The Wanderer

E23601

The Wanderer is an Old English elegiac poem reflecting on exile, loss, and the search for wisdom in a transient world.

Aliases (1)

Statements (51)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Old English poem
elegy
wisdom poem
anonymous true
approximateDateOfComposition 10th century
late Old English period
author unknown
centralCharacter the wanderer
closingEmphasis trust in God
collection Exeter Book
containsContrastBetween past communal joy and present isolation
countryOfOrigin England
form unrhymed alliterative lines
genre elegiac poetry
wisdom literature
influenced modern interpretations of Anglo-Saxon exile poetry
language Old English
literaryDevice alliteration
kennings
variation
literaryPeriod Old English period
literaryTradition Anglo-Saxon poetry
manuscript Exeter Book
meter alliterative verse
motif dream and memory
ruined hall
ubi sunt motif
winter seascape
narrativePerspective first person
narrativeVoice exiled warrior
originalScript Insular minuscule
philosophicalConcern relationship between earthly life and divine providence
wisdom through suffering
preservedIn Exeter Cathedral Library
relatedWork The Ruin
The Seafarer
The Wife’s Lament
setting sea voyage
studiedIn Old English literature courses
survivesAs single manuscript copy
theme Christian consolation
exile
fate
impermanence of earthly glory
loneliness
loss
memory of past joys
search for wisdom
transience of worldly things
tone contemplative
melancholic

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
The Wanderer ("the wanderer")
centralCharacter
Old English
hasLiteraryWork
The Seafarer
relatedWork

Please wait…