Bravery
and loyalty are the two most common themes of the Anglo-Saxon period that are
found in every heroic narrative such as “The Seafarer,” “The Wanderer, “and
Beowulf. In addition to themes, they also have the similar techniques such as
use of the kennings and alliteration, and imagery. For example, in each of the
poems, four stressed syllables and a caesura in each line showing the use
alliteration. Another example, showing
another similarity in the poems, is the imagery of the sea and winter. In the
poems, the sea is used to represent the trials of life. In the beginning of
Beowulf, there is a description of King Shield Sheafson being buried as sea, In
“The Seafarer,” the main character is isolated on the sea, and the author of
“The Wanderer” raised aspects of both as he intertwined isolation with imagery
with little imagery of the sea.
A
major similarity in the poem is their themes. In each poem, they all embrace
the theme of loyalty to a lord or higher power. In “The Seafarer,” they embrace
the theme of loyalty as its loyalty is to God.
In Beowulf, loyalty is shown to Beowulf through the actions of the
people. For Example, Wiglaf, he returns the help his lord, Beowulf, fight
against the dragon. It is because of this loyalty that Beowulf is able to
defeat the dragon. In addition to its theme, they all embrace isolation. In
Beowulf, he wants to stand alone in what he does, as he is very strong and
courageous, and, in the end, before his final battle, he men left him to stand
alone against the dragon. In the other two poems, “The Seafarer” and “The
Wanderer,” they both have aspects of isolation also as they one of the
character is ostracized and the other chooses to be alone.
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