ABSTRACT
Old English poetry is fraught with difficulties, and some of the most severe surround Wulf and Eadwacer and The Wife’s Lament. Here, not only are there the inevitable problems of uncertain date, origin, and nuance of interpretation, but, more fundamentally, the very subject matter and ‘story line’, the basic meaning, are open to debate. Now, it is doubtful whether these conundrums will ever be conclusively resolved, since there is simply not the information to do so. and it is not our intention to spill yet more ink over insoluble problems – the game is obviously not worth the candle; moreover, there are far more important and worthwhile things to consider here. Rather than lamenting that which is lost and irrecoverable – a fault to which early medievalists are especially prone – let us instead follow the example of Eric Stanley and examine what we do have, and reconsider what it tells us. Whatever the precise meaning, whatever the exact subject matter, and whatever these poems were designed to convey, in two respects they are immediately striking. The first is the centrality of female characters (and those who have tried to deny this circumstance are, quite simply, wrong); 1 the second is the power and intensity with which their emotions are portrayed. These are incontrovertible facts. They are, moreover, facts which are highly significant – and not only for appreciating the art of Old English poetry at its best, but more comprehensively for the history of early medieval literature and civilisation in general. These are bold claims; but we can, we believe, substantiate them. To do so, let us begin by looking at the two poems as they have survived, to see what they actually say and how they do so. Then, we shall examine what is certainly depicted here with consummate artistry, namely emotional characterisation. Finally, we shall evaluate the significance of this phenomenon, which is, we contend, very considerable.
