The Wife's Lament

Analysis of “The Wife’s Lament” In a perfect fairy tale a young innocent girl looks to find true love. She will go through childhood seeking love but can’t find it. Eventually, when she gets a little older the girl will find the man she is looking for. The two will get married and live happily ever after. “The wife’s Lament” is not a perfect fairy tale. They won’t live happily ever after. The wife is split from her husband after a very unfortunate event. The wife is voyaging in search of finding her former husband. The speaker is struggling without her lord, or husband, and reminisces the past when they had a “loving friendship” (25). The first section is about a “voyaging” (2) woman. Voyaging was very uncommon for women in this time. Women in this
The writer mentions that before she found a lord the wife had “few devoted friends” (17). But later she found a “most husbandly man” (18). The two used to say “none but death alone would drive us apart” (22). The speaker has used the Anglo-Saxon motif of boasting. This is also exceedingly ironic because they now have been split apart. The wife is now reminiscing of when they had a “loving friendship” (25). This is important because they were not only lovers but they were best friends. Many married people tend to get in arguments and fight all the time. But best friends tend to always get along with each other. Then she begins to think about her current situation. Now the reader finds out that the wife has been exiled by her husband’s kinsmen. In Anglo-Saxon times being exiled usually meant that they would die. A person on their own could not survive on their own in these times. “They forced me to live in a grove of wood under an oak tree in an earth hovel” (27-28). The speaker uses visual imagery, which helps the readers understanding of her situation. Then she starts to feel sorry for herself. “I can weep the sorrows of my many hardships”