Anglo-Saxon Poetry Themes and Techniques
Most Anglo-Saxon works, especially poetry, contain similar
motifs, or reoccurring themes. These motifs characterize the people, culture,
and the beliefs of the Anglo-Saxon time period. The epic poem Beowulf is about
a brave and undefeated hero who travels to another land to slay the beast which
has been bothering the area for years. The poems The Seafarer and The Wanderer
are slightly different. The Seafarer tells the story of a lonely traveler who has
set out to sea in an effort to find his fate and something more than
materialistic treasures in the world. Similarly, in The Wanderer, the narrator
sets out to sea to find his new life losing his Lord and his loved ones. All
three Anglo-Saxon poems share the same motifs of journey, exile, and fate as
the main characters of the poem go out alone to find their purpose in life.
One of
the important motifs of Anglo-Saxon literature is the journey, or the traveling
to an unknown, foreign place to find one’s purpose. In Beowulf, this idea is
seen as Beowulf ventures from his land on his way to Hrothgar’s kingdom to help
them battle Grendel. Beowulf left his homeland for a new kingdom in his quest
to prove himself. On a similar note, the narrator of The Seafarer describes his
endless journey on sea where he realizes that the material attractions on Earth
cannot compare to the sea. He reflects upon how when he first ventured out, he
knew that “the time for journey would come and my soul/ Called me eagerly
out,/” (lines 36-37). The journey motif is also evident in The Wanderer when
the speaker journeys out at sea to find himself and his meaning in life after
he had lost his lord, family, and friends. In the poem, the narrator remembers
when his lord died, he considered himself a “lonely traveler long[ing] for
grace” (line 1) who was “Lost and homeless,/ Forced to flee” (lines 20-21).
Through the numerous references to travel and quests throughout these
Anglo-Saxon poems, one can see that journey was important to the people of that
time and had therefore become a key motif.
Another
key motif often expressed in literature of that time period would be the exile
of the main characters away from the rest of their society. In Beowulf, for
example, Beowulf was a strong and mighty hero who was considered to be stronger
and braver than the rest of his peers. This set him apart from the rest of his
thanes and he became independent, fighting all of his battles in solidarity. In
The Seafarer, the speaker chooses to set off by himself, hoping that through
exile on the sea he will be able to find his true purpose in life. The narrator
feels more at home and more in touch with himself out on the water which he
expresses when he notes that his “heart wanders away,/ [his] should roams with
the sea” (lines 58-59). The narrator in The Wanderer achieves his exile through
self-outcast resulting from political loyalty. After his lord dies, the
narrator grievingly sets out in hopes to find someone to replace the lord in
his life. His isolation is recognized when the author notes that “[h]e cuts in
the sea, sailing endlessly,/ Aimlessly, in exile” (lines 4-5). Through the
poems, it is evident that Anglo-Saxon valued solidarity and isolation of heroes
through exile.
The
third, and possibly most important, motif of the time is fate, or the idea that
one’s purpose in life is predetermined and inevitable. This belief can be seen
in Beowulf as the heroic Beowulf had been fated to beat Grendel and his mother
yet lose in a battle with the dragon. Although he seemed to have made his
choices all along, as the dragon in Grendel noted, he had no true control over
his destiny and everything was simply meant to happen. In The Seafarer, the
narrator refers to God and accepts the idea that his fate might be a life out
at sea. The speaker succumbs to his destiny when he states that “Fate is
stronger/And God mightier than any man’s mind” (lines 115-116). The narrator in
The Wanderer feels fated to have lost his lord and now he is in search of
something possibly better to replace the ones he lost. He acknowledges this
idea when he says that “Fate has opened/ A single port: memory” (lines 5-6).
Therefore, the mention of fate in the Anglo-Saxon poems promotes the idea the
acceptance of fate leads to success.
In conclusion,
the ideas of journey, exile, and fate were key beliefs in Anglo-Saxon times and
were therefore often found in their literature. Heroes were often noted to go
on journeys or quests in order to protect or honor their people. Main
characters in stories were usually seen isolated in exile, since they were
portrayed as different from their peers in one way or another. Furthermore,
one’s fate was often thought to be predetermined and someone of that time
focused on living up to his or her destiny. These main ideas show the
significance of such beliefs to the Anglo-Saxon people and how it shaped their
culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment