essay the wanderer and tolkien

8/9/2019 Essay the Wanderer and Tolkien

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The Wanderer: social context, pagan and Christianelements, feelings of the character and in uence in authors

like J.R.R. Tolkien.

EssayThe Wanderer:social context,

pagan and Christianelements, feelings

of thecharacter and

in uence in authorslike

J.R.R. Tolkien.

0


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like J.R.R. Tolkien.

2 grado en estudios inglesesCultura de los pa!ses en ha"la inglesa

This essay is aim at explaining some different points of view of the old English

poem called The Wanderer . To get this objective, it is extremely necessary to make an

analysis as complete as possible of this poem. This means that we will consider all the

options available, the way in that the author compounds it, the social context as well as

the historical, the author s feelings and intentions and the influences that could affect

him. !t is a hard work because we do not know who the author is and even do not knowhow many characters appear in this poem, so we only can make suppositions and try to

find some ideas according to the little information we have.

The second part of this essay will be focussed in the influences that poems of

this age and this style took place in more modern authors" a good example of this idea is

the influence that the great writer J.R.R. Tolkien got from this kind of works and how

can we recognise theses influences on his books and histories.

The Wanderer is an elegiac poem dated by some scholars around #$% &date in

which 'aint (ugustine arrived to England) and by others in the *+ th century" it was

found in the Exeter Book, which was kept in the Exeter Cathedral by its first bishop,

Leofric . !n * - John Conybeare made a compilation of (nglo/'axon poetry and

erroneously he treated it as a part of the poem Julianna , but finally in * 0- was

recogni1ed as a separate work. Benjamin Thorpe who said about it that it had a

considerable evidence of originality named it The Wanderer . The writer J.R.R. Tolkienwas never agree with the name given by Thorpe and in *$- considered alternative titles

like n Exile or lone The bani!hed "an , he tried again in *$ 0 to rename it as

The Exile#! Lament , but despite of the pressure the poem is still called with Thorpe#!

title. These kinds of works are very common in 2ld English poetry" it develops the ideas

of (nglo/'axon society. There are many theories about how many characters appear in

the poem" even nowadays it is not totally clear. The most common opinion holds that

the body of the poem is related as a monologue and the prologue and epilogue are

voiced by the poet acting as the narrator. 3owever, some scholars think that it is just a

#


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like J.R.R. Tolkien.solilo4uy and also there is a group that believe there could interact even three persons.

5ue to this, it is possible to find three differentiated parts, the prologue, the main body

and the epilogue.

!t is possible to know the ideas that will be developed in the poem just with the

beginning6

$%e &ho i! alone'(

These words introduce us to the poem showing that an stereotype of character

and feelings are going to be described.

!n the main body of the poem it is possible to get all the information about how

feels the wanderer, a warrior that has lost everything, who had a glorious past with his

lord, friends and family but now has not got anything and remembers nostalgic how

blissful he felt. The character is always speaking about sadness, loneliness and his

distress" we can find these feelings in the entire poem, but there are some clear

examples with these phrases6

$ ll deli)ht ha! )one(.

$The &i!e &arrior mu!t con!ider ho& )ho!tly it &ill be &hen all the &ealth of

thi! &orld !tand! &a!te(.

$ ll earth#! kin)dom i! &retched, the &orld beneath the !kie! i! chan)ed by the

&ork of the fate!(.

The entire poem contains 7hristian and pagan elements, but in the conclusion it

is possible to recognise them clearly6

$*t &ill be &ell &ith him &ho !eek! fa+our, comfort from the father in hea+en,

&here for u! all !tability re!ide!(.

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like J.R.R. Tolkien.(t this point of the essay it has been possible to know about the structure of the

poem and what is it dealing on, but now it is time to introduce ourselves in the context

that involved it at the moment of its creation historically and culturally.

