The imagery of orchards, flowers, and cities in bloom stands in stark contrast to that of icy winter winds and storms. Here, the speaker talks of the joys, love, and hope that he feels await the faithful in heaven. But central government did not exist in Anglo-Saxon England. ANSWERS—Study Questions on “The Seafarer” 1. Log in here. The adverse conditions affect both his physical body (his feet) and his spiritual sense of worth (his heart). The paradox of the seafarer’s excitement at beginning the journey shows his acceptance of suffering to come. Lines 39-43: The speaker cannot find words to say why he is magically pulled towards suffering and into foreign seaports. From this interpretation, it was thought that if one lived a good life, he or she would be reunited with God eventually. In "The Seafarer", what kind of "seafaring" does the poet advocate? Lines 124-126: How does "The Seafarer" characterize life on land versus life on the sea? Lines 99-101: Lines 102-107: The final stanzas of “The Seafarer” use the sea as a symbol of life rather than a place or experience. First, his former world vanished. Hew my heart round and hunger begot The cuckoo, a bird of happiness and summer, contrasts with the earlier lists of winter ocean birds. In this conclusion of the first major section, the seafarer says that his mind and heart constantly seek to roam the sea because that is acceptance of life itself. Already a member? During the poem “The Seafarer” a sailor goes through a journey off at sea and discovers how his life’s journey through the dangerous sea is a factor that could bring him closer to God.The narrator depicts an overall message: in order to get to heaven you’ll have to go through the dangerous journey of life and forget all of your worldly pleasures, this is seen through … He realizes the foreign homeland he has been seeking is heaven. Hutchinson? As he writes, his "heart wanders away," and his "soul roams with the sea." The speaker never explains … ©2021 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Lines 27-30: The speaker's home was lost. Identify two uses assonance and two uses of alliteration in lines 59–62 of “The Seafarer.” Explain how these effects link words to form strong images. The speaker shifts away from deprivation and winter to fulfillment and summer. Spirituality/Religion Thus, the speaker shows the possible allegorical reading that life itself is a journey on the raging sea; the seafarer may represent every person who must learn to rely on God’s mercy and fear God’s judgment. The metaphor of a brother placing gold coins on his kinsman’s coffin shows the uselessness of wealth and reputation to the dead. Already a member? The point is that these pleasant summer thoughts also bring the seafarer’s wanderlust back again. Despite knowing of the isolation and deprivation, the speaker still is driven to resume his life at … He loves sailing, and despite the hardships, he enjoys his life. Lines 12-16: Compare/ contrast life on land and life on sea. Seafaring was a chance to see and learn about the world. The speaker presents his final catalogue, a list of lessons or commandments to be learned by the humble person who fears his judgment day. Beowulf is resigned to fate and is humble before the force of the sea, while The Seafarer is fearful of the powers of fate and the sea and is unwilling to accept them. However, there are some compensations for his life at sea that he discusses toward the end of the poem. Land dwellers do not suffer like he does, according to the speaker, and thus he is bitter toward them. He believes that the glories of earthly existence, including the amassing of wealth, do not matter when one dies. This section grows less personal and becomes mostly theological and didactic in nature. Instead, one must desire, as the narrator says, "the praise of the living." This love is not exactly pinned pointed to affection for a woman, more for the fact that he cannot fulfill a sense of love for land. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Compare/ contrast life on land and life on sea. The speaker writes that one wins a reputation through battle and bravery, that only earthly praise comes to warriors who take risks and perform great feats in battle. In the Anglo-Saxon work, "The Seafarer," the speaker refers to himself as an exile. He isolates himself from his kinsmen and his lord to find the true meaning of life. Grendel’s head was hauled by the hair, dragged across the floor where people were drinking” (“Beowulf” 1644-1648). As day turns to night, and snow and hail rain down from black skies, the speaker says that he is once again drawn to his inexplicable wandering. He describes the hardships of life on the sea, the beauty of nature, and the glory of god. Readers should note that the concept of Fate, often described as a spinning wheel of fortune in Middle English poetry, is at odds with the Christian concept of divine providence or God’s predestined plan. He has no home but the sea. In “The Seafarer,” the open ocean represents much more than just a body of water; it represents a malicious beauty that never falters to draw in the narrator. God’s anger against a sinful person cannot be reduced at any price; thus, the speaker urges all to heed the warning not to get taken in by wealth and fame. Lines 17-19: On the one hand, God is similar to the Anglo-Saxon idea of fate – a vaguely ominous force that determines the outcome of events in a person's life, and before whom all human beings are basically helpless. Lines 20-26: Lines 73-81: The sea imagery recedes, and the seafarer speaks entirely of God, Heaven, and the soul. The elegiac, personal tone is established from the beginning. He mourns for the loss of his way of life:  thus the poem's status as an elegy. Even the person