The following poem is an Anglo-Saxon riddle poem, translated from Old English into modern English. It is one of many Riddle poems in the Red Book of Exeter
The Exeter Book resides in a locked vault in the library of Exeter Cathedral, safe there after the vicissitudes of a thousand years, although not unscathed. At one time, the front cover had been used as a cutting board and beer mat; leaves are missing and fourteen pages at the back have been burnt. Written in a single hand, it is one of four manuscripts, dating from the second half of the tenth century, that preserve virtually all the poetry in Old English that has survived, including such important elegiac poems as The Seafarer, Deor, The Wanderer, The Wife's Lament, and Width.
The Reed (Probably a love message in the form of a riddle.)
I grew where life had come to me, along
The sandy shore, where the sea foamed in
Below a cliff. Men came
To my empty land only by accident.
But every dawn a brown wave swept
Around me with water arms. How
Could I ever imagine a time where, mouthless
I'd sing across the benches where mead
Was poured, and carry secret speech?
What a strange and wonderful thing to someone
Who puzzles, but neither sees nor knows,
That the point of a knife and a strong right hand
Should press and carve me, a keen blade
And the mind of a man joined together
To make me a message-bearer to your ears
Alone, boldly bringing you what no one
Else could carry and no one hears!
Who is speaking? The Anglo-Saxons loved riddles for the handy way they have of linking an inanimate object (once it is figured out) to a more abstract notion, like love or artistic expression, faith or courage. This perhaps has something to do with the hold overs from their pagan "animism" or their belief that there is no boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds. Can you tell the person/thing who is speaking this poem? Think about what "point of knife" and "press and carve me" might mean - literally and metaphorically. What language evokes pain and melancholy in the poem? What language creates a brighter mood?
You many comment on the poem in any way you like.
The inanimate object that is speaking in this riddle is either a palm tree, ship wreck, or drift wood. Metaphorically speaking, I think it's saying one can mold or "carve" another. They can manitpulate a person or thing. It doesn't necessarily mean it will be bad. Take for instance an athlete. They were not always born with an athletic talent. Some were molded into athletes. In this poem the tree at first, starts out on a deserted island, then carved into a bench, and finally made into paper. It could also mean one can become anything and life can change in an instant.
ReplyDeletethe object is the reed of a woodwind or a carved flute. The "point of a knife" and strong right hand refer to the carving necessary to make music.Metaphorically this could mean the effect music has on people. "who puzzles, but neither sees nor knows" is melancholy along with "empty land" and "alone". The brighter mood comes from singing and a strange and wonderful thing
ReplyDeleteIt's the personification of a reed plant. "...Sandy shores were seas foamed...." reeds grow in marshy coastal areas. "...I'd sing across benches where mead was poured...." Reeds were often used as roofing materials. ... boldly bringing what no one else could carry and no one hears." Reeds were also pressed into paper.
ReplyDelete"I grew where life had come to me, along the sandy shore, where the sea foamed..." I think its a tree that is talking. "The point of the knife and a strong right hand" I think it might literally mean some people that were new to the land were carving their name in the tree. That or they cut the tree down and carved it to make a musical instrument. I've come to this conclusion because of the line "To make me a message-bearer to your ears"
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it is a poem about music. The point of knife is talking about the carving of an instrument. Metaphorically, press and carve is speaking of a human playing this instrument and carving the notes into something he prefers. The waves describe the music for they make a beautiful noise themselves. Music can both bring pain and happiness. I would see this instrument as being a flute.
ReplyDeleteI think that this poem is definitely personifying the usefulness of a reed. The poem is talking about music in a metephorical way, the reed playing music without a mouth is an example. The poem is talking about the reed before it has become a reed, being carved from a tree, etc. This link betweek the reed and the music made puts emphasis on the instrument itself rather than the muscisian.
ReplyDeleteI think the person speaking in the poem is a women. What she means by a knife striking her is that a person that she is in love with has struck her heart in a positive way. Also I believe what she means by being molded is that she has adapted herself to be the person that that the individual she is in love with, would want her to be.
