Describe the tone of The Wanderer.

The tone of the poem "The Wanderer" is typical of the
elegiac poems from the Anglo-Saxon literary period. The elegiac poem was written as a
remembrance where a happy past strongly contradicts unhappy present. The poems of this
type typically speak to the position one is in (one of desolation and solitude) and
their remembrance of a happier time.

The poem "The
Wanderer" is no different. The speaker's tone is one in which the reader can feel the
sadness of the speaker's voice. This being said, the tone of the poem changes throughout
the movement (the speaker's recollections).

In the
beginning, the speaker's tone is that of lament (a passion-filled expression of grief).
The speaker tells the reader that he is alone, with no one to converse with. The speaker
no longer has any ties to his homeland or his past friends. His life has moved in such a
way that he has been left solitude.

The speaker admits that
to come to a specific realization that true sorrow must be felt, and felt for a long
time. Only after sorrow if felt can one move on with the remainder of their
life.

Here is where the tone of the poem
changes.

When
he with wise mind this wall-stone
and this dark life deeply thinks
through,
the wise one in mind oft remembers afar
many a carnage, and
this word he speaks:

The
wanderer realizes that he must find faith in something greater than his own worries. The
wanderer then comes to a new realization:

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Good, he who keeps faith, nor too quickly his
grief
from his breast makes known, except he, noble, knows how
beforehand
to do cure with courage. Well will it be
to him who seeks
favor, refuge and comfort,
from the Father in heaven, where all fastness
stands.

It is only through
the "Father in heaven" that one can find comfort. With this knowledge, the tone of the
poem changes. The poem has moved from a tone of sorrow to that of hope in ones
faith.