How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
[…] ‘Her father said
That there between the man and beast they die.
Shall I not lift her from this land of beasts
Up to my throne and side by side with me?
What happiness to reign a lonely king,
Vext -- O ye stars that shudder over me,
O earth that soundest hollow under me,
Vext with waste dreams?’
(“Coming of Arthur,” 77-84)
Arthur wants to marry Guinevere, which he thinks will free her from the "land of beasts." Now there's a marriage. Of course there's no denying that one of his motivations is a desire for companionship. Dude’s lonely. His reference to stars that “shudder” over him and earth that sounds hollow under him as he reigns alone reflects his perception of the world as threatening to him unless he has someone to share it with.
Quote #2
[…] for saving I be join’d
To her that is the fairest under heaven,
I seem as nothing in the mighty world,
And cannot will my will nor work my work
Wholly, nor make myself in mine own realm
Victor and lord.
(“Coming of Arthur,” 84-89)
Continuing to meditate on the oppression he feels by the “mighty world” without a partner, Arthur reveals that he feels like “nothing” in it without his marriage to Guinevere. Arthur idealizes this marriage as a union that will allow him to carry out his plans for the kingdom and to establish his authority over it. We think he may be over-idealizing a bit.
Quote #3
[…] But were I join’d with her,
Then might we live together as one life,
And reigning with one will in everything
Have power on this dark land to lighten it,
And power on this dead world to make it live.’
(“Coming of Arthur,” 89-93)
Arthur imagines himself and his future wife living one life and sharing “one will in everything.” This is probably impossible between two human beings, yet Arthur rests his hopes of transforming his world upon it.