Idylls of the King and a Selection of Poems (Signet Classics)
by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Read in August, 2008
This book was every bit as beautiful as I could imagine. I had previously loved and read The Lady of Shalott. Idylls, however, is a testament to his love and knowledge of Arthurian legend.
You'll likely walk away from this book with lots of favorite passages. And you might fall in love with the characters of this legend all over again.
Lancelot - "...a dying fire of madness in his eyes"
Percivale - "Had heaven appear'd so blue, nor earth so green, For all my blood da...more
You'll likely walk away from this book with lots of favorite passages. And you might fall in love with the characters of this legend all over again.
Lancelot - "...a dying fire of madness in his eyes"
Percivale - "Had heaven appear'd so blue, nor earth so green, For all my blood da...more
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I started out kinda dreading this novel because of a) it's thickness and b) its confusingly written self, but as I read it and (cough used some helpful "guides") I have grown to long to read it. It is exciting and interesting and sophisticated. As of now (I am in Balan and Balin) I like it.
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Read in February, 1999
recommends it for:
cynics everywhere
Tennyson holds up the myth of King Aurthur and the Round Table and as a mirror to Victorian England. Like most revolutionary movements Arthur's court begins with lofty morals and high standards for its members. However, the facade decays when Lancelot falls in love with the Queen and the quest for the grail becomes more about greed than religious glory.
Not the easiest read in the world and the fact that it is a really long poem gets annyoing. Be that as it may it is a really good book and ...more
Not the easiest read in the world and the fact that it is a really long poem gets annyoing. Be that as it may it is a really good book and ...more
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Read in April, 1996
recommends it for:
anachronistic poets and romantics
I specifically own an edition of this book that was published by The Heritage Press in 1939. This edition was illustrated by one Robert Ball; who has a manner of illustration that is quite detailed and evocative. When I was younger, I was quite in love with romantic poets -- Tennyson and Yeats being the two I best remember -- and when I saw this edition of Idylls of the King I couldn't resist buying it. The illustrations add another element to the already masterful and vivid poems written by ...more
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There are many reasons to read this book. Each poem is a retelling of an Arthurian legend. My favorite by far is "Gareth and Lynette". I love Tennysono for this retelling of the story. To be more extact, I love his ending for the story.
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Imperialist National mythology--dangerous but beautiful. I have a soft spot for Arthurian legend.
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This took me a while to get through, but that is my fault, not the book's. Tennyson's send up of the Arthurian legend rings with all the sounds you'd expect of Tennyson. It's melodic and at times transcendent, but mostly I believe it lacks the force of the Middle English texts. But since Middle English is as far back as I can go, and I read it ploddingly and with a grammar on hand, and I don't believe I'll ever learn Latin or Anglo-Latin or Anglo-Norman, this is just fine Arthurian fantasy for ...more
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i have a deep deeeeeep affection for arthurian legend and have read more books on the subject than i'd probably admit right off. this is one of my favorites. it's a collection of stories connected to the legend told in poetic form and is utterly beautiful. not for everyone, of course, especially if you're not wild about poetry and people who talk funny, but the story of enid pretty much reached into my chest, ripped my heart out, chewed on it for a while, and then put it back. in a good way.
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Reading Arthur in verse may be a harder slog than prose, but Tennyson makes it well worth it. You can read it online:
http://www.worldwideschool.org...
although I found the footnotes contained in the Penguin addition essential to understanding Tennyson's allusions.
Don't miss chapter 10, when Arthur will make your heart sing with his recollections of the early days of the Ro
http://www.worldwideschool.org...
although I found the footnotes contained in the Penguin addition essential to understanding Tennyson's allusions.
Don't miss chapter 10, when Arthur will make your heart sing with his recollections of the early days of the Ro
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Tennyson, I like you. I'm not afraid to say it. You're great. I'm not a really big fan of some of the new stuff you've added here -- did we really need 1000 lines about how Vivien seduces Merlin? Mostly by crying? -- but your version of Balin is completely great. You took one of the biggest jerks in Arthurian romance and made him pathetically human.
Also, James Joyce is a dickweed. You're way better than Byron. Byron was a tool. BFF?
Also, James Joyce is a dickweed. You're way better than Byron. Byron was a tool. BFF?
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Oh, I tried to read this. Many times, in a fit of Romanticism I started it, pocketed my crumbling 1930s edition (that much more romantic!), and then I'd read "Who spake no slander, no, nor listen'd to it; Who loved one only and who clave to her -" Clave? Seriously, clave? Then I'd put it back down again. Sigh. Its the same reason I can't get through Eddison.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.93 (323 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.78 (27 ratings) number of reviews: 28
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quote
"Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
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