The Beauty of Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Riddles Analysis)

Wulf and Eadwacer

Wulf and Eadwacer is an Old English poem of famously difficult interpretation. It has been variously characterised, (modernly) as an elegy, (historically) as a riddle, and (in speculation on the poem's pre-history) as a song or ballad with refrain. The poem's complexities are, however, often asserted simply to defy genre classification, especially with regard to its narrative content. The poem's only extant text is found within the 10th century Exeter Book, along with certain other texts to which it possesses qualitative similarities.

Genre

The characterisation of the poem as a riddle is the oldest of its various treatments, the argument for which characterisation is based largely upon the obscurity of its subject and the placement of the poem within the Exeter Book, preceding the texts of the extant riddles themselves. However, its length and its various textual problems not characteristic of the riddles have led few scholars to pursue a simple riddle interpretation in modern textual study, and few such explanations have garnered serious attention in the recent history of its scholarship. Rather, the thematic similarity of the poem to The Wife's Lament, also found in the Exeter Book, has caused most modern scholars to place it, along with the Wife's Lament, solidly within the genre of the frauenlied, or woman's song and, more broadly, in that of the Old English elegy. Its adjacency to the riddles has, however, continued to inform commentary and interpretation. The short lines and refrains of Wulf and Eadwacer, along with the stream of consciousness narration have made it a popular feminist reading. These features aided by the rhythm and syntax, cause the emotional buildup of the poem.

Manuscript evidence

For lack of any historical evidence or attestation outside the Exeter Book's text, historical criticism is limited to study of the Exeter Book itself and, particularly, to comparative study of its various contained works. Though it is generally held that the poem's composition occurred at a date significantly earlier than the date of the Exeter Book's own compilation, the degree of the poem's age relative to the codex is difficult if not impossible to ascertain. The dating of the poem in criticism is thus generally limited to what can be ascertained from the known history of the Exeter Book, for which suggested dates of compilation range from 960CE to 990CE. Though the folios on which the poem is recorded are not subject to any significant damage necessitating reconstruction, its textual problems and, particularly, the grammatical confusion of the first lines of the text, have resulted in widespread postulation that the initial lines of the poem may have been lost prior to its inclusion in the Exeter Book but subsequent to an earlier transcription. There is no manuscript evidence to directly support this theory, however.

Proposals regarding its heritage prior to inscription in the Exeter codex are consequently many and various. The inclusion of a refrain in the text of the poem may support an originally non-English origin, as the refrain is not conventional to the Old English elegy or to any other known

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Old English poetical form. Among proposed explanations for this anomaly, a Scandinavian inspiration for the Anglo-Saxon text offers one possible solution to this problem, and has similarly been considered as an explanation for its difficult language, but this theory, as with most others on the poem's prehistory, can only be regarded as hypothetical given lack of substantive corroborating evidence. The suggestion is that the poem derives from some interpretation of the Wayland story; that the woman is Beadohilde, Wulf is Wayland, and Eadwacer her angry father. This episode is also discussed in the poem Deor.

Characters

The most conventional interpretation of the poem is as a lament spoken in the first person by an unnamed woman who is or has in the past been involved with two men whose names are Wulf and Eadwacer respectively. Both of these are attested Anglo-Saxon names, and this interpretation is the basis for the common titling of the poem (which is not based on any other manuscript evidence). However, even this point proves controversial. Some interpretations favour a single male character, and virtually all commentaries acknowledge the possibility, though this is the less orthodox of the two views. In recognition of this fact, for example, preeminent Old English scholar Michael Alexander has chosen the title "Wulf" for his own reproduction of it in The Earliest English Poems (Penguin, 1973). It has also been known to be titled simply as Eadwacer. The title Wulf and Eadwacer, however, though apocryphal, has gained such widespread acceptance over time that in the majority of texts it is accepted regardless of the treatment of the titular name(s) and character(s).

Synopsis

The speaker of the poem is evidently separated from her lover and/or husband, Wulf, both symbolically and materially (Wulf is on iege, | ic on oþerre), and this separation is seemingly maintained by threat of violence (willað hy hine aþecgan, | gif he on þreat cymeð), possibly by her own people (Leodum is minum | swylce him mon lac gife). Crying out in her sorrow for her lover, she longs for him to take her in his arms (þonne mec se beaducafa bogum bilegde). She finds comfort in his coming, but it is also bittersweet (wæs me wyn to þon, wæs me hwæþre eac lað). She then addresses 'Eadwacer', who may be her husband or her captor, and she appears to identify their 'whelp' (Uncerne earne hwelp), generally understood to metaphorically imply 'child' and possibly a reference to the child's being the 'whelp' of a man named 'Wulf'. She describes this child as being taken off 'to the woods' (to wuda).

