Idylls of the King

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Alfred, Lord Tennyson's verse narrative Idylls of the King is inspired by Arthurian legends, especially Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur; however, it also draws extensively on the Mabinogion and French traditions. The complete Idylls consists of 12 poems, plus a dedication to the deceased Prince Albert and an epilogue addressed to Queen Victoria. Tennyson, a longtime enthusiast of the Arthurian tales, worked on the collection for decades: the first four poems appeared in 1859, and the last one in 1885. (In book form, the poems are not in order of writing or publication.)

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These poems provide examples of:

• Anyone Can Die
• The Atoner: Guinevere and, if you're paying very close attention, Lancelot.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Thoroughly deconstructed by the end, as physical appearance turns out to be an utterly unreliable way of judging character.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Round Table is destroyed, Arthur is dead and gone and civilization is in ruins. Still, the good Sir Bedivere remains, and the new year is at hand.
• Blood on These Hands: Invoked twice during "The Last Tournament".
• Child by Rape: Arthur.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Tennyson eliminates Morgaine/Morgause.
• Cool Sword: Excalibur.
• Cradling Your Kill: "Balin and Balan".
• Dead Woman Writing: Elaine leaves a posthumous message for the court in "Lancelot and Elaine".
• Death by Despair: Elaine of Astolat.
• Death Seeker: The heartbroken Arthur after he realizes the extent of Guinevere's and Lancelot's treachery.
• Driven to Madness: Sir Pelleas, complete with Madness Mantra ("I have no sword").
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Sir Gawain, who dies offstage between "Guinevere" and "The Passing of Arthur."
• Fisher King: As Arthur's power fades and the Round Table slowly disintegrates, the seasons change for the worse.
• God Save Us From the Queen: Guinevere's passion for Lancelot destroys the Round Table by undermining everyone else's virtue.
• Grail Quest: Obviously. As a result, It Gets Worse.
• Hair of Gold: Arthur and Guinevere.
• Heroic Vow
• Idiot Ball: Carried most noticeably by Merlin, who allows himself to be tricked by Vivien, and Tristram, who hangs around with Isolt even after she warns him that Mark could return at any moment.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Galahad.
• Kill'Em All: The battle at the Red Knight's court on a small scale, followed by Arthur's final battle on a large one.
• Knight in Shining Armour: Most prominently Arthur, Gareth, and Galahad.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Lancelot, especially in "Lancelot and Elaine", "The Holy Grail" and "The Last Tournament."
• Lawful Stupid: As usual, Arthur, who keeps failing to notice the real state of affairs between Lancelot and Guinevere.
• A Man Is Not a Virgin: Subverted, sort of. Arthur strongly advocates male chastity and tells Guinevere that he was a virgin before he married her. Similarly, Sir Galahad's purity is linked to his virginity. A number of knights fail to pass this test, though.
• Merlin and Nimue: Here, Merlin and Vivien.
• Mistaken for Cheating: Enid by Geraint.
  • More ironically, Guinevere accuses Lancelot of cheating with Elaine of Astolat.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Tristram neglects to keep track of time during "The Last Tournament"...

"Mark's way," said Mark, and clove him thro' the brain.

• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Tennyson's Arthur is a romanticized version of Prince Albert.
• Not So Different: The Red Knight's point about the relationship between his court and King Arthur's. Given what follows, he appears to be correct.
• One Steve Limit: Unlike the original legends, Tennyson does not deluge us with multiple characters with the same name.
• Playing Cyrano: Sir Gawain promises to do this for Sir Pelleas in "Pelleas and Ettarre." The execution, however, leaves something to be desired.
• Public Domain Character: The entire cast of characters.
• Smug Snake: Modred, Vivien.
• Sole Survivor: Sir Bedivere.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Because Tennyson skips large chunks of the legend, some characters simply disappear without a trace (Vivien), or have blink-and-you'll miss-it resolutions to their plot (Lancelot).
• Your Cheating Heart: Lancelot and Guinevere; Tristram and Isolt.