The Wanderer Themes
Man and the Natural World
Condemned to travel over the open ocean even in winter, deprived of the shelter of a permanent home, the exile in "The Wanderer" is at the mercy of the elements. Images of winter weather emphasize...
Sadness
The speaker in "The Wanderer" is completely miserable because he has lost his loved ones and his lord (the local ruler that he was loyal to), and must now wander over the ocean far from home. This...
Transience
The exile in "The Wanderer" knows better than most that existence is transient, meaning that it is not permanent and passes with time. After all, once he had a home, a lord, and loved ones, but in...
Exile
"The Wanderer" describes in great detail the thoughts and emotions of a person forced to travel far from his homeland alone. Having lost his kinsmen and lord in war, the speaker now travels far and...
Wisdom and Knowledge
"The Wanderer" moves from a lament about exile to an examination of what the experiences of both the exile and wise man teach them about life. The speakers express this wisdom in gnomic form. Nope...