8reat 9ritain was initially :oman, they con4uered the islands but never paid

much attention on these territories because they thought it was a terrible place to live

and there were not natural treasures like gold or gemstones that could increase the

wealth of the empire. ;ikings were continuously attacking them and finally :omans

were expelled from 9ritain in 0*+ (5. These barbarians &:omans called them with

this name) were settlers that emigrated from some places of 8ermany &(ngeln and

'axony) and atin influences. Their language was the 2ld English, it

was the evolution of the !ngvaeonic that was a 8erman dialect, it is the base of the

modern English we know nowadays, they called their own language with the name of

Englisc & !c in 2ld English were pronounced as the !h in ?odern English is).

!t is clear that they brought to the country their own culture, buildings, language

and religion, but in #$% aint u)u!tine arrived to the islands sent by the pope -re)oryand started the 7hristian conversion finishing the enterprise in * with the death of the

king Ethelbert , during this age is easy to find a lot of proofs of this christianisation

because there are many pagan and christian elements invading all rests of (nglo/'axon

culture. (nglo/'axons arrived to England and brought their own religion and gods, this

is evident, but there is a period of coexistence between this pagan culture and

7hristianism, for example, the use of plants and medicines was treated by 7hristians as

witchcraft, this can be interpreted as an opposition movement to the ancient 8erman and'candinavian culture of (nglo/'axon people. !t is possible to think that before the

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like J.R.R. Tolkien.arrival of the 7hristian religion to England, (nglo/'axon believed in an afterlife due to

the rests found in tombs that contained grave goods and even skeletons of dogs or

horses or human slaves next to their died masters or lords. ?ost of old English

manuscripts and works must have been modified by 7hristians, this is a reliable theory

because in this age only priests were able to read and write and were the only ones who

had access to manuscripts and libraries in churches, monasteries and cathedrals, they

were responsible of the recompilation of all the wisdom and history of the moment. The

Wanderer is a poem that makes us to think about the possibility of this theory

concerning the modification of the original works.

@irstly it is necessary to situate ourselves in the moment in which the poem was

created, not when it was written, the author composed the poem some centuries before

its recompilation in the Exeter Book , when 7hristianism had not arrived to England yet

and pagan culture was dominating the islands" this is the reason why we find in this

work the theme of this age6 the warriors. The poem reflects the (nglo/'axon culture

because this is an age full of wars between (nglo/'axons and


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like J.R.R. Tolkien.was the big creator and his wishes were who guided us in our way through the world, so

it is impossible the believe in the destiny or the fate, then, how is it possible to find in

the poem 7hristian elementsA ?ost probably is that a priest was charged of its

transcription to the written paper and 7hristian elements were introduced by him in

order to continue with his religious beliefs, respecting the poem but introducing them

without alter the main idea.

These types of works served as a way of inspiration for a lot of modern authors.

2ne of these known and famous writers is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien & J.R.R. Tolkien ),

the great creator of The Lord of the Rin)! " an epic adventure that assimilates all the

values and skills of 2ld English epic poems mixed with fantasy and fiction. Tolkien was

born in * $- in the city of Bloemfontein in outh frica , his origins were 8erman, but

he lived in England. (t twelve years old he was orphaned and his aunt and a priest were

charged of his education. This is the reason of his deeply catholic convictions, due to

this, it is possible to find again pagan and 7hristian elements in his books. 3e was

philologist, writer and professor in the ni+er!ity of /xford , he started to write The

ilmarillion in *$*% and it deals about a fantastic history of how was created rda , an

imaginary world, in the middle of a war between good and evil. !t was published in

*$%% by his son Chri!topher Tolkien , who recompiled all notes and information that his

father left after his death in *$%B. !n *$B , he wrote an essay about monsters in the epic

poem Beo&ulf , one of the poems that influenced him all his live, this essay was called

$Beo&ulf0 The "on!ter! and the Critic!(. 3is first published work was The %obbit

in *$B% it related the fantastic adventures of Bilbo Bol!on , a thief that was contracted

by a group of dwarves in the company of a wi1ard & -andalf ) and how he obtains the

:ing of Cower. This book was acclaimed and he promised to continue the history, so in*$#0 D *$## was published his greatest work6 The Lord of the Rin)! .

