-Idylls of the King.

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A collection of four individual poems, Tennyson’s Idylls are representative of a revival of interest in Arthurian legends during the Victorian era. Much of this work is based on Malory’s Le Morte d'Arthur, but Tennyson reinterprets some of the myth to make it an allegory for Victorian society. One way in which Tennyson’s story differs from that of Malory is in the entrapment of Merlin. In Malory’s story, Merlin is trapped under a rock by Nenyve, a woman who he is romantically pursuing. In Tennyson’s story, Merlin is seduced by Vivien who then traps him in a hollow oak tree in the forest of Broceliande.

Baron Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892).
Idylls of the King. London: E. Moxon, 1859.

Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/Record/262273

A version of this text has been digitized and is available through the Internet Archive.

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