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The Wanderer Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. The poem we know as "The Wanderer" doesn't actually have a title in the manuscript in which it appears. What would you call the poem if you were the editor who had to give it a name?
  2. "The Wanderer" is voiced by three different speakers, each one introducing the next. Why write the poem in this way, rather than just making it the words of one speaker? How does this narrative strategy change our understanding of the poem?
  3. The second speaker in "The Wanderer" says that it's wisest for a person to keep sad thoughts to himself. If that's the case, then what's the point of writing this poem at all?