Translated by Burton Raffel
Composed by an unknown poet

The Exeter Book was given to Exeter
Cathedral in the 11 th century. It contained a collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts.

The Seafarer – the cold, hard facts
 Can be considered an elegy, or mournful, contemplative poem.
 Can also be considered a planctus, or
“ complaint.
” This would involve a fictional speaker and a subject that may be loss other than death.
 Regardless, the expression of strong emotion is the key.

The Seafarer – the cold, hard facts cont.
 What the poem has that most Anglo-
Saxon poems also have:
1.
Caesuras – pause in a line
2.
Alliteration joins the 2 parts of the line
3.
Kennings – metaphorical phrases

The Seafarer – the cold, hard facts
 Caesura and alliteration in action
“ The only sound / was the roaring sea ”
 Kennings
“ coldest seeds ” = hail
“ givers of gold ” = Anglo-Saxon kings

The Seafarer – the cold, hard facts
 A wraecca tells his tale; he is at sea. (A
wraecca ” was a person who had been exiled from his community.)
 Poem highlights the balance between the
Anglo-Saxon belief in fate, where everything is grim and overpowering, and the Christian believer ’ s reliance on God.

The Seafarer – the cold, hard facts
 The land represents safety and security.
 The sea represents hardship and struggle, but the man is drawn to it because it brings him closer to God. The sea represents the power of God.
 “ Home ” represents heaven or being closer to God.

The Seafarer – literary criticism
 Some believe that the poem has 2 speakers. One who makes a personal
“ complaint ” and a second who comments on the condition described by the first.
 The second speaker emphasizes man ’ s relationship with the divine rather than one man ’ s personal plight.