Idylls of the King Analysis

The Idylls of the King are set in medieval Britain. But before you get into your DeLorean, remember we're talking about the Victorian idea of medieval Britain. Arthur’s Camelot, for example, is a...

Well, it's a bit more complicated than all that. The third-person omniscient label applies to the parts of the Idylls narrated by the main speaker. He establishes his connection to Britain by refer...

Since it deals with the rise and fall of a kingdom over a period of many years, the scope of Idylls of the King is definitely epic. Tennyson’s approach to epic here is a little bit unusual, thoug...

Apart from “Gareth and Lynette,” which is probably the most lighthearted of all of the Idylls, the tone of Idylls of the King is one big bummer: melancholic, mournful, sad, and even downright d...

Blank verse is a style of poetry composed of a iambic pentameter without rhyme. Each line contains five poetic feet, or groupings of syllables. These feet are called iambs because they are composed...

Here comes the answer to the question you've been asking yourself the minute you decided to read this text:The word “idyll” comes from the Greek word eidyllion, which means, "little picture.”...

These to His Memory -- since he held them dear,Perchance as finding there unconsciouslySome image of himself -- I dedicate,I dedicate, I consecrate with tears,These Idylls. (Dedication 1-4)Tennyson...

The last of Tennyson’s Idylls, “The Passing of Arthur,” finds Arthur engaged in an all out civil war with the forces that his nephew, Mordred, has ranged against him. This idyll details Arthu...

The Idylls of the King are poetry rather than prose, which automatically makes them a little bit dicier to navigate, since you have to deal more than usual with things like extended metaphors and s...

Arthur's Awesome Rise Arthur has driven the pagans out of Britain, united the petty warring kingdoms, and formed a fellowship of knights bound to him by oath. Now he marries Guinevere, daughter of...

Everything is going really well for Arthur. He’s come up seemingly from nowhere to become the most powerful king Britain has seen in a long time. His energies have found a focus in his dedication...

Arthur drives the pagans out of Britain, unites the warring petty kings, and establishes the fellowship of the Round Table. His marriage to Guinevere solidifies his power.Arthur’s knights embark...

Tennyson was so hurt by some of the reviews of his 1832 volume Poems, in which he published part of what later became “The Passing of Arthur” (“The Morte d’Arthur”) that he refrained from...

The Victorians were pretty famous for not talking about sex, and Tennyson is no exception. Even though the story revolves around a sexual sin that brings down the Round Table—the affair of Lancel...

Geoffrey of Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain (“To the Queen,” 41)Thomas Malory, Morte d’Arthur (“To the Queen,” 41)Prince Albert (“Dedication”)Queen Victoria (“Dedication,�...