Differing arguments

Even though the poem is a mere nineteen lines there are many differing interpretations. The before-mentioned is the most popular interpretation. One of the others is that the word Eadwacer in the poem is not a proper noun, but a simple common noun which means "property watcher". This brings the characters in the poem from three to two, the speaker and her lover, Wulf. If one adopts this interpretation then her exclamation ("Do you hear me, Eadwacer?") could be meant to be sarcastic or a calling out of his manhood. She is saying that his long absences have made him anything but a protector to her and their child who she worries about. Using this interpretation, the speaker's use of irony when speaking of her lover makes the last two lines make sense. The

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speaker may be saying that Wulf has been her lover and her child's father, but has never treated her as or actually been her husband. Therefore, the complications of their relationship is easily unbound. However, this seems to be more easily done by Wulf than the speaker herself (Adams).

Though this argument is debatable among scholars, there is the thought that the character of Wulf is actually the speaker's child and not her lover. In this case she would be lamenting and pining after her son, hoping that he was okay, and not her lover. One scholar says: "In Wulf and Eadwacer a woman finds herself in a situation typical of Old English poetry, torn between conflicting loyalties. Many commentators see this particular situation as a sexual triangle, with Wulf the woman’s lover and Eadwacer her husband. If so, then Wulf and Eadwacer is not typical, because most Old English loyalty crises occur within the family group…It is…true that romantic or sexual love was not the literary commonplace before the twelfth century it has been since; other loves took precedence…The situation in Wulf and Eadwacer is far more typically Anglo-Saxon than as usually interpreted, if the speaker is understood to be the mother of the person she addresses as Wulf, as well as of the ‘whelp’ of line 16." This argument that Wulf is actually the narrator’s son gives a different depth to the elegy—it becomes a poem of mourning for her son that seems to be exiled from her and their people. This idea has credibility when put in context that she was peace-weaved to Eadwacer, making Wulf their son.

Old English textLeodum is minum swylce him mon lac gife;willað hy hine aþecgan, gif he on þreat cymeð.Ungelic is us.Wulf is on iege, ic on oþerre.Fæst is þæt eglond, fenne biworpen.Sindon wælreowe weras þær on ige;willað hy hine aþecgan, gif he on þreat cymeð.Ungelice is us.Wulfes ic mines widlastum wenum dogode;þonne hit wæs renig weder ond ic reotugu sæt,þonne mec se beaducafa bogum bilegde,wæs me wyn to þon, wæs me hwæþre eac lað.Wulf, min Wulf, wena me þineseoce gedydon, þine seldcymas,murnende mod, nales meteliste.Gehyrest þu, Eadwacer? Uncerne earne hwelpbireð Wulf to wuda.þæt mon eaþe tosliteð þætte næfre gesomnad wæs,uncer giedd geador.

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Wulf and Eadwacer translatedIt is to my people as if someone gave them a gift.They want to kill him, if he comes with a troop.It is different for us.

Wulf is on one island I on another.That island, surrounded by fens, is secure.There on the island are bloodthirsty men.They want to kill him, if he comes with a troop.It is different for us.

I thought of my Wulf with far-wandering hopes,Whenever it was rainy weather, and I sat tearfully,Whenever the warrior bold in battle encompassed me with his arms.To me it was pleasure in that, it was also painful.Wulf, my Wulf, my hopes for you have causedMy sickness, your infrequent visits,A mourning spirit, not at all a lack of food.Do you hear, Eadwacer? A wolf is carryingour wretched whelp to the forest,that one easily sunders which was never united:our song together.

Sources:http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/beauty-anglo-saxon-poetry-prelude-beowulf#sect-activitieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yUljMAqPEkInteresting links:http://www.thehypertexts.com/Wulf%20and%20Eadwacer%20Translation.htm

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Compulsory Activity: Riddles AnalysisDefine the following terms:1. kenning:

2. caesura:

3. alliteration:

Analyze the riddles at Texts and Translations. You are to give examples of the following concepts as they are found in the riddles:

Riddle # 1:

1. kenning:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. caesura:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. alliteration:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Riddle # 2:

1. kenning:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. caesura:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. alliteration:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Riddle # 3:

1. kenning:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. caesura:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. alliteration:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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KENNING

Definition of Kenning:

A Kenning is derived from Norse and Anglo-Saxon poetry. It is a stylistic device and can be defined as a two-word phrase that describes an object through metaphors. A Kenning poem is also called a riddle that consists of a few lines of kennings which describe someone or something in confusing detail. It is also described as a compressed metaphor that means meanings illustrated in a few words. For example, a two-word phrase “whale-road” represents the sea.Characteristics of Kenning

A literary piece may be considered as one of the Kenning examples if it possesses the following defining features:

It is used to describe an object in detail. The two parts of a compound word represent a relationship between subjects and objects

that creates associations in an abstract and concise way. It is also called a compressed metaphor.

