The Seafarer Glorification

“The Seafarer” is a poem found in the Exeter Book, which is known today for having the largest number of Old English Poetry. In line 88 of “The Seafarer” the speaker says, “All glory is tarnished.” I do not believe this idea applies to today’s heroes and to present-day life for two main reasons. One, being that there are many different ways of being glorified today and two, because people are glorified for many different reasons.

Today people do not need others to call them heroes or need to have everyone know their name to feel glorified. Yes, there are instances where someone is being glorified and being called a hero so everyone knows their name(s), but that is not the only thing it comes down to. For example, I feel glorified when I am running at a track meet and I hear people cheering for me. People are glorified differently today than in the past, which may be the reason the speaker said that “All glory is tarnished” (McDougal, pg. 102). People can be glorified at home, school, on their teams, by their friends or even strangers. Just because everyone does not know a certain person’s name does not mean that person is not glorified.
In the older times, people were mainly glorified for going to war. However, that is not the case today. Children, married couples, deceased and famous people are all examples of people who are glorified today and each are glorified for different reasons. Children are glorified for being so “innocent and pure” (quota.com), deceased people for living their lives and passing away and famous people for living such luxury lives and having people looking up to