The Wanderer: Life in a Transient World Essay -- Poem Poetry Wanderer

The roamer Life in a Transient WorldUpon their invasion of England, the Anglo-Saxons carried with them a tradition of spontaneous poetry. The surviving verse, which was frequently transcribed and preserved in monasteries makes up the clay of work now referred to as Old English Poetry. The Wanderer, an anonymous meter of the eighth or ninth century, reflects historical Anglo-Saxon life as well as the influence of Christianity during the period.Because both Christian and Anglo-Saxon august elements exist in The Wanderer, there is cause for analysis of the structural and textual unity of the poem. Initially, it might appear that these elements are introduced to contrast one other in an attempt to show inconsistency by contrasting blue and religious passages in order to show incoherence between the 2 as guiding principles. But further textual analysis shows that these inconsistencies do not exist. The purpose of positioning the two lieu by side is to illustrate a contrast in th eme between the sac homeg of this humanity and the changelessness and security of the heavenly kingdom.The text of The Wanderer is unified to encompass two separate time periods, which implicitly reveals the contrasting themes. The initiative part of the work describes the experiences of a lonely warrior who has lost his lord and kin to battle. But the author is reflecting upon these experiences as they occurred in the past. The position that the Wanderer had interpreted up is summarized early in the poem in the third somebody So spoke the earth-walker, remembering hardships, fierce war-slaughters-the fall of dear kinsman (69). This character reference to an exile wanderer summarizes his own situation, which he develops in the following passages. Structurally, t... ...70). Further, he acknowledges that these things are meant to pass as all things do as he approaches the ultimate reality of the earthly world, all this earthly habitation shall be emptied (70). No comfort is to b e found in a world were all things will come to an end as one progresses through a fleeting life.The purpose of displaying earthly reality as ephemeral is to contrast it with the theme of a heavenly kingdom. As the poem ends, the Wanderer notes that there is, comfort from the Father in heaven, where all stability resides (70). The cheek of Anglo-Saxon life will pass for all as it did for the Wanderer. simpleness is not to be found in that transient world, but in the world beyond, through security in the heavenly kingdom.Works CitedThe Wanderer. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 6th _ed. New York Norton, 1993. 68-70.