Other editions of book Idylls of the King

Idylls of the King retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom. The whole work recounts Arthur's attempt and failure to lift up mankind and create a perfect kingdom, from his coming to power to his death at the hands of the traitor Mordred.Contents: The Coming of ArthurGareth and LynetteThe Marriage of GeraintGeraint and EnidBalin and BalanMerlin and VivienLancelot and ElaineThe Holy GrailPelleas and EttarreThe Last TournamentGuinevereThe Passing of ArthurTo the Queen

This eBook edition of "Idylls of the King" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices.Idylls of the King retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom. The whole work recounts Arthur's attempt and failure to lift up mankind and create a perfect kingdom, from his coming to power to his death at the hands of the traitor Mordred.Contents: The Coming of ArthurGareth and LynetteThe Marriage of GeraintGeraint and EnidBalin and BalanMerlin and VivienLancelot and ElaineThe Holy GrailPelleas and EttarreThe Last TournamentGuinevereThe Passing of ArthurTo the Queen

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A cycle of twelve narrative poems, “Idylls of the King” is Alfred Tennyson’s classic 19th century retelling of Arthurian legend. Linked by their common focus, these poems relate the stories of King Arthur’s ascent to power, quest to create a perfect kingdom, and his eventual defeat. Included in this epic work are the stories of Arthur’s love for Guinevere, their marriage, and her betrayal. Much of the work is also devoted to the exploits of the knights of the round table as well as the involvement of the wizard Merlin. Tennyson relied heavily on previous Arthurian works including Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur”, which was first published in 1485, and the “Mabinogion”, one of the earliest prose stories of Britain, one based on older oral traditions, written during the 12th century. However, “Idylls of the King” is not merely a retelling of the same stories of these previous works, but rather an expansion of the legend and an effort to bring the concerns and values of Victorian England to these timeless tales. Tennyson’s poems are a complex, beautiful, and thoughtful addition to the genre of Arthurian literature. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

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. And indeed He seems to meScarce other than my king’s ideal knight,‘Who reverenced his conscience as his king;Whose glory was, redressing human wrong;Who spake no slander, no, nor listened to it;Who loved one only and who clave to her —’Her — over all whose realms to their last isle,Commingled with the gloom of imminent war,The shadow of His loss drew like eclipse,Darkening the world. We have lost him: he is gone:We know him now: all narrow jealousiesAre silent; and we see him as he moved,How modest, kindly, all-accomplished, wise,With what sublime repression of himself,And in what limits, and how tenderly;Not swaying to this faction or to that;Not making his high place the lawless perchOf winged ambitions, nor a vantage-groundFor pleasure; but through all this tract of yearsWearing the white flower of a blameless life,Before a thousand peering littlenesses,In that fierce light which beats upon a throne,And blackens every blot: for where is he,Who dares foreshadow for an only sonA lovelier life, a more unstained, than his?Or how should England dreaming of his sonsHope more for these than some inheritanceOf such a life, a heart, a mind as thine,Thou noble Father of her Kings to be,Laborious for her people and her poor —Voice in the rich dawn of an ampler day —Far-sighted summoner of War and WasteTo fruitful strifes and rivalries of peace —Sweet nature gilded by the gracious gleamOf letters, dear to Science, dear to Art,Dear to thy land and ours, a Prince indeed,Beyond all titles, and a household name,Hereafter, through all times, Albert the Good. Break not, O woman’s-heart, but still endure;Break not, for thou art Royal, but endure,Remembering all the beauty of that starWhich shone so close beside Thee that ye madeOne light together, but has past and leavesThe Crown a lonely splendour.