is symbolic of man’s state of “exile” due to Original Sin (Ehrissman, 213). O. S. Anderson later agreed with Ehrissmann`s theory on the allegorical nature of lines 1 through 64a, but that the rest of the poem had been a later addition (Anderson, 17).In 1950 Dorothy Whitelock greatly affected the literary criticism movement of The Seafarer. Whitelock volunteered the “Peregrinus Theory.” This theory utilizes the fact that “wandering ascetics” were common in Anglo-Saxon England at the time of the poem. Using this reasoning, she explains that The Seafarer is actually a unified monologue of one man (Whitelock, 261). She believes that the man in the poem has voluntarily abandoned society for the love of God, and is preaching the love of God over the love of society. I. L. Gordon later denounced Whitelocks theory on the basis that the tone of the poem is “cold and desperate” compared with the “warmth” of other works that deal with the asceticism of the time (Gordon, 1).We believe that the speaker is meant to represent one speaker partially because of its subtle movement from part A to part B. There is a gradual transformation on the part of the speaker from a godless, embittered young seafarer, to a more experienced seafarer with a strong faith in God. The major difficulty in proving that there is only one speaker occurs between the descriptive first 64 lines, and the homiletic conclusion (Campbell, 235). A. P. Campbell attributed this to the theory of Anglo-Saxon “wanderlust.” He claims that the first 33 lines describe the seafarer's suffering at the sea, as contrasted with the comfortable life of the townsman. There is a sense of mystery about his choice to roam the seas. He says the word “cunnian” (The Seafarer, 35b) contains a sense of "exploring" or "trying out," which does not coincide with a penitential journey, but reflects the sp...
