The Seafarer Analysis

The seafarer is an old Anglo Saxon poem. This poem is told through the perspective of a man who is constantly traveling. The speaker seems to be in despair whenever he travels because he’d rather find a place for himself. He then goes on tangent about Fate and Faith.
The tone of this poem is somber. His imagery is used to express his loneliness. For example, he foretells his experience by, “How the sea took me, swept me back, and forth in sorrow and fear and pain, showed me suffering in a hundred ships, in a thousand ports, and in me.” This setup is used to draw sympathy from the audience before going in detail. His suffering stems from his travels on sea. The speaker always seems to be on the move however, it doesn’t seem by choice. For instance, he states, “My feet were cast, in icy bands, bound with frost, with frozen chains and hardships groaned around my heart.” This description doesn’t seem to be a fun experience while giving the impression that he felt like a prisoner that was doomed to traveled. Using sound onomatopoeia would aid in giving the audience another form of visuals. …show more content…
As stated before, the speaker believes in Fate. The society overall believes in Fate, the people understand that there are situations that they can’t change. According to the speaker, “The praise the living pour on the dead.” The community values honor and continue to show it after the death of a person. After the death, the community will put possessions or gold into the coffin’s for the dead to take their belongings into heaven, though it’s of no use, according to the speaker. By adding personal belongings to the coffins, it shows that people valued what they were able to save. Loyalty was also important to the society, as stated by the speaker, “Death leaps at the fools who forget their God. He who lives humbly has angels from Heaven.” It was important for a person to exhibit loyalty to form bonds within the