Anonymous: The Most Prolific Poet of All-Time
Gee, that Anonymous person sure writes a lot—very prolific, indeed. Okay, all kidding aside, we don't actually know who wrote "The Wife's Lament." But we can recognize a similar poetic style present in other Exeter Book texts like "The Wanderer,") "The Seafarer," and especially "Wulf and Eadwacer".
Also written from the perspective of a woman, "Wulf and Eadwacer" has faced similar speculation over its categorization as either a riddle or elegy. And, like "The Wife's Lament," "Wulf and Eadwacer" tells a sorrowful tale of heartbreak and abandonment—in this case, concerning a lover who has died.
It's possible that two, or three, or all four of these texts were written by the same author. In each we see parallel themes of grief, loneliness, and exile, couched within ambiguous, often confusing narratives. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing for sure. Nowadays, these four poems are most commonly classified as elegies—but the gnomic and riddle-like quality of each cannot be overlooked.