Idylls of the King - Softcover

Tennyson, Lord Alfred

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1774262290 ISBN 13: 9781774262290

Publisher: East India Publishing Company, 2021

Synopsis

Idylls of the King is a collection of twelve narrative poems by Lord Alfred Tennyson, originally published in 1859 and 1860. The poems are set within an Arthurian context and explore the legend from the perspective of Merlin. Tennyson sets out to tell these tales as chronicle-like narratives from multiple perspectives.

The first three Idylls ("Gareth and Lynette", "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid") focus on the love triangle between Arthur, his wife Guinevere and his friend Lancelot. The fourth Idyll ("Balin and Balan") is a comic tale about two brothers who become the object of intense rivalry over a beautiful shield; it draws thematically on ancient Celtic stories of conflict between siblings.

The last three Idylls ("Merlin and Vivien", "Lancelot and Elaine" and "The Holy Grail") present the final fate of Arthur's knights: Lancelot kills his adulterous wife Elaine's lover, Merlin becomes petrified as he tries to leave his prison in a cave, and Galahad achieves the Holy Grail.

The poems were written when Tennyson was a classical professor at Cambridge University, and have been described as belonging "to [Tennyson's] most inspired poetic period". Using a narrative frame similar to his poem "Ulysses", which had been published in 1842, Tennyson recasts the familiar stories in different manners and emphasizes their pagan aspects. In particular, he reinvents Arthur's final days and Guinevere's adultery with Lancelot from the perspective of characters who did not appear in earlier versions of the legend.

Edition details

• Publisher: East India Publishing Company
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1774262290
• ISBN 13: 9781774262290
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 291