Elegy in Beowulf and "The Wand
“The Wanderer” and Beowulf are elegiac poems, which use powerful, descriptive, language to express mourning for the loss of their kings and represent the culture of their time, but do so using different tones and settings. Webster’s Dictionary defines an elegy as “a poem of lament, especially for the dead,” which wonderfully describes both works. Although the two poems use elegy in different ways, they both paint portraits of their era in the reader’s mind. “The Wanderer” uses elegy to express the loss of the Wanderer’s king and its detrimental effect on his life. In lines 8-11 of the poem, the author shows us The Wanderer’s extreme feelings of loss, loneliness, and heartbreak: Time and again at the day’s dawning I must mourn all my afflictions alone. There is no one still living to whom I dare open He is in exile from the known, searching for new accommodations after the loss of his beloved king. He feels that he will never trust or love anyone again. Furthermore, this work uses realization, reflection, dream sequencing, and imaging to portray The Wanderer’s mourning for his king. The Wanderer thought of his king not only as his leader, but also his friend. After
much to them as their life itself. People largely focused on living their lives to be remembered as honorable and courageous. Life then was centered on battle and having the wealthiest, largest, and most powerful kingdom and family. Also, much recreation time was spent telling of great battles and warriors. It was of great honor to even be mentioned of or remembered long after one passed. In addition, Beowulf as thought of by his followers not only as an excellent leader, but also a good-hearted person, possibly even a friend. In Beowulf, this is illustrated at the end of the poem when it states: An elegy spoke about that great man: They mourned their king, chanted You are the last survivor of our family,
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Webster’s Dictionary,
Wiglaf Beowulf’s,
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Wanderer” Beowulf,
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beowulf “the wanderer”,
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king feels,
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feelings loss,
king wanderer,
“the wanderer” beowulf,
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Approximate Word count = 999
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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