Reading Response for The Wanderer

 
Before completing this assignment, you should

Read the historical context for “The Wanderer”
Read “The Wanderer”
Read the analysis of “The Wanderer”

Instructions
To complete this reading response, please respond to one of the topics below. Your answers should include evidence from the text to support your claims (either in the form of paraphrase or quotation) and analysis to back up the claims you are making. You should demonstrate that you have read and considered the literature. Your response should be between 300 and 400 words. Directly under the words “Assignment Submission,” you have the option to type your response into a textbox by selecting “Write Submission” (if you use the textbox, please do not forget to use the spell check function) or to attach Microsoft Word documents (Microsoft Word is available to students for free. For information, see the “Getting Started” page). You may type additional notes to me in the comment box, but I will not grade submissions submitted through the comment box (located toward the bottom of the page, under the words “Add Comments”). Be sure to hit submit. 
Topic Options (choose one):
1. Fate

“The Wanderer” describes a man whose fate (wyrd) has forced him to travel over the seas alone in search of a new lord, for his old lord and his kinsmen have perished. What is the Wanderer’s idea of fate? How does fate contribute to the Wanderer’s worldview?

2. Wisdom

Around line 60, the poem begins to discuss wisdom. What, to the Wanderer, is wisdom? Do you agree with this idea of wisdom?

3. Warrior

The Wanderer is a warrior. How does his status as a warrior affect his desires in life or his mood throughout the poem? What does it mean to be an Anglo-Saxon warrior (based on your reading of the poem)?