How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
Ic þis giedd wrece bi me ful geomorre,
minre sylfre sið.I make this song of myself, deeply sorrowing,
my own life's journey. (1-2)
From the opening lines, we know who will be telling the story. This may be a very sad story, and it will be difficult to tell, but the story belongs to the speaker; it is her song. Many scholars see the very telling of such a story as a profound act of agency, and we tend to agree.
Quote #2
[…] hæfde ic uhtceare
hwær min leodfruma londes wære.[…] I worried at dawn
where on earth my leader of men might be. (7-8)
You're probably tired of hearing us talk about "uhtceare" (if you're not, though, check out "Symbols: Uhtceare"). But in a feminist reading of the poem, the term carries even more significance. If we take "uhtceare" to imply a certain degree of sexual frustration, we can infer that the speaker's sorrow comes at least in part from a yearning for… well, you know. This is quite an insight—especially in a time when women were not supposed to enjoy sex.
Quote #3
[…] 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. (33-41)
We're sorry to drop such a large block of text on you, but we feel pretty strongly that this is the most powerful passage in the poem. The speaker's vivid emotions are captured eloquently in the rich images told here. We can truly feel the depth of emotion in these lines, as we can the coldness of the cave, and the distant glimmer of a summer day outside. It is because of supremely emotive, lyrical lines like these, that the poem has come to be classified by some critics as a frauenlied, or "woman's song."