What questions do you think remain unanswered in "The Wife's Lament"?
"I sing this song about myself, full sad,
My own distress, and tell what hardships I
Have had to suffer since I first grew up,
Present and past, but never more than now;
I ever suffered grief through banishment.
For since my lord departed from this people
Over the sea, each dawn have I had care
Wondering where my lord may be on land.
When I set off to join and serve my lord,
A friendless exile in my sorry plight,
My husband's kinsmen plotted secretly
How they might separate us from each other
That we might live in wretchedness apart
Most widely in the world: and my heart longed.
In the first place my lord had ordered me
To take up my abode here, though I had
Among these people few dear loyal friends;
Therefore my heart is sad. Then had I found
A fitting man, but one ill-starred, distressed,
Whose hiding heart was contemplating crime,
Though cheerful his demeanour. We had vowed
Full many a time that nought should come between us
But death alone, and nothing else at all.
All that has changed, and it is now as though
Our marriage and our love had never been,
And far or near forever I must suffer
The feud of my beloved husband dear.
So in this forest grove they made me dwell,
Under the oak-tree, in this earthy barrow.
Old is this earth-cave, all I do is yearn.
The dales are dark with high hills up above,
Sharp hedge surrounds it, overgrown with briars,
And joyless is the place. Full often here
The absence of my lord comes sharply to me.
Dear lovers in this world lie in their beds,
While I alone at crack of dawn must walk
Under the oak-tree round this earthy cave,
Where I must stay the length of summer days,
Where I may weep my banishment and all
My many hardships, for I never can
Contrive to set at rest my careworn heart,
Nor all the longing that this life has brought me.
A young man always must be serious,
And tough his character; likewise he should
Seem cheerful, even though his heart is sad
With multitude of cares. All earthly joy
Must come from his own self. Since my dear lord
Is outcast, far off in a distant land,
Frozen by storms beneath a stormy cliff
And dwelling in some desolate abode
Beside the sea, my weary-hearted lord
Must suffer pitiless anxiety.
And all too often he will call to mind
A happier dwelling. Grief must always be
For him who yearning longs for his beloved."
Answer (3)
I have never actually read this poem before, so bear with me... The first question that I think of is WHY is her husband exiled? She states that he had crime in his heart, but why would his kinsmen scheme to keep them apart?
The poem The Wife's Lament raises several unanswered questions regarding the specifics of the wife's situation and her husband's circumstances. One might wonder about the nature of the plots against the marriage, the reason for the husband's exile, and what crimes or events led to their separation. Additionally, there is ambiguity around the location of the husband, the wife's current state of being, and the historical and social context that these events are taking place in. The expressions of grief, loss, and longing are universal, touching on the themes of separation and exile, which resonate with many other literary works addressing the pain of being apart from a loved one.
In "The Wife's Lament," several questions go unanswered, particularly concerning the nature of the husband's exile and the motives behind it. Key questions include the specifics of the husband's crime, the intentions of his kinsmen, and what support the wife has in her exile. Exploring these questions can deepen our understanding of the poem's themes of love and loss.
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