Lines 27-41 Summary

Lines 27-33

Heht mec mon wunian on wuda bearwe,
under actreo in þam eorðscræfe.
Eald is þes eorðsele, eal ic eom oflongad,
sindon dena dimme, duna uphea,
bitre burgtunas, brerum beweaxne,
wic wynna leas. Ful oft mec her wraþe begeat
fromsiþ frean.

They forced me to live in a forest grove,
under an oak tree in an earthen cave.
This earth-hall is old, and I ache with longing;
the dales are dark, the hills too high,
harsh hedges overhung with briars,
a home without joy. Here my lord's leaving
often fiercely seized me.

• The "they" (27) who forces the speaker to live in this place is unclear. It's probable that this refers to her husband's kinsmen, though this seems odd, seeing as they haven't been featured in the tale for quite some time now. 
• It was not uncommon for Christian ascetics of the era, in their desire to follow a life of simple, reflective quietude, to take refuge in caves tucked away in the forest, such as the one described here. 
• Pay attention to the descriptive language in this section. Up until now, the poem has consisted mostly of expository language, plot-focused narration and explanation of events. That changes here. Notice how the imagery of her physical surroundings (old and dark) parallel the wife's depressed emotional state. 
• This translation attempts to preserve the heavy alliteration present in the original Old English. Phrases like "dena dimme" (gloomy valleys), "bitre burgtunas" (protecting hedges), "brerum beweaxne" (overgrown briars), and "fromsiþ frean" (lord's departure), become "dark dales" (30), "high hills" (30), "harsh hedges" (31), and "lord's leaving" (32). Check out "Sound Check" for more on the way this poem's sounds work.

Lines 33-41

Frynd sind on eorþan,
leofe lifgende, leger weardiað,
þonne ic on uhtan ana gonge
under actreo geond þas eorðscrafu.
þær ic sittan mot sumorlangne dæg,
þær ic wepan mæg mine wræcsiþas,
earfoþa fela; forþon ic æfre ne mæg
þære modceare minre gerestan,
ne ealles þæs longaþes þe mec on þissum life begeat.

There are friends on earth,
lovers living who lie in their bed,
while I walk alone in the light of dawn
under the oak-tree and through this earth-cave,
where I must sit the summer-long day;
there I can weep for all my exiles,
my many troubles; and so I may never
escape from the cares of my sorrowful mind,
nor all the longings that have seized my life.

• The Old English word "frynd"—translated here appropriately in the plural as "friends"—seems to imply "lovers." 
• "Leger," in Old English, has two meanings: "bed," as it appears in this translation, or "grave." The "grave" interpretation is supported by critics who believe the poem is a death song—the wife's lament to her dead husband. This translation supports the theory, rather, that the wife is lamenting first and foremost her loneliness. The husband is not dead at all, but has intentionally abandoned her. Meanwhile she thinks of lovers in their bed, perhaps projections of her sexual frustration in solitude. 
• Note the alliteration in line 34: "lovers living who lie." Check out "Sound Check" for more.
• Although it appears in a different tense this time (than it does in lines 6-8), we revisit this word "uhtan," which refers to this lonely period just before dawn. Unfortunately for our speaker, the dawn is nowhere in sight.