The Seafarer Exile

Many times throughout Anglo-Saxon literature, exile has been a prevalent detail which set a deep, dark tone for the story which would follow. These stories typically follow a character exiled by a circumstance, unable to return to their life prior. In The Wanderer, the main character is alone due to all his people dying. With his kinsman and his lord dead, he has nowhere to go, and nobody to go to. He spends his time drifting, lamenting over his past while in search of a new lord. The Seafarer also exhibits similar traits in which the main character is led by his own curiosity to continue his lone venture on the sea. In the Wife’s Lament, the main character is exiled by her own lack of friends. She laments over her loneliness, but does not
His lord, his family, and all his kinsman have been killed, so he has been reduced to loneliness, unable to tell anyone what is on his mind. He believes sorrow is his only friend, and he cannot experience wealth or fame, rather a lone wandering, and a frozen body. When he dreams, he states that he dreams about times he had in the mead-hall, embracing his fellow men and lord. When he awakes, however, he is greeted only by the waves and the birds. The main character at heart laments the passing of life’s pleasures and the people which enjoyed them. He discusses what it means for a man to be wise, and what it means to be a warrior. In this discussion, he states a wise man must be old, careful, and thoughtful about his surroundings, while a warrior must not be weak, foolish, or bashful. He imagines an old building, with dead warriors outside, all mangled and stripped of their flesh by scavengers. To him, this represents the destruction of Earth by God, leaving only the carcasses of men behind. The story of The Wanderer represents the exile from life’s pleasures, and furthermore, exile from
It is unclear whether he was exiled or left on his own volition, but the woman feels sorrow, so she desires to find him. She is not allowed to, and is forced to live alone, confined to her thoughts, unsure of the fate of her husband. Because of this confinement, is forced to imagine to herself what has befallen her husband. She imagines that he had been exiled to a foreign land, surrounded by water. She also imagines that her husband has found another wife in a foreign land, and has moved on, ceasing to think about her. The forms of exile which take effect in The Wife’s Lament is both a physical exile, as well as an emotional exile, as she has lost her love, and does not know where he