What Is Your Fate?

"None of them expected he would ever see

his homeland..."

Within the purview of "The Seafarer", "The Wife’s Lament", and Beowulf, the uttermost common and prevalent motif would be fate. In the poem "The Seafarer", the sailor alludes to fate in the opening lines of the text. He says “This tale is true, and mine. It tells how the sea took me, swept me back And forth in sorrow and fear and pain.” In this quote, the sailor is acknowledging that he attempted to detach himself from life on the sea and dwell on land. However, he is simultaneous concedes the fact that he felt driven to revert to his previous way of life on the sea.

In the poem "The Wife’s Lament", the wife is forced to submit to and endure a malevolent fate. Her husband’s relatives were not strong proponents of the relationship that existed between them. Due to the malicious and spiteful personalities of her husband’s kinsmen or close relatives, the wife was exiled from her place of residence and made to dwell in solitude apart from her husband.

            The poem Beowulf is an epic that tells the story of a hero who is destined to protect and defend his race. Beowulf was well-aware of the fact that he would have his last battle in his attempt to face the formidable dragon and eradicate him.  Accepting his fate, he engaged in fierce combat with the potent dragon and died instantaneously prior to emerging victorious in battle.

"It tells How the sea took me, swept me back And forth in sorrow and fear and pain"

"A friendless exile in my sorry plight,"