!t is not a coincident the similar aspects of Tolkien#! works with the (nglo/'axon

culture" he was an expert in this area and he spent his whole life creating an English

mythology based in


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like J.R.R. Tolkien.8erman had of the world, a big continent surrounded by water. !n the Lord of the Rin)! ,

Tolkien uses all the features found in 2ld English epic poems, for example the hall. The

hall is treated in these poems as the lord in his castle surrounded by all his knights,

warriors and servants living in a close community, as if it was their home, the place

where they could rest and stay with their families after the brutality of the battle and

share their experiences in a full camaraderie. These images are found in both human

fortress in The Lord of the Rin)! 6 "edu!el , where lives Theoden , the lord of Rohan , and

"ina! Tirith , the capital of -ondor , 1enethor is the seneschal that lives there while the

legitimate king is in the exile. Tolkien , tried to describe people in the (nglo/'axon age

with his books, for example, he treated eorlingas &warriors from rohan) like this6

$They are proud and &illful, but they are true2hearted, )enerou! in thou)ht and

deed3 bold but not cruel3 &i!e but unlearned, &ritin) no book! but !in)in) many

!on)!, after the manner of the children of "en before the 1ark 4ear!(.

5ue to this, we can imagine that Tolkien was describing us how (nglo/'axon

people were if we consider the manuscripts that have been found of this age and making

similarities with Rohirrim . There is only one difference between this people and the

(nglo/'axons6 the horses, Rohirrim were brave warriors and very powerful in the battle

because of these animals, but if Tolkien wanted to represent (nglo/'axon people with

Rohan , why he used themA !t is so easy, Tolkien always hated the changes that affected

(nglo/'axon when they were con4uered by


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like J.R.R. Tolkien. la!, the bri)ht cup7 la!, the mailed &arrior7 la!, the prince8! )lory7 %o& that

time ha! )one, +ani!hed beneath ni)ht8! co+er, ju!t a! if it had ne+er been7(

!n the work of Tolkien , when -andalf , Le)ola! , -imli and ra)orn are

contemplating the barrows on the hill, ra)orn starts to sing a song in rohirrim

language that is very similar to the extract that we have seen before in The anderer6

$Where no& the hor!e and the rider6 Where i! the horn that &a! blo&in)6

Where i! the helm and the hauberk, and the bri)ht hair flo&in)6 Where i! the

hand on the harp !trin), and the red fire )lo&in)6 Where i! the !prin) and the

har+e!t and the tall corn )ro&in)6 They ha+e pa!!ed like rain on the mountain,like a &ind in the meado&3 the day! ha+e )one do&n in the We!t behind the hill!

into !hado&. Who !hall )ather the !moke of the dead &ood burnin)6 /r behold

the flo&in) year! from the ea returnin)6(

(s we can see the similarities are evident between the 2ld English poem and

The Lord of the Rin)!, but we must consider, as we have seen before, that Tolkien was

not only inspired in this poem, his purpose was to create the own English mythology.

(t this point of the analysis we have to emphasi1e in one of the main characters of

Tolkien#! work6 -andalf . This character is named as the )rey pil)rim " this aspect

makes us to remember again the poem The Wanderer , an exiled warrior without lord

and home that is continuously moving searching new adventures, this character has

been compared with the


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like J.R.R. Tolkien.in this age of difficulties, he does not bring with him an army instead of his words, but it

is possible to find again a big 2ld English influence in Tolkien in the next words from

-rima to -andalf 6

$Why !hould * &elcome you, -andalf tormcro&6 Why indeed !hould &elcome

you, "a!ter tormcro&6 8L=th!pell8 * name you, *ll2ne&!3 and ill ne&! i! an ill

)ue!t they !ay.(

!n this piece of text, -rima tells that calamities are behind -andalf like crows,

and compares him with one of them. !n the tradition, crows are related to bad news and

disasters, but Tolkien is a very good expert in English culture and although it seems to be an insult, in the English tradition crows were symbol of hope. !t is not a simple

coincidence because the


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like J.R.R. Tolkien.creator of the Chronicle! of >arnia , with the same style and genre than him, but that

was very jealous of the success of Tolkien .

Bibliography:

The iterature. th Edition. ;olume *. Ed. by?.3. (brams, et al. . .

essay the wanderer and tolkien

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