How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
Ic þæt secgan mæg,
hwæt ic yrmþa gebad, siþþan ic up weox,
niwes oþþe ealdes, no ma þonne nu.
A ic wite wonn minra wræcsiþa.I am able to tell
all the hardships I've suffered since I grew up,
but new or old, never worse than now –
ever I suffer the torment of my exile. (2-5)
We learn by line 5 that the speaker's profound grief and suffering is due to "wræcsiþa," or exile. Of all the bad stuff that has happened to her in her life, this exile has been by far the worst. That's an intense thought. We will have to read on to learn more about what this means...
Quote #2
ærest min hlaford gewat heonan of leodum
ofer yþa gelac;First my lord left his people
for the tumbling waves; (6-7)
It is the husband's departure that sets the story in motion. We don't know why he leaves, or where exactly he goes. All we have is this image of "yþa gelac" ("tumbling waves"), so it's likely he traveled across the sea to some distant country. There is a distinct possibility that he himself was exiled.
Quote #3
ða ic me feran gewat folgað secan,
wineleas wræcca, for minre weaþearfe.
Ongunnon þæt þæs monnes magas hycgan
þurh dyrne geþoht, þæt hy todælden unc,
þæt wit gewidost in woruldriceWhen I set off to join and serve my lord,
A friendless exile in my sorry plight,
My husband's kinsmen plotted secretly
How they might separate us from each other
That we might live in wretchedness apart (9-13)
When the speaker decides to leave in search of her husband, her plans are thwarted by those conniving kinsmen. They conspire to keep the lovers apart, isolated not only in physical exile, but also in emotional exile.
Quote #4
Heht mec mon wunian on wuda bearwe,
under actreo in þam eorðscræfe.
Eald is þes eorðsele, eal ic eom oflongad,So in this forest grove they made me dwell,
Under the oak-tree, in this earthy barrow.
Old is this earth-cave, all I do is yearn. (27-29)
Now officially exiled to a gloomy cave, separated from love, community, and her homeland, we witness the speaker's sorrow as she wallows in both emotional and literal exile. The dark, melancholy imagery of her earthly abode clearly parallels her emotional state.
Quote #5
Frynd sind on eorþan,
leofe lifgende, leger weardiað,
þonne ic on uhtan ana gonge
under actreo geond þas eorðscrafu.
þær ic sittan mot sumorlangne dæg,
þær ic wepan mæg mine wræcsiþas,There are friends on earth,
lovers living who lie in their bed,
while I walk alone in the light of dawn
under the oak-tree and through this earth-cave,
where I must sit the summer-long day;
there I can weep for all my exiles, (33-38)
While the speaker dreams of love and companionship, she stays in her cave—alone and weeping—she explains, "for all my exiles." This is an interesting usage of the Old English word "wræcsiþas," which most closely translates to "miseries." But given its same root as the word for "exiles"—"wræcca"—the parallel between the two terms is clear.
Quote #6
[…] sy ful wide fah
feorres folclondes, þæt min freond siteð
under stanhliþe storme behrimed,
wine werigmod, wætre beflowen
on dreorsele.
[…] let him be outlawed
in a far distant land, so that my friend sits
under stone cliffs chilled by storms,
weary-minded, surrounded by water
in a sad dreary hall! (46-50)
Here, the conversation changes from one of the speaker's own exile, to a description of her husband's exile. This seaside location sounds pretty gloomy too, and goes to show that the husband is just as physically and psychically isolated as his exiled wife. Life without love and community will do that to you.