Exile in The Wife's Lament
Evan Davis
Mrs. Vincent
Comp 2
25 March 2014
Explication: Exile
In The Wife’s Lament, the wife is exiled through multiple scenarios. The Wife is isolated and is tortured by her loneliness. She is exiled by her husband, her home, and her happy lifestyle. The Wife is forced to move to a far away country with her husband, while leaving behind her entire life. In following her husband, she is stabbed in the back by what she thinks is a faithful relationship of love and friendship. First, the wife loses her husband as a lover and a friend “All that has changed, and it is now as though/ Our marriage and our love had never been,/ And far or near forever I must suffer/ The feud of my beloved husband dear.”(lines 24-27). In this excerpt, the Wife explains how she will inevitably lose her husband no matter the distance. “All that has changed, and it is now as though/ Our marriage and our love had never been…” refers to how everything in her life has been flipped upside down, and also how her marriage is a sham. “And far or near forever I must suffer/ The feud of my beloved husband dear” states that whatever the distance the Wife and her husband will never be what they used to be and this pains the Wife. This shows how she is exiled from the love of her life. Secondly, the Wife must move away from her home and everything she knows. “In the first place my lord had ordered me/ To take up my abode here, though I had/ Among these people few dear loyal friends;/ Therefore my heart is sad…” (lines 15-18). In this passage she explains how she moves to be with her husband and the town is very unfriendly. “In the first place my lord had ordered me/ To take up my abode here…” means that the husband has requested the Wife to live with him in the new town. “Among these people few dear loyal friends;/ Therefore my heart is sad…” states that she has no real friends in the town and that she has become bitter at her situation. The overall quote means that she has moved and the
Mrs. Vincent
Comp 2
25 March 2014
Explication: Exile
In The Wife’s Lament, the wife is exiled through multiple scenarios. The Wife is isolated and is tortured by her loneliness. She is exiled by her husband, her home, and her happy lifestyle. The Wife is forced to move to a far away country with her husband, while leaving behind her entire life. In following her husband, she is stabbed in the back by what she thinks is a faithful relationship of love and friendship. First, the wife loses her husband as a lover and a friend “All that has changed, and it is now as though/ Our marriage and our love had never been,/ And far or near forever I must suffer/ The feud of my beloved husband dear.”(lines 24-27). In this excerpt, the Wife explains how she will inevitably lose her husband no matter the distance. “All that has changed, and it is now as though/ Our marriage and our love had never been…” refers to how everything in her life has been flipped upside down, and also how her marriage is a sham. “And far or near forever I must suffer/ The feud of my beloved husband dear” states that whatever the distance the Wife and her husband will never be what they used to be and this pains the Wife. This shows how she is exiled from the love of her life. Secondly, the Wife must move away from her home and everything she knows. “In the first place my lord had ordered me/ To take up my abode here, though I had/ Among these people few dear loyal friends;/ Therefore my heart is sad…” (lines 15-18). In this passage she explains how she moves to be with her husband and the town is very unfriendly. “In the first place my lord had ordered me/ To take up my abode here…” means that the husband has requested the Wife to live with him in the new town. “Among these people few dear loyal friends;/ Therefore my heart is sad…” states that she has no real friends in the town and that she has become bitter at her situation. The overall quote means that she has moved and the