Tennyson's Camelot : the Idylls of the King and its medieval sources / David Staines.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Staines, David, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892. Idylls of the king--Sources.

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson.

English literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (237 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada : Wilfrid Laurier University Press, c1982.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

As the principal narrative poem of nineteenth-century England, Tennyson's Idylls of the King is an ambitious and widely influential reworking of the Arthurian legends of the Middle Ages, which have provided a great body of myth and symbol to writers, painters, and composers for the past hundred years. Tennyson's treatment of these legends is now valued as a deeply significant oblique commentary on cultural decadence and the precarious balance of civilization. Drawing upon published and unpublished materials, Tennyson's Camelot studies the Idylls of the King from the perspective of all its medieval sources. In noting the Arthurian literature Tennyson knew and paying special attention to the works that became central to his Arthurian creation, the volume reveals the poet's immense knowledge of the medieval legends and his varied approaches to his sources. The author follows the chronology of composition of the Idylls, allowing the reader to see Tennyson's evolving conception of his poem and his changing attitudes to the medieval accounts. The Idylls of the King stands, ultimately, as the poet's own Camelot, his legacy to his generation, an indictment of his society through a vindication of his idealism.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Foreword

Preface

On the Road to Camelot

1859: The Four Women Enid, Vivien, Elaine, Guinevere

1869: The Holy Grail The Coming of Arthur, The Holy Grail, Pelleas and Ettarre, The Passing of Arthur

1873: Autumn and Spring The Last Tournament, Gareth and Lynette

Towards a Completion Balin and Balan

Alfred Tennyson and Victorian Arthuriana

Morte d' Arthur

Collinson's Somersetshire

The Seduction of Merlin

The Prose Drafts of the Idylls of the King

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes indexes.

Includes bibliography and indexes.

ISBN:

9786613811387

9781554587940

1554587948

9781554585922

1554585929

9781282233645

1282233645

9780889205987

0889205981

OCLC:

244765683