Examples of Kenning from Literature

Example #1

May I for my own self song’s truth reckon,Journey’s jargon, how I in harsh days

Hardship endured oft.Bitter breast-cares have I abided,

Known on my keel many a care’s hold,And dire sea-surge, and there I oft spent.

That he on dry land loveliest liveth,List how I, care-wretched, on ice-cold sea,

Deprived of my kinsmen;Over the whale’s acre, would wander wide

Eager and ready, the crying lone-flyer,Whets for the whale-path the heart irresistibly.

(The Seafarer by Ezra Pound)

The Seafarer is one of the best examples of kenning poems. The poet has used a lot of kenning. Here, “whale-path”, “whale-road” and “whale’s acre” referred to the ocean. “Breast-hoard” refers to the heart.

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Example #2

…. and its yellowing, ribbed

impression in the grass —

¬a small ship-burial.

As dead as stone,

flint-find, nugget

of chalk,

I touch it again,

I wind it in

the sling of mind

to pitch it at England

and follow its drop

to strange fields…..

Bone-house:

a skeleton

in the tongue’s

old dungeons….

(Bone Dreams by Seamus Heaney)

This poem is also a very good example of kenning. Here, the words which are used as metaphors are “ship-burial”, “flint-find” and “bone-house”. The two-word phrases give a description of an object in an alternative way. Though complex, kennings can make a poem more enjoyable.

Function of Kenning

The kenning is used as a poetic device and its function in poetry is to describe something in alternative ways to provide a richer and different meaning. Kenning is related to dialects as well, wherein it works as a showcase example of regional or local dialect. Also, metaphorical usage of kenning makes the poetic language more vibrant and increases thought provoking vocabulary. Hence, it tends to keep the readers engaged.

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Exercise 1:

There is a singer everyone has heard,Loud, a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird,

Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again.He says that leaves are old and that for flowers

Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten.He says the early petal-fall is past

When pear and cherry bloom went down in showersOn sunny days a moment overcast…..

(The Oven Bird by Robert Frost)

Mid wood: _____________________________________________________________________

Petal-falls: _____________________________________________________________________

Exercise 2:

I returned to a long strandWere ocean-deafened voices

warning me, lifted againin violence and epiphany….

was buoyant with hindsight—it said Thor’s hammer swung

to geography and trade,thick-witted couplings and revenges,

the hatreds and behind-backsof the althing, lies and women,

exhaustions nominated peace….

It said, ‘Lie downin the word-hoard, burrow

the coil and gleamof your furrowed brain….

(North by Seamus Heaney)

Ocean-deafened _______________________________________________________________

Thick-witted _______________________________________________________________

Word-hoard _______________________________________________________________

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DEFINITION OF ALLITERATION

Alliteration Definition

Alliteration is derived from Latin’s “Latira”. It means “letters of alphabet”. It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.

Consider the following examples:

But a better butter makes a batter better. A big bully beats a baby boy.

Both sentences are alliterative because the same first letter of words (B) occurs close together and produces alliteration in the sentence. An important point to remember here is that alliteration does not depend on letters but on sounds. So the phrase not knotty is alliterative, but cigarette chase is not.Common Examples of Alliteration

In our daily life, we notice alliteration in the names of different companies. It makes the name of a company catchy and easy to memorize. Here are several common alliteration examples.

Dunkin’ Donuts PayPal Best Buy Coca-Cola Life Lock Park Place

American Apparel American Airlines Chuckee Cheese’s Bed Bath & Beyond Krispy Kreme The Scotch and Sirloin

We also find alliterations in names of people, making such names prominent and easy to be remembered. For instance, both fictional characters and real people may stand out prominently in your mind due to the alliterative effects of their names. Examples are:

Ronald Reagan Sammy Sosa Jesse Jackson Michael Moore William Wordsworth Mickey Mouse Porky Pig

Lois Lane Marilyn Monroe Fred Flintstone Donald Duck Spongebob Squarepants Seattle Seahawks

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Alliteration Examples in Literature

Example #1

From Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

“The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,The furrow followed free;

We were the first that ever burstInto that silent sea.”

In the above lines we see alliteration (“b”, “f” and “s”) in the phrases “breeze blew”, “foam flew”, “furrow followed”, and “silent sea”.Example #2

From James Joyce’s “The Dead”

“His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.”

We notice several instances of alliteration in the above mentioned prose work of James Joyce. Alliterations are with “s” and “f” in the phrases “swooned slowly” and “falling faintly”.

Function of Alliteration

Alliteration has a very vital role in poetry and prose. It creates a musical effect in the text that enhances the pleasure of reading a literary piece. It makes reading and recitation of the poems attractive and appealing; thus, making them easier to learn by heart. Furthermore, it renders flow and beauty to a piece of writing.

In the marketing industry, as what we have already discussed, alliteration makes the brand names interesting and easier to remember. This literary device is helpful in attracting customers and enhancing sales.

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