MORTE D’ARTHUR

SUMMARY

‘Morte d’Arthur’ focuses primarily on the interaction between the

dying Arthur and his last remaining Knight, Bedivere. Arthur tells
Bedivere to throw the sword Excalibur into the lake and then return
and report what happens. The first time Bedivere is dazzled by the
beauty of the sword and hides it; the second time he persuades
himself that the sword must be retained to prove the story of Arthur.
Finally, shamed by Arthur, Bedivere throws the sword into the lake.
An arm appears and takes the sword. Bedivere then carries the
dying Arthur to the side of the lake where he is received by three
queens on a barge. That night the narrator dreams of sailing with
Arthur and of the welcome Arthur is given as he represents the
return of ‘all good things’ at the end of the war.
POET’S MESSAGE

During the time of writing there was a decline of religious faith (see
text given –‘Science and Religion’ and ‘Historical and Literary
Background’). Tennyson believed that poetry could fill that void. In
‘Morte d’Arthur’ there is a sense that there is no point clinging to
the old (as Bedivere wants to) and that one must move towards
accepting a new order and a new set of values and beliefs.
Tennyson uses the past as a way of discussing contemporary issues
and problems.

Remember, the time of Tennyson’s writing was an age when faith

was being tested by scientific discoveries – the failure of the Round
Table shows what happens when people lose faith in their ideals. At
the same time, it urges the need for continuing faith, and more
optimistically suggests that Bedivere will take these ideals into the
new age.

Most epics are concerned with the transmission of stories and with
the transmission of the values of a culture.

GLOSSARY

Epic similes – an extended simile often running over a few lines;

usually to intensify the heroic status of the subject

Epithet –an adjective or adjectival phrase which defines a special

quality or attribute eg. ‘the bold sir Bedivere’

Monosyllabic –one syllable words

Assonance – repeated vowel sounds

Alliteration – sequence of repeated consonantal sounds

Enjambment – the running over of lines

Samite – a heavy silk fabric

Merlin – legendary Arthurian wizard

Camelot – legendary place where Arthur held court

Forfeits – a game in which players have to give up an object or

perform an action if they make mistakes

Schism – division of a group into factions – specifically the Church

Mastodon – extinct mammal

Lyonnese – country of legend

Chancel – part of a church containing the altar

Brand – sword
Exacalibur – legendary sword given to Arthur by the lady of the lake

Lief – life

Mere – lake

Casque – helmet

Greaves and cuisses – armour for shin and thigh

Lists – field of combat at a tournament

Avilion – the Island of the Blessed

AO4 CRITICAL INTERPRETATION

Herbert Tucker (‘Tennyson and the Doom of Romanticism’)

demonstrates that one of the key motifs in this poem is that of
transmission. Tucker states that Tennyson is concerned not just with
transmitting a story and a culture but also the actual process of
transmission itself. The poem suggests that culture is not
something fixed to be passed through stories; culture is the process
of change and transmission. The three main stages of transmission
– 1. The need for Bedivere to transfer the sword. 2. Bedivere to
take Arthur to the lake. 3. The three Queens to take Arthur away
on the barge.

Story telling and transmission – Arthur tells Bedivere to throw the

sword in he lake as he believes that Excalibur will be an essential
part of the story of Arthur and his Knights ‘wheresoever I am sung
or told / In aftertime’. When Bedivere fails to throw the sword,
Arthur is angered not just because he hasn’t followed his
instructions but because he lies – he has not acted in a way that
befits a noble Knight and therefore has undermined all the ideals
represented by the Round Table. Bedivere fails a second time
because he convinces himself that the king ‘knows not what he
does’ and should not be obeyed; he views the sword as a sign,
something that should be kept as a record or relic of Arthur so he
should not be forgotten. In valuing the sword, he disobeys the king
and in doing so, betrays the underlying principles of which the
sword is simply a physical sign. When Bedivere finally succeeds is
throwing the sword the description suggests the passing of the
whole history of Arthur into myth and story telling as it is received
by the ‘arm/ Clothe in white samite, mystic, wonderful’.

AO3 LANGUGE, STRUCTURE, FORM

In medias res – Line 52 ‘So all day long …’ begins as though we

have just read the previous part of the story. In medias res in a part
of the epic tradition. Other conventions used are the epic simile and
the epithet.
Epic simile – Tennyson first draws upon one of the main features of
traditional epic (epic simile) when the sword is received by the ‘arm’
in the lake. The use of epic similes becomes less frequent in the
last part of the poem. This is significant because the poem is
concerned with the process of transmission, with the transmission of
history into myth or story. Arthur becomes epic material as the
poem progresses. Once Bedivere has achieved his goal, Arthur, now
ready for the next stage in his life, half-rises slowly, reclining on his
arm ‘And looking wistfully with wide blue eyes / As in a picture’ – the
action is momentarily frozen but then the narrative pushes on to the
second stage of transmission.

Assonance and Alliteration – used to reproduce the feelings

described. Look at the difficulty Bedivere has carrying Arthur. Also,
look at the use of monosyllabic words and diction that are measured
and precise. They all to help to suggest the harshness and
difficulties Bedivere encounters. The description is not only visual
but aural.

Enjambment – suggests Bedivere’s determined progression

onwards. The successful conclusion of the struggle is indicated as
the scene is transformed into something beautiful and harmonious
‘And on a sudden, lo! the level lake/ And the long glories of the
winter moon’.

Epic simile – look at lines 198-203. The agony of grief is effectively

conveyed. The desolation of the landscape indicates the death of
an old order, the death of Arthur and the dissolution of the Round
Table. It also represents the dissolution of Bedivere who cannot
relinquish this order – ‘Ah! my Lord Arthur, wither shall I go?’ and
‘For now I see the true old times are dead’. Bedivere must now ‘go
forth companionless’.

Christian imagery – Bedivere laments the death of Arthur and

equates the time of Arthur and the Round Table with the birth if
Christianity, with the wise men guided by the light of a star to a
child in Bethlehem. He now sees nothing ahead but darkness.
Arthur’s response (lines 240-243) appears to be of little comfort.
However, Arthur does go on to suggest how a new order can be
created – he tells Bedivere that although he may go out into the
dark new world, he has the story which he can transmit the values
for others in the new world. Physically Arthur is gone but his values
can have an enduring influence.

Sunset imagery – the barge sails into the sunset suggesting ending
(death of Arthur) but also connotates sunrise (beginning of the new
order).

Write a paragraph in your own words to summarise the poem.

What are the three main stages of transmission in the poem?

Malory set his battle in summer. Tennyson chooses winter on the

‘dark strait of barren land’ (line 10). Find other examples of
descriptions of the setting – what do these words/phrases suggest?

What is the effect of Tennyson’s use of epic simile? Why do they

become less frequent towards the end of the poem?

How are assonance, alliteration and monosyllabic words used in this

poem? Give specific examples.

How is enjambment used to effect in this poem?

How is the epic simile used in lines 198-203?

How is the image of the sunset significant?