Final answer:
Both The Wanderer and The Wife's Lament are elegiac, embodying the thematic essence of lamentation for the dead or a sense of profound loss, in line with the elegiac tradition of expressing sorrow and mourning, hence the statement is True.
Step-by-step explanation:
Both The Wanderer and The Wife's Lament are considered elegiac in nature, which means they are elegies, a form of poetry usually expressing lamentation for the dead. The elegy characteristically captures elements of sadness and loss, exploring the private feelings of the speaker as well as the cultural customs surrounding death. The query about whether these two works are elegiac can be answered as True. In these poems, we see not only the mourning of a physical death but also the death or loss of relationships, identities, and the past.
The Wanderer is a contemplative piece that mourns the loss of a past community and way of life, exemplified by the speaker's isolation and nostalgia. The Wife's Lament also details a personal sense of loss, the speaker's expression of deep sorrow due to separation from a loved one. While neither poem commemorates a literal death, they both utilize the elegiac tradition to convey deep emotional grieving and contemplation about life's transient nature.
The presence of elegiac conventions can be seen in the exploration of themes such as exile, longing, and despair, which are common in this poetic genre. Both works reflect upon the emotional state of the protagonists who express a sense of loss that extends beyond physical death to encompass the loss of companionship, personal identity, and home.