We will discuss Idylls of the King at our next meeting. Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which 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 Modred. Individual poems detail the deeds of various knights, including Lancelot, Geraint, Galahad, and Balin and Balan, and also Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. There is little transition between Idylls, but the central figure of Arthur links all the stories. The poems were dedicated to the late Albert, Prince Consort. The Idylls are written in blank verse. Tennyson's descriptions of nature are derived from observations of his own surroundings, collected over the course of many years.The dramatic narratives are not an epic either in structure or tone, but derive elegiac sadness from the idylls of Theocritus. Idylls of the King is often read as an allegory of the societal conflicts in Britain during the mid-Victorian era.
Meeting Information:
Location: Plaza Branch Library, Small Meeting Room
Address: 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
Time: 7:00 PM
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Some links to check out:
Free ebook of Idylls of the King:
These Illustrations will put you in the mood:
Tennyson's Idylls of the King Literary Relations Sources, Influence, Analogues, Comparisons:
Google books, copies of "Idylls of the King:"
Quotations from "Idylls of the King:"
If you're like me, you'll need all available help in discerning what is going on in all that blank verse of "Idylls of the King." The following link to Cliff Notes (no relation) may help. It provides short descriptions of all the segments while also providing the original text.
Cliff Notes Study Guide
Free audio reading of "Idylls of the King"
So if you are fed up with all blank verse,
Iambic pentameter you may curse.
We had a great discussion last night at our Great Books KC meeting. We discussed Tennyson's "Idylls of the King." There were eleven participants including the following: Marty, Berni, Vicki, Mary, Kathryn, Tim, Bo, John, Brian, Joe and Clif.
http://meetu.ps/9GJPH
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