The Wife’s Lament

E120756

"The Wife’s Lament" is an Old English elegiac poem, voiced by a sorrowful woman lamenting separation and exile, and is one of the most studied lyric texts in Anglo-Saxon literature.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Anglo-Saxon literature work ⓘ
Old English poem ⓘ
elegy ⓘ
lyric poem ⓘ
anonymous true ⓘ
approximateDateOfComposition 10th century ⓘ
approximateDateOfManuscript late 10th century ⓘ
centralTheme emotional suffering ⓘ
exile ⓘ
lament ⓘ
loneliness ⓘ
loss ⓘ
marital breakdown ⓘ
separation ⓘ
sorrow ⓘ
collection Exeter Book elegies ⓘ
linked to: Exeter Book
countryOfOrigin Anglo-Saxon England ⓘ
genre elegy ⓘ
lyric poetry ⓘ
language Old English ⓘ
lineCountApproximate 53 lines ⓘ
literaryDevice alliteration ⓘ
kennings ⓘ
variation ⓘ
literaryPeriod Old English period ⓘ
literaryTradition Anglo-Saxon literature ⓘ
manuscript Exeter Book ⓘ
manuscriptLocation Exeter Cathedral Library ⓘ
meter alliterative verse ⓘ
narrativeVoice first-person female speaker ⓘ
originalScript Insular minuscule ⓘ
originalTitle none (modern conventional title) ⓘ
preservationStatus survives in a single manuscript ⓘ
relatedWork The Seafarer ⓘ
The Wanderer ⓘ
Wulf and Eadwacer ⓘ
scholarlyDebate genre classification ⓘ
interpretation of the speaker’s situation ⓘ
relationship between speaker and her lord ⓘ
setting earth-cave or burial mound ⓘ
place of exile ⓘ
speakerGender female ⓘ
studiedAs one of the most discussed Old English lyrics ⓘ
subjectMatter a woman lamenting separation from her husband ⓘ
forced separation and exile ⓘ
subjectOf feminist literary criticism ⓘ
philological analysis ⓘ
translation into modern English ⓘ
voiceCharacterization sorrowful woman ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Seafarer → relatedWork → The Wife’s Lament ⓘ
The Wanderer → relatedWork → The Wife’s Lament ⓘ
Anglo-Saxon literature → notableWork → The Wife's Lament ⓘ
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
Exeter Book → content → The Wife’s Lament ⓘ
The Drowsy Chaperone → hasNotableSong → Bride's Lament ⓘ
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
Codex Exoniensis → contains → The Wife's Lament ⓘ
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
The Gifts of Men → sharesManuscriptWith → The Wife's Lament ⓘ
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
MS 3501 → contains → The Wife’s Lament ⓘ
The Husband's Message → relatedWork → The Wife's Lament ⓘ
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
The Husband's Message → scholarlyDebate → The relationship between this poem and The Wife's Lament is debated. ⓘ
linked to: The Wife’s Lament
Wulf and Eadwacer → relatedWork → The Wife’s Lament ⓘ