Idylls of the King

By Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Lord Tennyson

• August 6, 1809 – October 6, 1892

• He was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets.

• Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, such as "Break, Break, Break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears" and "Crossing the Bar".

• Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as Ulysses, although In Memoriam A.H.H. was written to commemorate his best friend Arthur Hallam.

• Hallam (1 February 1811 – 15 September 1833) was a fellow poet and fellow student at Trinity College, Cambridge, who was engaged to Tennyson's sister, but died from a brain haemorrhage before they could marry.

• Tennyson also wrote some notable blank verse including Idylls of the King, "Ulysses," and "Tithonus." During his career, Tennyson attempted drama, but his plays enjoyed little success.

• A number of phrases from Tennyson's work have become commonplaces of the English language, including – "Nature, red in tooth and claw", – "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to

have loved at all", – "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and

die", – "My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because

my heart is pure", – "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield",

"Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers", and – "The old order changeth, yielding place to new".

• He is the ninth most frequently quoted writer in The

Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

The Idylls

• Although other Arthurian works had been done, in 1832 “The Lady of Shallot” and in 1834 he published “The Epic,” a fictional frame story of a frustrated poet and the lines concerning the death of Arthur.

• He later reworked those into his larger Arthurian • he actually started The Idylls in 1856. • "Enid and Nimue". The true and the false, • He worked on it for 55 years.• Idylls was praised during. His own lifetime. • 1885 Balin and Balance.•  Tennyson died in 1892

The Coming of Arthur

Gareth and Lynette

Geraint and Enid

Balin and Balan

Vivien Makes Her First Appearance in Balin an Balan

• Imagery is used throughout the idylls to convey examples of the bestiality inherent in the forces existing outside of the court, which Arthur is attempting to overcome.

Merlin and Vivien

• Vivian is Tennyson’s version of Morganas, the lady of the Lake.

• In Tennyson's version, told in the "Merlin and Vivien" idyll, the tradition of Merlin's blinding love of Vivien continues.

• The main difference from Malory in this tale is that Vivien is the one who seduces Merlin into loving her.

• The bestial imagery mentioned earlier is particularly evident in Vivien's character.

• She is associated with serpents, rats, and spiders as she lures Merlin into her trap. Vivien does nothing to redeem herself within Arthur's court as her character does in Malory's version.

• Vivien's character is viewed by some critics as being "associated with the

• betrayal of love... and all things French" (Eggers 144). Vivien clearly represents the opposite of Arthur, who for Tennyson is the blameless British king.

• In Tennyson's scheme of the true and the false, she represents the false at its most unredeemable.

Sites Cited

• Idylls of the King - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Idylls of the King - Cliffs Notes• The Victorian Web: Idylls of the King• Searchable E-Text of Idylls of the King• Merlin and Vivian Page