others—though long used, is somewhat of a misno-
mer. These poets wrote in a different time and place
than GEOFFREY CHAUCER, and while they generally fol-
lowed him in meter and subject, they were not slavish
imitators. Like Chaucer, however, they played an
important part in establishing the VERNACULAR tradition
in literary pursuits. Further, they wrote for a varied
audience in the high, middle, and low styles. There are
also direct connections in subject matter. For instance,
Henryson wrote a version of the Troilus and Cressida
story called The TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID. William Dun-
bar’s “Tua Mariit Wemen and the Wedo” can be com-
pared to “The WIFE OF BATH’S TALE” because both
works feature women talking candidly about sex, and
in the spirit of Chaucer’s The LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN,
Gavin Douglas wrote about Dido and Aeneas. These
poets also specifi cally praise Chaucer for his rhetoric
and style: Dunbar, for example, lists him in “LAMENT
FOR THE MAKARIS.”
Recent critics prefer the term makar to Scottish
Chaucerian. Makar is a direct translation of the Greek
word for poet into Middle Scots, and Henryson, Dun-
bar, and Douglas all used it to describe themselves.
These poets are also part of a larger movement of MID-
DLE SCOTS poetry.
FURTHER READING
Fox, Denton. “The Scottish Chaucerians.” In Chaucer and
Chaucerians, edited by D. S. Brewer, 164–200. London:
Nelson, 1966.
Ridley, Florence. “A Plea for the Middle Scots.” In The
Learned and the Lewed, edited by Larry D. Benson, 175–
- Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974.
Mark DiCicco
“SEAFARER, THE” ANONYMOUS (before 1072)
“The Seafarer” is an Old English ELEGY that is found in
the EXETER BOOK. Like other poems in this tradition,
“The Seafarer” features an anhaga (solitary) fi gure, and
employs ALLITERATION as the rhyme scheme.
The speaker introduces his tale by describing the
hardships a seafarer has to deal with when he is out
alone at sea: hunger, loneliness, coldness, frost, and
stormy waters. He contrasts himself with the man who
lives happily on land and has no idea of the suffering the
seafarer has to undergo. Accordingly, the fi rst part of the
fi rst half of the poem (ll. 1–33a) is very negative about
seafaring. In the second part of the fi rst half (ll. 33b–58),
the seafarer, despite his sufferings, contemplates under-
taking another, very different sea journey. This time, he
has a clear goal: to look for the “home of the exiles”
(l. 38). His heart longs for the tumbling of the waves,
and the signs of spring are urging him to undertake his
journey. The comfortable life on land is dead to the sea-
farer, who prefers the joys of the Lord [“Dryhtnes
dreamas” (l. 65)], which he can fi nd in seafaring.
Lines 58–66a form a transition to the second half of
the poem (ll. 66b–124). In these lines, it seems that the
seafarer’s heart or spirit, his “hyge” (l. 58), fl ies away
over the earth across the sea and comes back, encour-
aging the speaker to embark on his journey. However,
seafaring is no longer mentioned; instead, the poet
writes about the transience of earthly life and the per-
manence of heavenly life. Further, only humility will
help humans; arrogant and boastful people will meet
death unexpectedly. Material gain is useless. The poem
closes with the poet praising God.
Most critics agree that “The Seafarer” is an elegy. As
such, there is a sense of UBI SUNT—the speaker expresses
nostalgia for his happier days. The poem includes a
personal element, denoted by the fi rst-person singular
pronoun. Finally, the theme of exile is a standard ele-
giac element.
Many critics, however, argue that the poem also
shows characteristics of other genres. For instance, the
second half of the poem reads like a verse homily in
which the speaker preaches about the fl eeting quality
of worldly riches. The speaker’s description of his suf-
ferings as a seafarer in the fi rst half of the poem shows
similarities to the lament or COMPLAINT. The latter half
of the poem contains several gnomic statements—wise
but subtly obscure sayings about life. This part has a
lot in common with other Old English wisdom poetry
(see GNOMIC VERSE). Because of the very different nature
between the two halves of the poem, it has been sug-
gested that the sea journey in the fi rst half should be
read as an ALLEGORY for something more spiritual.
“The Seafarer” has often been connected to “THE
WANDERER,” both in style and content. “The Wanderer,”
too, is an elegy that displays elements of other genres“SEAFARER, THE” 353