Similarities Between The Seafarer And The Wife's Lament

The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Wife’s Lament are all Medieval literary works that are entwined together with a common theme of exile. As the reader examines each of the three elegiac poems, the eloquence of the explicit significance and their characteristics are brought to actuality through the use of the sea as a metaphor. The sea is an underlining figure that is evident within each poem. With literary devices, imagery, and the strategic elements of each, the three poems are brought into focus clearly. The Seafarer is abundantly enhanced with literary terminology. The alliteration of the “S” is repeated throughout the poem to give the reader a sensational feeling of the ocean. In line six the phrase “Smashing Surf” gives readers the

Line seventeen “Bury their sorrow deep in the breast. This means honorable men put their sorrow aside so that it will not hinder them and get in their way. Tactile imagery on line twenty-three “Over wintry seas” which describes the atmosphere that he is going to be sailing in. The visual imagery on line forty “Beholding grays stretches of tossing sea” gives the reader an image of the treacherous sea. Another would be on line forty one thru forty two “Sea-birds bathing, with wings outspread, while hailstorms darken, and driving snow. The imagery of the hailstorms and driving snow show the reader that where he is sailing is extremely cold. The coldness is starting to reach his heart and make it cold to making him depressed. The palatal imagery on line forty three “Bitter then” shows that he is getting consumed by “The longing for loved one”(W44).This is persistent to the fact that he is alone and is desiring a new gold lord. The imagery on line forty seven thru forty eight “But they melt into air with no words of greeting to gladden his heart” shows how his kinsmen ignored him as if he was invisible. With the actions of his kinsmen this “again surges his sorrow upon him” (W49). On line fifty one “Toil of the tossing sea” illustrates another use of visual imagery to hence to the reader the harshness of the sea. On line ninety three thru ninety four “Storms these ramps of stone; Blowing snow and the blast of winter” uses more visual imagery to describe the conditions of the sea. Also, the use of auditory imagery on line ninety seven “Raging hail” enables the reader to get a better understanding of what he is going