Wulf and Eadwacer
E517368
Wulf and Eadwacer is an enigmatic Old English poem, often read as an early example of the female-voiced lament tradition and noted for its ambiguous narrative and unconventional structure.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Old English poem
ⓘ
elegy ⓘ female-voiced lament ⓘ |
| approximateDate | 10th century manuscript ⓘ |
| charactersMentioned |
Eadwacer
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Wulf NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| compositionDate | possibly 9th or 10th century ⓘ |
| countryOfManuscript | England NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| criticalDebate |
identity of Eadwacer
ⓘ
identity of Wulf ⓘ status of the speaker’s child ⓘ whether Eadwacer is a person or an epithet ⓘ whether the poem is a fragment ⓘ whether the poem is a riddle ⓘ |
| features |
ambiguous pronoun reference
ⓘ
elliptical syntax ⓘ non-heroic subject matter ⓘ refrain-like repetition ⓘ |
| genre |
elegy
ⓘ
lament ⓘ lyric poetry ⓘ |
| language | Old English ⓘ |
| length | short poem ⓘ |
| lineCount | approximately 19 lines ⓘ |
| manuscript | Exeter Book NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| manuscriptLocation | Exeter Cathedral Library NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| meter | Old English alliterative verse with irregularities ⓘ |
| narrativeStyle | first-person monologue ⓘ |
| narratorGender | female ⓘ |
| notedFor |
ambiguous speakers and addressees
ⓘ
enigmatic narrative ⓘ refrain-like repeated line ⓘ unconventional structure ⓘ |
| preservationStatus | survives in a single manuscript ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
The Husband’s Message
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Wife’s Lament NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scholarlyReception |
considered one of the most obscure Old English poems
ⓘ
frequently anthologized in Old English literature collections ⓘ |
| setting | island or separated land ⓘ |
| speakerSituation | woman separated from her lover ⓘ |
| textualFeature |
difficult and disputed vocabulary
ⓘ
multiple possible translations ⓘ |
| theme |
exile
ⓘ
hostile or divided community ⓘ longing ⓘ separation of lovers ⓘ vulnerability of women ⓘ |
| tradition |
Old English elegiac tradition
ⓘ
female-voiced lament tradition ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.