The Poem Wife's Lament -theme-analysis

The Poem Wife's Lament -theme-analysis

Introduction of the poem:

             "The Wife's Lament" is one of the most recognised Anglo-Saxon elegies. It is a monologue found in the "Exeter Book". The book was preserved with in the Cathedral of Exeter for nearly 600 years. However, it is still one of few works that we have in near perfect condition, save eight folios in the beginning of it, that were replaced sometime early in his life. It contains nearly one-sixth of all the Anglo-Saxon poetry we have today. The Wife's Lament was likely transmitted orally for generations before the writing of the "Exeter Book". Scholars still find several other semantic and syntactic obscurities , and many elements of the story are left ambiguous. It is doubtful, through,that the text has been corrupted in any way. However it is much more characteristic and stylish of small works no to have proper nouns than it is of larger works.

                     There are few events that take place in "The Wife's Lament" that are not entirely clear. Some think that the wife may have gone looking for the exiled husband, but that she became lost and after that sometime. A slightly simpler explanation would be that she is still reterring to her original husband when she mentions

the immoral man. Because through out of the story there is little logical sequence of thought several interpretations are plausible.

Author of the poem wife's Lament

             "The Wife's Lament" also known as "The Wife's Complaint" is an Old English infact Anglo-Saxon poem from the "Exeter Book". The book contains other poems like - "The Wanderer" , "The seafarer" , "The Wife's Lament" ,"The Husband's Message" and "The Ruin". The poem's author remains totally unknown still. It is seemed that the poet was a woman or may be a man wrote the poem in a woman's voice from a female perspective. The poem was translated by Michael R. Burch.

What is the Theme of the poem wife's Lament:

                     "The Wife's Lament" is one of the most recognised Anglo-Saxon elegies. It is a monologue found in the "Exeter Book". The book was preserved with in the Cathedral of Exeter for nearly 600 years. However, it is still one of few works that we have in near perfect condition, save eight folios in the beginning of it, that were replaced sometime early in his life. It contains nearly one-sixth of all the Anglo-Saxon poetry we have today. The Wife's Lament was likely transmitted orally for generations before the writing of the "Exeter Book". Scholars still find several other semantic and syntactic obscurities , and many elements of the story are left ambiguous. It is doubtful, through,that the text has been corrupted in any way. However it is much more characteristic and stylish of small works no to have proper nouns than it is of larger works.

                     There are few events that take place in "The Wife's Lament" that are not entirely clear. Some think that the wife may have gone looking for the exiled husband, but that she became lost and after that sometime. A slightly simpler explanation would be that she is still reterring to her original husband when she mentions

the immoral man. Because through out of the story there is little logical sequence of thought several interpretations are plausible.

What is the Summary of the poem wife's Lament:

        "The Wife's Lament" or "The Wife's Complaint" , probably the first love poem in the history of English Literature. It's a dramatic monologue of 53 lines in "Exeter Book". It is also an elegy and written in first person narrative. The speaker is a woman who has lost her husband's favour and has been forced to live in a cave in a forest. After that she decided to undertake a quest to find him, setting out as a lonely and "Friendless Wanderer". Her lord's kinsmen didn't want to couple to be reunited and he made plans to keep them on opposite sides of the world. The separation left the wife heartbroken and longing for the husband.

                           She said that, her lord requested her to live with him in a new country. Also she quickly discovered that her husband has been plotting behind her back. Beneath proclamation of love , behind his smile. He was actually planning to commit mortal crimes. She remembers the good times of their marriage, when they had sworn to each other that only death could part them. Sadly, she realized that she could never feel fondness for that man again. Their friendship vanished as if it had never existed in the first place. The wife continued to face hardship as a result of her wayward lord and his ongoing journey. To stay sage, she went to live in a dense forest grove in a cave under a oak tree and that where she is wriing her lament. She finishes her lament by invoking her husband again. She doesn't know if he had conquered his fate, or if he is exiled in another land, sitting beneath a stone before the stormy sea in weary mind. The wife knows that her husband is also filled with anguish and constantly reminded of the happy home he has lost. She muses that grief is always permanent for those who are separated from a loved one.

Critical Analysis of wife's Lament:

              Like in the case of most Anglo-Saxon poems , there are multiple interpretations of "The Wife's Lament". Some scholars believe that the character of wife is a peace-weaver who was living with a hostile tribe, so she had to sever ties with her family and travel to a new land, where she feels isolated. Is is evident that she misses her husband badly, but it is unclear if he reciprocates her feelings . The husband may love her but his tribe could have forced him to take a action against her. Because of the intimate tone of the poem , some scholars claim that both husband and wife still love each other and their despair is mutual. The linguistic structure supports this claim, since the Wife's use of Old English dual pronouns make the lament feel private and sincere.

                                "The Wife's Lament" is generally treated as an elegy in the manner of the German frauenlied, or woman's song. The poem has been relatively well preserved and requires few if any emendation to enable an initial reading. Though the description of the text as a woman's song , lamenting for a lost or absent lover. The poem is also considered by some to be a riddle poem. A riddle poem contains a lesson told in cultural context which would be understandable to the readers , and very famous genre of poetry of that time. Thematic consistencies between the "The Wife's Lament" it's close relative in the genre of the woman's song, as well as close neighbour in the "Exeter Book" , "Woolf and Eadwacer" , make unconventional treatments somewhat counterintuitive. Similarities between the languages and circumstances of the male protagonist of "The Wanderer", for example and the protagonist of "The Wife's Lament" have led other critics to argue, even more radically that the protagonist of the poem. Anglo-Saxon copyist has wrongly imposed feminine gender on the protagonist where this was not the original authorical intent. It is also thought by some that "The Wife's Lament" and "The Husband's Message" may be part of a larger work in the history of English Literature.