Wulf and Eadwacer: They are One
One of the most intriguing mysteries about “Wulf and Eadwacer” is whether or not it is designed to portray a specific plot and a fixed set of characters or is it created to have numerous scenarios derived by its audience. Found in the Exeter Book preceding a section of riddles has led many scholars to believe that this poem’s anonymous author intends for it to have a ”cryptic quality” and be ambiguous (Jones 373). Several varied interpretations of the plot include an adulteress woman longing for her lover, a mother mourning the loss of her son, a woman longing for the return of her husband or lover, and a canine love story, but they all must make unsubstantiated assumptions about the original text to fit their …show more content…
As there is no correct translation of this poem, the translation by Henk Aertsen closely resembles the consensus of scholars interpreting the text and will validate how the syntax and structure of the poem support that there are only two characters involved in this story of love and loss. First, lines one and two introduces the situation between the speaker, a man and her people as she describes …show more content…
According to Lee’s translation, the “sudden use of eadwacer for wulf is full of significance in relation to hwelp and wulf” in the next line (Lee 351). Some scholars interpret the wretched whelp wulf as the illegitimate child of the speaker and Wulf; however, this is merely an assumption based on translating the meaning of “hwelp” to a child (Aertsen 140). In the context of the poem, it seems more logical that the speaker uses the wretched whelp wulf as a metaphor for their love and it is being carried into “Wulf’s exile retreat in the woods on that island” to signify that his absence is causing their relationship to die (Greenfield 12). She wants him to know that she needs him there in order for their love to grow and without it the relationship will end. The ironic use of the word Eadwacer shows what the speaker expects from Wulf, but he is unwilling or unable to give her the love and security that she needs or requires. Additionally, “almost all critics agree” that the last three words of the poem ‘our song together’ represents the speaker’s and Wulf’s love, which makes it plausible that the whelp be viewed as “a parallel grammatical reference” (Greenfield 13). The whelp refers to the same love that is referred to in the “song” that the speaker and Wulf have created together at the end of the
One of the most intriguing mysteries about “Wulf and Eadwacer” is whether or not it is designed to portray a specific plot and a fixed set of characters or is it created to have numerous scenarios derived by its audience. Found in the Exeter Book preceding a section of riddles has led many scholars to believe that this poem’s anonymous author intends for it to have a ”cryptic quality” and be ambiguous (Jones 373). Several varied interpretations of the plot include an adulteress woman longing for her lover, a mother mourning the loss of her son, a woman longing for the return of her husband or lover, and a canine love story, but they all must make unsubstantiated assumptions about the original text to fit their …show more content…
As there is no correct translation of this poem, the translation by Henk Aertsen closely resembles the consensus of scholars interpreting the text and will validate how the syntax and structure of the poem support that there are only two characters involved in this story of love and loss. First, lines one and two introduces the situation between the speaker, a man and her people as she describes …show more content…
According to Lee’s translation, the “sudden use of eadwacer for wulf is full of significance in relation to hwelp and wulf” in the next line (Lee 351). Some scholars interpret the wretched whelp wulf as the illegitimate child of the speaker and Wulf; however, this is merely an assumption based on translating the meaning of “hwelp” to a child (Aertsen 140). In the context of the poem, it seems more logical that the speaker uses the wretched whelp wulf as a metaphor for their love and it is being carried into “Wulf’s exile retreat in the woods on that island” to signify that his absence is causing their relationship to die (Greenfield 12). She wants him to know that she needs him there in order for their love to grow and without it the relationship will end. The ironic use of the word Eadwacer shows what the speaker expects from Wulf, but he is unwilling or unable to give her the love and security that she needs or requires. Additionally, “almost all critics agree” that the last three words of the poem ‘our song together’ represents the speaker’s and Wulf’s love, which makes it plausible that the whelp be viewed as “a parallel grammatical reference” (Greenfield 13). The whelp refers to the same love that is referred to in the “song” that the speaker and Wulf have created together at the end of the