Exile In The Seafarer

The threat of exile was a major source of anxiety in Anglo-Saxon society. Exile is a long stay away from home is if often enforced, but is ocasionally self imposed. The lyrics of “The Seafarer,” “The Wanderer,” and “The Wife’s Lament” all share the common theme of exile in the Anglo- Saxon society. The threat of exile can be an eerie topic, for when exile will occur is completely unfamiliar. The lyrics of “The Seafarer,” “The Wanderer,” and “The Wife’s Lament” infer that the fundamental cause of Anglo-Saxon anxiety was caused by the threat of exile. Each of these poems, demonstrate exile in multiple different ways. Although exile is commonly enforced, it can also be self imposed, as it is in “The Seafarer.” Whether it be enforced or self imposed, exile in Anglo-Saxon society caused anxiety for plenty because exile was the fear of the unknown; It could happen at any time with no warning. These poems of lament and exile reflect the speakers in the lyrics grieving the loss of someone or something and then being subjected to exile. “The Seafarer” is an excellent example of the anxiety of the Anglo-Saxon coming from exile. Translated by Burton Raffel,“The Seafarer”, is centered around the theme of exile. The speaker of “The Seafarer” describes the exile as being the sea. The Seafarer chooses to expose himself to the exile of the harsh, wintery sea. Although the speaker admits he fears the sea and knows how atrocious life at sea is, he continues to spend most of his life subjected to the exile of the sea. While on land the speaker always feels as if something is missing within himself. When the Seafarer begins to feel empty inside, he then flees back out to sea, but always returns feeling unsatisfied. When out at sea, he has to worry about nothing and is able to detect where his fate brings him. In “The Seafarer” the speaker continues to travel the sea for the adventure even though the sea can be directly connected to the exile experienced by the seafarer. The sea is a symbol for one's life, therefore life is the exile portion of one’s existence and in order to achieve life in heaven, one must make it through “the sea” or life on earth first. “The Wanderer” is also a wonderful example of Anglo-Saxon literature exhibiting exile. Similar to the narrator of the “The Seafarer,”the narrator of ”The Wanderer” is also exiled out at sea. The difference between the exile at sea displayed in “The Seafarer” and the exile at sea displayed in “The Wanderer” is the exile in “The Seafarer” was voluntary, unlike the exile in “The Wanderer.” “The Wanderer” begins with the narrator mourning the death of his lord and his lack of being able to find a new lord. It continues into vast detail on the journey of a man in search for a revived lord after the death of his own. Thus, he begins to experience exile …show more content…
These poems demonstrate everyone experiences exile at some point in their life. “The Seafarer,” “The Wanderer,” and “The Wife’s Lament” also exhibit one can be subjected to exile in a countless of different ways and at countless points in one’s lifetime. For example, in “The Seafarer,” the speaker’s exile was self imposed, due to he continued to travel in the exile of the harsh winter sea after discovering how truly horrible life during winter at sea. In “The Wanderer,” the narrator had lost his lord and for this reason, he no longer had anyone in his life. This sends him into a friendless exile, forcing him to set out to sea to find a new lord. Similar to “The Wanderer,” in “The Wife’s Lament,” the wife’s experiences a friendless exile after her husband or “lord” sets out on a journey at sea, leaving her all alone with nobody. Later in the poem, she is damned to exile living in a hole in the ground. These act as a few examples of why exile caused major anxiety for the Anglo-Saxon . Where some of the exile is similar, most exile demonstrated in these poems occur differently and unexpectedly. As it would for many, this caused major anxiety for the Anglo-Saxon society, for the reason that it is the fear of the unknown. One never apprehends when their exile will occur and how severe it will