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Tennyson and Arthurian Legend
Idylls of the King:
“The Passing of Arthur”
Arthurian Legend
• Body of myths about legendary King Arthur—supposedly ruled England in 5th century AD
• Camelot, capitol of Arthur’s nation—symbolized ideal of national harmony
• Knights of the Round Table, Arthur’s order of knighthood—knights were dedicated to fighting for moral purposes
Arthurian Legend
• Lancelot, Arthur’s greatest knight and best friend—had love affair with Arthur’s wife Guinivere
• Loss of Round Table’s moral values—led to civil war and destruction of Camelot
Victorian Revival of Arthurian Legend
What did the legend of Arthur mean to Victorians?
Background: Joseph Noel Paton. I Wonder Who lived in There?
• Heroic inspiration for progress
• Nostalgic connection to past greatness
• Warning about loss of traditional values
• Sense of order and national identity in a time of threatening change
Idylls of the King
• Idyll—narrative poem treating a romantic theme
• Tennyson wrote 12 separate Idylls based on Arthurian legend
• Published as a collection in 1888• Intended as a modern epic• Expresses need for moral order to
survive in the face of change
“The Passing of Arthur”The Final Idyll
p. 1293
• Recounts final battle of civil war that destroyed Arthur’s kingdom
• Narrated by Sir Bedivere, Arthur’s First and Last Knight
• Modred, Arthur’s corrupt nephew, revealed Lancelot and Guinevere’s affair, usurped Arthur’s throne, and instigated civil war
Introduction
• Arthur laments that his kingdom has returned to chaos but continues to fight evil despite defeat (Christ figure)
• Sir Gawaine’s ghost warns Arthur of his passing (loss of spiritual values)
• Arthur kills Modred but receives a mortal wound
The Battle
• Sir Bedivere tries 3 times to return Excalibur to Lady of the Lake
• Arthur passes away to Avilion, promising to return again
• Claims that the loss of his order will lead to a new and better order
Arthur’s Passing
The Once and Future King
Tennyson’s Message
• In times of change and loss, keep the faith in moral order
• While cultures and traditions change, a greater, divine order remains
• Remaining true to the greater order can cause growth and progress to come from destructive change
Monty Python and the Holy Grail1974
• Reflects a 20th-century, postmodern attitude to notion of an orderly universe
• Satirizes forms of order—political, religious, military, etc.
• Influence of Theater of the Absurd– Life is absurd, without fixed meaning/absolute
truth– Responds to life’s absurdity with bizarre satiric
humor