The Anglo-Saxon poem "The Seafarer" translated by Burton Raffel narrates a man's physical journey to the sea and also his spiritual journey. The poem is told in two distinctly different voices. These two voices speak in different tones and they also speak of very different things. In contrast the first voice is full of sadness and hopelessness while the second voice is hopeful with faith in God. .
The first speaker's voice is one of hopelessness throughout the entire poem. The voice is sad and fearful. The imagery used by the voice shows this especially when talking of the sea and its power. The voice uses the same desperate and anxious tone in talking of the overpowering nature of God implying a relativity between the sea and God. The fearful imagery is particularly evident when the narrator says, "My feet were cast / In icy bands, bound with frost, / With frozen chains, and hardship groaned / Around my heart" (8-11) when speaking of being in the sea. This fear stems from a tone of weakness. The speaker feels weaker than the sea, God, and the Fates. The narrator does not feel grateful of God to take care of man in his frailty. Instead, the speaker finds that he is worthless in any strength he as a man could have in physical strength, glory, or even gold. The first voice feels as if he is drowning and for all his efforts and knowledge he is lost in the overpowering effect of God. "But nothing / Golden shakes the wrath of God" (99-100) illustrates the feeling that man is lost and unable to change anything in man's earthly way. The somber tone of the speaker shows his reliance on and hatred of Fate. He finds that the power of man is gone and death is inevitable. The tone of the first speaker contrasts sharply with that of the second speaker. .
The second speaker speaks of and agrees with many of the concepts that the first speaker illustrates. However, the second voice seems to have a separate outlook on God, Fate, and life.
