The Lonely Wanderer

The Lonely Wanderer

The poem "The Wanderer," is written in many different methods which allow readers to perceptibly understand its many aspects. The poet's vivid description creates imagery to better stimulate the agony of a wretched wanderer. It is written with many uses of assonance along with alliteration. It also has two different points of view, one is the wanderer and the other is the narrator. Beyond that, the poet expresses the complex issues within the poem through a simplified form. With the use of such literary devices the poem precisely conveys its intentions.

The wanderer is a desperate soul who wanders through life without a reason while being continuously taunted by the memories of his once ideal existence. It saddens him to know that his community people will never come back. In line 6-7 it reads, "He sees his kinsmen slaughtered again, and cries." The thought of his people dying will forever be engraved in his mind. It also gives the reader the sense of their own miseries and fear of death.

Two important literary tools used to convey the message of the poem are alliteration and assonance. In line 103-104 the poet says, "… the north angrily hurls its hailstorms at our helpless heads. Everything earthly is evilly born…" These lines use alliteration with words starting with the letter “h” in the sentence to create a sense of hopelessness. Assonance is used in the end to show that everything seems to be immoral to him.

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