MORTE D’ARTHUR

SUMMARY

‘Morte d’Arthur’ focuses primarily on the interaction between the dying Arthur and his last remaining Knight, Bedivere. Arthur tells Bedivere to throw the sword Excalibur into the lake and then return and report what happens. The first time Bedivere is dazzled by the beauty of the sword and hides it; the second time he persuades himself that the sword must be retained to prove the story of Arthur. Finally, shamed by Arthur, Bedivere throws the sword into the lake. An arm appears and takes the sword. Bedivere then carries the dying Arthur to the side of the lake where he is received by three queens on a barge. That night the narrator dreams of sailing with Arthur and of the welcome Arthur is given as he represents the return of ‘all good things’ at the end of the war.

POET’S MESSAGE

During the time of writing there was a decline of religious faith (see text given –‘Science and Religion’ and ‘Historical and Literary Background’). Tennyson believed that poetry could fill that void. In ‘Morte d’Arthur’ there is a sense that there is no point clinging to the old (as Bedivere wants to) and that one must move towards accepting a new order and a new set of values and beliefs. Tennyson uses the past as a way of discussing contemporary issues and problems.

Remember, the time of Tennyson’s writing was an age when faith was being tested by scientific discoveries – the failure of the Round Table shows what happens when people lose faith in their ideals. At the same time, it urges the need for continuing faith, and more optimistically suggests that Bedivere will take these ideals into the new age.

Most epics are concerned with the transmission of stories and with the transmission of the values of a culture.

GLOSSARY

Epic similes – an extended simile often running over a few lines; usually to intensify the heroic status of the subject

Epithet –an adjective or adjectival phrase which defines a special quality or attribute eg. ‘the bold sir Bedivere’

Monosyllabic –one syllable words

Assonance – repeated vowel sounds

Alliteration – sequence of repeated consonantal sounds

Enjambment – the running over of lines

Samite – a heavy silk fabric

Merlin – legendary Arthurian wizard

Camelot – legendary place where Arthur held court

Forfeits – a game in which players have to give up an object or perform an action if they make mistakes

Schism – division of a group into factions – specifically the Church

Mastodon – extinct mammal

Lyonnese – country of legend

Chancel – part of a church containing the altar

Brand – sword

Exacalibur – legendary sword given to Arthur by the lady of the lake

Lief – life

Mere – lake

Casque – helmet

Greaves and cuisses – armour for shin and thigh

Lists – field of combat at a tournament

Avilion – the Island of the Blessed

AO4 CRITICAL INTERPRETATION

Herbert Tucker (‘Tennyson and the Doom of Romanticism’) demonstrates that one of the key motifs in this poem is that of transmission. Tucker states that Tennyson is concerned not just with transmitting a story and a culture but also the actual process of transmission itself. The poem suggests that culture is not something fixed to be passed through stories; culture is the process of change and transmission. The three main stages of transmission – 1. The need for Bedivere to transfer the sword. 2. Bedivere to take Arthur to the lake. 3. The three Queens to take Arthur away on the barge.

Story telling and transmission – Arthur tells Bedivere to throw the sword in he lake as he believes that Excalibur will be an essential part of the story of Arthur and his Knights ‘wheresoever I am sung or told / In aftertime’. When Bedivere fails to throw the sword, Arthur is angered not just because he hasn’t followed his instructions but because he lies – he has not acted in a way that befits a noble Knight and therefore has undermined all the ideals represented by the Round Table. Bedivere fails a second time because he convinces himself that the king ‘knows not what he does’ and should not be obeyed; he views the sword as a sign, something that should be kept as a record or relic of Arthur so he should not be forgotten. In valuing the sword, he disobeys the king and in doing so,

betrays the underlying principles of which the sword is simply a physical sign. When Bedivere finally succeeds is throwing the sword the description suggests the passing of the whole history of Arthur into myth and story telling as it is received by the ‘arm/ Clothe in white samite, mystic, wonderful’.

AO3 LANGUGE, STRUCTURE, FORM

In medias res – Line 52 ‘So all day long …’ begins as though we have just read the previous part of the story. In medias res in a part of the epic tradition. Other conventions used are the epic simile and the epithet.

Epic simile – Tennyson first draws upon one of the main features of traditional epic (epic simile) when the sword is received by the ‘arm’ in the lake. The use of epic similes becomes less frequent in the last part of the poem. This is significant because the poem is concerned with the process of transmission, with the transmission of history into myth or story. Arthur becomes epic material as the poem progresses. Once Bedivere has achieved his goal, Arthur, now ready for the next stage in his life, half-rises slowly, reclining on his arm ‘And looking wistfully with wide blue eyes / As in a picture’ – the action is momentarily frozen but then the narrative pushes on to the second stage of transmission.

Assonance and Alliteration – used to reproduce the feelings described. Look at the difficulty Bedivere has carrying Arthur. Also, look at the use of monosyllabic words and diction that are measured and precise. They all to help to suggest the harshness and difficulties Bedivere encounters. The description is not only visual but aural.

Enjambment – suggests Bedivere’s determined progression onwards. The successful conclusion of the struggle is indicated as the scene is transformed into something beautiful and harmonious ‘And on a sudden, lo! the level lake/ And the long glories of the winter moon’.

Epic simile – look at lines 198-203. The agony of grief is effectively conveyed. The desolation of the landscape indicates the death of an old order, the death of Arthur and the dissolution of the Round Table. It also represents the dissolution of Bedivere who cannot relinquish this order – ‘Ah! my Lord Arthur, wither shall I go?’ and ‘For now I see the true old times are dead’. Bedivere must now ‘go forth companionless’.

Christian imagery – Bedivere laments the death of Arthur and equates the time of Arthur and the Round Table with the birth if Christianity, with the wise men guided by the light of a star to a child in Bethlehem. He now sees nothing ahead but darkness. Arthur’s response (lines 240-243) appears to be of little comfort. However, Arthur does go on to suggest how a new order can be created – he tells Bedivere that although he may go out into the dark new world, he has the story which he can transmit the values for others in the new world. Physically Arthur is gone but his values can have an enduring influence.

Sunset imagery – the barge sails into the sunset suggesting ending (death of Arthur) but also connotates sunrise (beginning of the new order).

Write a paragraph in your own words to summarise the poem.

What are the three main stages of transmission in the poem?

Malory set his battle in summer. Tennyson chooses winter on the ‘dark strait of barren land’ (line 10). Find other examples of descriptions of the setting – what do these words/phrases suggest?

What is the effect of Tennyson’s use of epic simile? Why do they become less frequent towards the end of the poem?

How are assonance, alliteration and monosyllabic words used in this poem? Give specific examples.

How is enjambment used to effect in this poem?

How is the epic simile used in lines 198-203?

How is the image of the sunset significant?