apocalyptic and it seems really appropriate considering this is a man who has lost everything great to him and is now alone, past his prime, in the cold harsh world.
I agree with you that this represents a shifting from Narrative to lyrical poetry. In my mind it also represents something of a shift to more human and dramatic conflict in poetry. When looking at Beowulf, we are presented constantly with the hard, gruff exterior of the character and never once see inside the warriors mind. The entirety of 'The Wanderer' is about exactly what we miss out on in Beowulf. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this could be the final thoughts of an aged Beowulf as he dies from the wound inflicted by the dragon. Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteI like the point brought up by a couple people, about the lack of focus on a set storyline, and more emphasis on style and language. The meditations of the narrator provide deep thoughts, sometimes difficult to interpret. Albert's idea that the final lines were added as an afterthought could certainly hold true. Those last few lines seem to provide a type of moral, or advice to the reader. I also agree that the poem appears ahead of is time. It was certainly a shift from Beowulf, and made often reminded me of 19th century American works.
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