September Elegy Notes

Elegies

Exeter Book: 975 AD

• Elegies- malebonds and companionship joys of the meadhall
  • love poetry of a heroic society

The Seafarer

• Exile- He can’t stop himself from traveling (wanderlust) but when he is at sea he feels exiled. Only he is to blame for his exile.
• Ubi Sunt-
  • “When the kingdoms of earth flourished in glory; now there are no rulers, no emperors, no givers of gold, as once there were, when wonderful things were worked among them and they lived in lordly magnificence.”
• There is no worthy and strong people left on the earth. Only the weak are left to claim the world.
• Switches to God (Christianity) at line 64
  • “Thus the joys of God are fervent with life, where life itself fades quickly into the earth…”
• Starts with an elegie and ends with a prayer.
• Around line 81 it seems to be a sermon directed to the Pagans in order to convert them to Christianity

The Wanderer

• The translator kept the caesura (a break between words within a metrical foot.)
• More true to the Pagan culture. God is only mentioned in the first and last couple of lines.
  • “And happy the man who seeketh for mercy from his heavenly Father, our fortress and strength”
• Prosody: the elements of poetry (rhyme, meter, stanza length, etc.)
  • Mood- grim
    • Death
    • Destruction
  • Not necessarily complaining about the destruction, but he is facing and accepting it as fate.
  • Plot- wandering, looking for a lord
  • Alliteration- “homeless and helpless”
    • Diction- the words have a punch to them
  • Ubi Sunt- “Where now is the warrior? Where is the war horse? Bestowal of treasure, and sharing of feast?”
    • “Battle-launched”
• Hall-men: after life in this culture revolves around eating and drinking. A big meadhall in the sky.
• Reads sort of like advice:
  • Don’t be too sorrowful
  • With age comes wisdom
  • Be careful what you say
  • Don’t be too weak or too reckless in war
  • Don’t be too wishful of wealth

• Women were called peace-weavers
  • The daughters of Lord’s were forced to marry (arranged marriage) to avoid conflict with opposing forces
  • Intended to weave peace