Ubi Sunt and Feminism in the Wife's Lament Ubi Sunt is a concept used in literature meaning "where are they now?" ubi sunt is used to call attention to missing or forgotten things or people. In The Wife's Lament the use of Ubi Sunt evokes a feeling of loss, but for the speaker rather than the one she speaks directly about, her husband. The wife's lament uses a unique form of ubi sunt and nostalgia to create sympathy for herself, therefore creating agency for herself, which is significant due to the lack of female representation in Anglo-Saxon literature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't 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 typically has positive association (Di Sciacca 366). Di Sciacca quotes the poem Il Vagabondo, this poem is a good example of how nostalgia can be intertwined, memories are recalled throughout this poem, which allows the speaker to lament the loss of his lord, but also to remember the good moments spent with his lord. For example, the poem begins with “I have sung my lament. There is no one living / to whom I would dare to clearly reveal / 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 he can or will follow. However, an example of the Wanderer's nostalgia would be: "He remembers the salt-holders and treasure-takers / how in his youth his gold-giving lord / was accustomed to the feast - that joy is completely gone" (The Wanderer 34 -36 ). This exemplifies nostalgia because for a moment he remembers the happier moments spent with his lord. This can be crucial to ubi sunt because it allows the reader to better understand where the character is now. Like The Wife's Lament, the speaker uses nostalgia and ubi sunt to draw attention to a loved one who had passed away, but it does not actually evoke any social change the way The Wife's Lament does. In a newspaper article by Arthur Robert Harden, three different examples of Anglo-Norman stories all contain ubi sunt ideals that were supposedly collected by the saints. The first comes from Saint Osith, it is about a princess who desires the lavish lifestyle that once "distinguished nameless ancestors", but the speaker reminds us that Osith (as well as all readers) "must inevitably share the fate of his ancestors,” (Harden 63). This example of ubi sunt is used as a warning not to obsess over what has been lost (a lavish society), because in the end it will not matter explains how a rich pagan man is converted by the priest Amphibals. The pagan man is told that all worldly goods are “ephemeral” (Harden 64). they criticize the “vanity” and “nostalgia of the characters. The third account of ubi sunt, is taken from San Lorenzo, the speaker criticizes society's fixation on “intellectual and physical achievement” is an example of “pure hedonism” (Harden 64). This example once again criticizes the vanity of society, but highlights the negativity that can come from boasting. These are three great examples of Ubi Sunt, because they adapt to anyone's situation and also cause changes in society. Although these poems make changes to what society should focus on, they do not use ubi sunt to focus on the speakers themselves, but on the.