ReplyDeleteAt first i thought it was a tree in the begining, because trees can be made into a musical instrument and into paper. Also buildings and cups and other types of objects. But then i saw the title and realized Reed does the same thing and also grows by the shore. Also "But every dawn a brown wave swept Around me with water arms" It shows that its in bunches in the water being swayed back and forth.
ReplyDeleteIt seems very poetic and musical. The reed is personified and is used as a material for building things or used on paper. The sandy shore is referring to the island and the sand and waves of the ocean. The point of knife is referring to carving a message into something.I feel as though the object that this poem is referring to is a tree or something that already exists on the island.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the inanimate object was a tree or musical instrument. The poem shows that it could be either. For example, the poem states, "I grew where life had come to me, along
ReplyDeleteThe sandy shore, where the sea foamed in Below a cliff." This is saying, to me, that there was a tree that grew along the water and the water washed upon it daily. I thought it was an instrument because it said, "To make me a message-bearer to your ears." Music does send a message you cannot see but only hear. It was as if the men had carved the tree or some kind of wood to make the instrument. The carving brings pain and the music or water can bring a kind of mellow yet kind of happiness to a person.
I think that it is a tree speaking about how it was once alone and peaceful until men came across it accidentally. I also believe that the reason carving was mention was because the men who came across this tree chopped it down and carved it into something. What makes me believe that this was a tree speaking was in the first line of the poem "I grew where life had come to me."
ReplyDeleteJeffrey Z.
ReplyDeleteThe poem shows an abstract notion, the man referred to in this writing is describing things around him as well as his own thoughts even though it is not directly in front of him at that time. The terms "press and carve me" might mean that he wants to be taken in control by someone else and have them mold him into anyway they please. Or it could mean he is literally a statue figure of some sort. Those words show a darker side to the story and change the tone of perception.
samantha s.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the riddle several times, one may believe that the story is told from the perspective of a statue. When it speaks of the “point of a knife” and “press and carve me” one may assume that the statue speaks of the process used for making stone into a statue or work of art. The author mentions having been alone before man discovered his “empty land only by accident”- this particular sentence evokes a sense of melancholy and loneliness. However, the mood of the poem changes when the author begins to describe the wonder of going from being completely alone to being molded into a “message-bearer”. When the author says, “Alone, boldly bringing you what no one else could carry and no one hears,” one can almost hear a sense of pride and accomplishment the statue feels toward the person who formed him.
Alexis S. -I'M SURE I'M PROBABLY WRONG ABOUT THIS, BUT THE POEM KIND OF SOUNDS LIKE IT'S A STATUE THAT'S BEING DESCRIBED. WHEN IT SAYS THAT THE POINT OF KNIFE TO CARVE ME, THAT SOUNDS LIKE THERE TALKING ABOUT CARVING SOME TYPE OF WOOD OR MAYE SOME OTHER KIND OF MATERIAL. I THINK THAT IT BASICALLY TELLING A STORY OF A SCULPTURE BEING MADE AND HOW IT CAME IN CONTACT WITH DIFFERENT MAKERS.
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Barbara T.
ReplyDeleteMaybe talking about a love that hurt him very deeply. "Point of knife" could literlly mean to cut his actual skin or metaphorically. At the begining of the stanza its seems to be talking about a more open pain bt by the end of it becomes more personal pain.
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I think that the poem is being told by a reed. This is because it says that it grew up on the shores, and this is where reeds grow. Also I think that when it says that it will be pressed and carved with a knife, I think that this is for the process of making the reed into paper and that the knife is actually a writing instrument. The reed ends up becoming a sheet of music of some sort because it said that it would bring a message to your ears, but couldnt be heard.
ReplyDelete(Clint McGalliard)I think it sounds like a women speaking, a small town women who grew up near the beach shore and may be confused and lonely. What she means by a knife striking her is that a person that she has recently seen has struck her heart in a positive way. Maybe one of these men who came to shore has molded her way of thinking in a new and exciting way.
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