Exile In The Seafarer

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The fear of being sent, either by force or self enforced, into exile was a common fear of the Anglo-Saxon society. This exile could be interpreted both as an exile on Earth and exile from Heaven to Earth. To be exiled means to be utterly alone with only thoughts to accompany a person. The possibility of exile was terrifying to the Anglo-Saxon people because they were so dependant on the village or town they lived in along with the people in it. A warrior would live to serve his lord in battles. Without a lord or community, there was nowhere to go and nothing to do. As the Christian religion crept into Anglo-Saxon culture, religious metaphors also began to show in the ancient text. The exile these people feared could also be interpreted as being banished from heaven to live on earth. From this interpretation, it was thought that if one lived a good life, he or she would be reunited with God eventually. The epic poem “The Seafarer” revolves around a man who is in exile in the sea. His exile is self enforced because of his desire to explore new places through travel at sea. His travels happen in the middle of winter. He greatly wishes to return to his homeland where …show more content…

He is gone for such a long time that she has no choice but to find another man to support her. Her old husband’s kinsmen find out about what she has done and send her into exile. This exile was not her choice, similar to the wanderer. The reader should feel sympathy for the wife because she would have not survived on her own if she did not find another man to support her. She was only looking out for herself. She is then sent by her old husband’s kinsmen to live in the woods in a hole in the ground. She is utterly alone with only herself to keep company. Similar to the other two poems, she had an abundance of time to think about her life during her

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