The Wanderer
[1] “How often the lone-dweller anticipates
some sign, this Measurer’s mercy
— must always must—
mind-caring, along the ocean’s windings,
[5] stirring rime-chill seas, hands as oars
many long whiles, treading the tracks of exile—
the way of the world an open book always.”
So spoke the earth-stepper, a memorial of miseries
slaughter of the wrathful, crumbling of kinsmen:
[10] “Often, every daybreak, alone I must
bewail my cares. There’s now no one living
to whom I dare mumble my mind’s understanding.
I know as truth that it’s seen suitable
for anyone to bind fast their spirit’s closet,
[15] hold onto the hoards, think whatever —
“Can a weary mind weather the storm?
I think not.
Can a roiling heart set itself free?
I don’t think so….
[20] “…No one can be wise before earning their lot of winters
in this world. The wise one, they stay patient:
not too heart-heated, not so hasty to harp,
not too weak-armed, nor too wan-headed,
nor too fearful nor too fey nor too fee-felching,
[25] and never tripping the tongue too much, before it trips
them.
…Who’s wise must fore-ken how ghostly it has been
when the world and its things stand wasted —
like you find, here and there, in this middle space now —
there walls totter, wailed around by winds,
[30] gnashed by frost, the buildings snow-lapt.
The winehalls molder, their wielder lies
washed clean of joys, his peerage all perished,
proud by the wall. War ravaged a bunch
ferried along the forth-way, others a raptor ravished
[35] over lofty seas, this one the hoary wolf
broke in its banes, the last a brother
graveled in the ground, tears as war-mask.
…All shot through in misery in earthly realms,
fortune’s turn turns the world under sky.
[40] Here the cash was a loan.
Your friends were a loan.
Anyone at all, a loan.
Your family only ever a loan—
And this whole foundation of the earth wastes away!”
1. Who is the “Measurer” in Line 2?
2. The first stanza serves primarily:
a. To establish the speaker’s purpose
b. To introduce the speaker and their situation
c. To introduce the importance of the “Measurer”
d. To explain “the way of the world”
3. The “earth-stepper”, “memorial of miseries”, “slaughter of the wrathful” in lines 8-9 can
all be considered which literary device:
a. Metaphors
b. Similes
c. Alliterative titles
d. Kennings
4. In lines 10-15, the speaker explains how he is:
a. In a state of isolation
b. Angry at the world for abandoning him
c. Distressed by the state of the sea
d. Finding truth in solitude
5. The speaker’s tone in the first half of the poem (Lines 1-25) can BEST be described as:
a. Incensed
b. Obdurate
c. Wistful
d. Pessimistic
6. The repetition and equating of words in line 21-25 (“nor too…”, “not too”) serve to
reinforce the idea that:
a. Even the wise are lacking in many virtuous qualities
b. The wise have developed temperance in old age
c. The wise often do not exceed expectation
d. Winters create different qualities in one’s character
7. Which choice best describes the relationship between the details of the speaker’s setting
presented in Lines 31-37 and the passage as a whole?
a. The details establish that the civilization is a desirable and safe place to which the
speaker desires to return.
b. The details provide a justification for the speaker for his desire to never return to
community.
c. The details offer a contrast to a well-ordered harmony between man and the sea,
despite the difficulty of his environment.
d. The details establish how natural forces eat away at civilization to the point that
nothing lasts.
8. The speaker’s tone is changed in Lines 26-44 to one that is:
a. Bitter and Despairing
b. Reverent and Worshipful
c. Detached and Indifferent
d. Austere and Remorseful
9. In context, word choices such as “gnashed by frost”, “War ravaged”, and “hoary wolf
broke in its banes” serve to:
a. Emphasize the speaker’s desires for home
b. Place strong emphasis on the speaker’s attitude towards the world
c. Contrast the comforts of civilization with the harness of nature
d. Create strong images that comfort the speaker in his isolation.
10. The meaning of this passage as a whole can BEST be summed up in which of the
following?
a. There is comfort in civilization and despair in the natural world.
b. That one must pay back his loans or suffer isolation.
c. The life of a wanderer is tedious and difficulty, but well worth the hardships
d. Isolation and exile reveal how nothing matters as all things in life will waste
away.