Question

How does your knowledge of historical context help you to understand the following passage from “The Wanderer”?

He who has tried it knows how cruel is,


sorrow as a companion,


to the one who has few beloved friends,


the path of exile holds him, not at all twisted gold,

Answer 1

This was Anglo-Saxon time, which means that there were a lot of wars, killings, deaths. So it was not uncommon for people to be left all by themselves, alone in this world, without a single soul to talk to.