Wanderer Vs Seafarer

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When reading and interpreting any type of literature, it is important to attempt to discover the author's purpose in writing the work. The poems The Wanderer and The Seafarer are no exception to this. Far from being easily interpreted, both poems are packed with content, purpose, and hidden meaning. While the two poems may contain the same goals, the content and meaning differ drastically in many areas such as: feelings, methods, lessons, and teachings. In order to divine the purpose of the poem, one must look at these similarities and differences. Both poems are traditional elegies, which express grief over the passing of prior, better, times. In both The Wanderer and The Seafarer, the speakers yearn for the golden times that came prior to their current suffering and they lament what has gone before. The seafarer longs for the times when the world prospered: “The earth’s…show more content…
Friendship had also left the speaker: “He remembers retainers and the receiving of treasure, how in his youth his gold-giving lord accustomed him to feasting. Joy has entirely gone.” (The Wanderer, lines 34-36). Remembering his absent friends brings more distress than comfort to the weary wanderer: “Sorrow is renewed when the memory of kinsmen pervades the mind; he greets the joyfully; eagerly surveys the companions of men; they often swim away again.” (The Wanderer, lines 50b-53). The seafarer also remembers the days before his travels but instead of longing for them he mocks others’ need for those earthly comforts; “Foolish is he that does not fear his Lord: death will come to him unexpectedly. Blessed is the man who lives humbly: the favour of heaven will come to him.” (The Seafarer, lines 106-107). The seafarer believes that those who loose themselves in earthly comforts, such as warmth and companionship, will not be able to earn their place in heaven. Additionally, both speakers are tired of wandering but something urges them
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