blessed with all these virtues feels fear at the onset of a journey on the sea. In Beowulf there is one reference after another to the sea. The speaker says the days of glory and honor have passed. The traditional ending “Amen” raises the question about how, if at all, the concluding section connects or fails to connect with the more passionate, emotional song of the forsaken seafarer adrift on the inhospitable waves in the first section. The narrator expands on his idea of finite wealth and the creations God by using examples from both the hardships and joys of the sea, using them to explain that life is much more than what you have, but rather what you gain from the experiences you have. Beowulf and The Seafarer In a comparison between Beowulf and The Seafarer one finds two contrasting beliefs in fate and the sea from the storys main characters. Earthly wealth cannot reach heaven, nor can it transcend life. The speaker describes the often dreary and lonely life of a seafarer. a contrast to show life at sea and life on land byrny What is your first impression of the speaker in this poem? What makes the poem "The Seafarer" an elegy? How he spends all this time at sea, listening to birdsong instead of laughing and drinking with friends. These rewards are, in the end, worthier compensations than gold or temporary delights. The landlocked man cannot possibly understand the seafarer’s motives; however, like all people, he will eventually be held accountable for his choice of lifestyle. His lord and protector, it seems, was in the past killed or vanquished and conquered. The swans, gulls, terns, and eagles only increase the mariner’s sense of abandonment and illumine the lack of warm, human compassion in his stormy ocean wandering. He describes the anxious feelings , cold-wetness, and solitude of the sea voyage in contrast to life on land where men are surrounded by kinsmen, free from dangers, and full on food and wine. Here, the speaker conveys intense, concrete images of cold, anxiety, stormy seas, and rugged shorelines. We’ve discounted annual subscriptions by 50% for COVID-19 relief—Join Now! The speaker emphasizes that these virtues will all disappear, melting away in the presence of Fate. The birds’ plaintive cries only emphasize the distance from land and from other people. Lines 31-38: Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The Wanderer does not seem to have any inner struggle, only regrets for opportunities passed, and a determination to bear his grief with strength, placing his faith in God. He has traveled in dangerous seas and suffered much from cold and hunger and exhaustion, yet he cannot help but long to return to the sea, where he feels alive … He is freezing cold, lonely, and fearful of storms and waves. Top subjects are Literature, History, and Social Sciences. The speaker focuses on the spiritual aspect of life after death and how the soul knows no earthly comforts; the soul removed from the body feels nothing and cares nothing for fame. Word Count: 1434. The speaker pleads to his audience about his honesty and his personal self-revelation to come. The old men turn white, their beards grow thin, and they mourn the memory of departed companions. ©2021 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. There are moments in which he holds life at sea in contempt. A sense of adventure once drew men to the sea. "The Seafarer" is an ancient Anglo-Saxon poem in which the elderly seafarer reminisces about his life spent sailing on the open ocean. The speaker constructs another opposition, one between himself and the comfortable city dweller who puffs himself up with pride and drink. The speaker admonishes that God and Fate are more powerful than any person’s will. Start your 48-hour free trial and unlock all the summaries, Q&A, and analyses you need to get better grades now. Even while ashore, when visiting his favorite mead hall, he long looks forward to the ventures of the sea. It tells How the sea took me, swept me back Though he wanders many times without success, at the end of the poem, the seafarer finally finds some answers. I need examples of caesura, kenning, assonance, and alliteration in “The Seafarer.”. Lines 1-5: He states, "I do not believe/that the riches of the world/will stand forever." 2) but, the sea brings him joy: waves tossing and towering makes his heart beat The speaker highlights the opposition between the comfortable landlubber and the anguished, lonely, frozen mariner. The paradox of the seafarer’s excitement at beginning the journey shows his acceptance of suffering to come. The speaker never explains exactly why he is driven to take to the ocean. In the first half of the poem, the Seafarer reflects upon the difficulty of his life at sea. He thinks that life at sea is better because it is away from the dangers of people and society. In this section, one imagines the creation of funeral fires, songs, and shrines in honor of the great warriors. The narrator says toward the end of the poem, "God is mightier / than any man's thought." The speaker again describes the changes in weather. Now ships are automated; the crews, smaller; the time in ports, shorter; the loneliness, more pronounced. Lines 69-72: Throughout the poem, the speaker explores his life as a seafarer and the significant ups and downs of the profession. Might, indeed, made one right during this period of history in England. He describes the anxious feelings, cold-wetness, and solitude of the sea voyage in contrast to life on land where men are surrounded by kinsmen, free from dangers, and full on food and wine. The epic poem “The Seafarer” revolves around a man who is in exile in the sea. 1) the Seafarer describes the sea as ice- cold, whirling him in sorrow, blown clear of love, and drowning him in desolation.