Ubi Sunt and feminism in The Wife's LamentationsUbi Sunt is a concept used in literature meaning "where are they now? ubi sunt is used to call attention to things or people that have disappeared or been forgotten. In The Wife's Lament, the use of Ubi Sunt evokes a sense of loss, but for the speaker rather than the one he is directly speaking about, her husband. The Wife's Lament uses a unique form of ubi sunt and nostalgia in order to create sympathy for herself, thereby creating agency for herself, which is important due to the lack of female representation in Anglo literature. Saxon. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay According to an article by Claudia Di Sciacca, nostalgia can often be involved in ubi sunt, nostalgia is the emotional longing for the past that has generally positive association (Di Sciacca 366). Di Sciacca discusses the poem The Wanderer, this poem is a good example of how nostalgia can intertwine, memories are recalled throughout this poem allowing the speaker to lament the loss of their lord , but also to remember the affectionate moments he spent with him. his lord. For example, the poem begins, “I sang my lament. There is no one alive / to whom I would dare to reveal clearly / the thoughts of my heart” (The Wanderer 9-11). This is an example of the wanderer formally expressing his lament and explaining that he has no one else on Earth that he can or wants to follow. However, an example of the wanderer's nostalgia would be: "He remembers hall holders and treasure taking / how in his youth his gold-giver lord / used to partying – that joy has completely faded" (The Wanderer 34-36). This illustrates nostalgia because for a moment, he remembers the happiest times he spent with his lord. This can be crucial to ubi sunt because it allows the reader to better understand where the character currently is. Like The Wife's Lament, the speaker uses nostalgia and ubi sunt to call attention to a loved one who has been lost, but does not really evoke social change like The Wife's Lament does. In a journal article by Arthur Robert Harden, three different examples of Anglo-Norman stories which all contain ubi sunt ideals said to have been collected by saints. The first is from Saint Osith, a princess who aspires to the lavish lifestyle that once "distinguished anonymous ancestors", but the speaker reminds us that Osith (and any of the readers) " must inevitably share the fate of his abstentions” (Harden 63). This example of ubi sunt is used as a warning not to obsess over what has been lost (a lavish society), because ultimately it won't matter. The second example comes from Saint-Alban and explains how a rich pagan is converted by the priest Amphibal. The pagan man is told that all the possessions of the world are “fleeting” (Harden 64). This story also focuses on the insignificance of worldly possessions. In these two poems, the speakers criticize the “vanity” and “nostalgia of the characters”. The third story of ubi sunt, comes from Saint-Laurent, the speaker criticizes society's fixation on "intellectual and physical achievements" and is an example of "pure hedonism" (Harden 64). This example once again criticizes society's vanity, but highlights the negativity that can come from boasting. These are three excellent examples of Ubi Sunt, because they adapt to each person's situation and.