d. 1471, English author of Morte d Arthur.

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1 Legends a narrative or tradition handed down from the past. A legend is distinguished from a myth in that the legend has more of historical truth and perhaps less of the supernatural. Legends often indicate the lore of the people, and, in this way, serve as at least partial expressions of the racial or national spirit Arthurian Legend

2 Malory - Biography d. 1471, English author of Morte d Arthur. It is almost certain that he was Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revell, Warwickshire. Knighted in 1442, he served in the Parliament of He was evidently a violent, lawless individual who committed a series of crimes, including poaching, extortion, robbery, and murder. Most of his life from 1451 was spent in prison, and he probably did most of his writing there. Malory s original book was called The Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights of the Round Table and was made up of eight romances that were more or less separate. William Caxton printed the work in 1485 and gave it the misleading title of Morte d Arthur. The last medieval English work of the Arthurian legend, Malory s tales are supposedly based on an assortment of French prose romances. The Morte d Arthur is noted for its excellent dramatic narrative and the beauty of its rhythmic and simple language. It is the standard source for later versions of the legend.

3 Le Morte D Arthur Literary Elements and Themes 1. Chivalry 2. Good vs. Evil 3. Courtly Love 4. Courtesy 5. Simple, unconscious, direct 6. Sentences are elementary and brief 7. Verbs and other words of action prevail 8. All words are concrete Appearances are deceiving, though. Sir Thomas devised this beautiful but artificial style as a quaint, expressive, vigorous, medium, the best in which to set forth the fading and lamented glories of the good old days. The characteristic sweetness of the Middle English melody is gone, but the old vigors are there, and with the rapidly disappearing inflections, the movement is freer and more direct

4 Medieval Romance Tales of adventure in which knights, kings, or distressed ladies, acting under the impulse of love, religious faith, or the mere desire for adventure, are the chief figures Protagonist sets out on a journey to accomplish some goal (rescue a maiden, meet a challenge, obey a kingly command, seek the Holy Grail). On the journey he encounters numerous adventures many of them unrelated to the quest Plots are little better than threads on which the beads of episodes are strung in chronological rather than logical order 1. reflects chivalric age 2. has mystery and fantasy 3. rank and social distinction are important 4. lighter-hearted 5. heroic figures are not consistently conceived 6. epic hero is satisfied with aimless adventure 7. loose structure 8. love is supreme 9. fighting is spontaneous 10. third person narrator

5 Tennyson - Biography Alfred Tennyson was born August 6th, 1809, at Somersby, Lincolnshire, fourth of twelve children of George and Elizabeth (Fytche) Tennyson. The poet's grandfather had violated tradition by making his younger son, Charles, his heir, and arranging for the poet's father to enter the ministry. The contrast of his own family's relatively straitened circumstances to the great wealth of his aunt Elizabeth Russell and uncle Charles Tennyson (who lived in castles!) made Tennyson feel particularly impoverished and led him to worry about money all his life. He also had a lifelong fear of mental illness, for several men in his family had a mild form of epilepsy, which was then thought a shameful disease. His father and brother Arthur made their cases worse by excessive drinking. His brother Edward had to be confined in a mental institution after 1833, and he himself spent a few weeks under doctors' care in In the late twenties his father's physical and mental condition worsened, and he became paranoid, abusive, and violent.

6 Idylls of the King Themes Test, Trial, and Subjectivity of Faith" Arthur's Broken Purpose The divided self Faithless Gawain Restoring Faith in "The Passing of Arthur Faithlessness and the Destruction of Community Idylls of the King takes place in a distant if Victorianized past. Tennyson uses the past as a literary laboratory that allows him to discuss contemporary issues and problems, while preserving an aesthetic distance. Tennyson employs prologues, epilogues, and framing sections that isolate the work's interior from the contemporary world. Idylls of the King privileges imaginative and experiential truth. Mist and Confusion during the Last Battle The problem of faith appears as the relation between having faith and keeping faith, between belief and right conduct (or right identity). This relation, which makes conversion experience central to the meaning of the work, appears embodied in relations of men and women, especially that of marriage. Employ chains of images, motifs, and paradigms to inform their climactic segmented poetic structure. The inspired prophetic poet

7 Lit. Elements of Victorian Literature Bildungsroman Religion; Good vs. Evil Gender Issues; Patriarchal Theory Romance Science; Psychology, Nature vs. Nurture Empiricism Point of view and Narrative Distance The Flashback Theme vs. Subject Justifying God's Ways to Man (and Woman): The Victorian Long Poem.

8 The Legend Begins

9 The Birth of Arthur Igraine is the mother of Arthur. She was married to Duke of Tintagel and mothered the Ladies Morgawse, Morgan, and Elaine. She was coveted by King Uther Pendragon, who led an attack against Tintagel (her husband) to have her. Merlin enchanted Uther to become the outward guise of the Duke so he could seduce Igraine. From the union came Arthur; with a mix of Pendragon and Arimathea (Joseph of Arimathea) blood. The Duke died while in battle against Uther's armies and Uther took Igraine as his wife.some say she hated Uther for killing her husband and decieving her with magick, yet others insist that she took on her role willingly. After the birth of Arthur and the theft of him by Merlin, Uther died. After that, little is known about Igraine other than the fact that she retired to a nunnery and died in cloister.

10 Merlin and Arthur 1. Merlin came and took care of baby Arthur after his birth and took him to sir Ector. 2. Merlin led Arthur to the Sword in the Stone and talked to the barons when they did not accept Arthur as their new King. 3. Merlin introduced Arthur to the Lake of the Lake from whom he received Excalibur.

11 "Arthur Draws the Sword from the Stone" by Walter Crane The teenage Arthur proves he is the rightful king

12 Arthur and Guinevere In Malory s Le Morte D Arthur, the marriage of King Arthur and Guinevere is based on political reasons (Arthur was Christian, while Guinevere was Celtic), which was common in the Middle Ages. Arthur's marriage to Guinevere helped him establish his court in Camelot. As her dowry, Guinevere brought the legendary Round Table and thus began the legend of Camelot.

13 Queen Guinevere Guinevere is said to be the daughter of Leodegrance of Cameliard in late medieval romance. She marries Arthur and then has a love affair with Lancelot, which causes the downfall of Camelot. The Welsh Triads speak of "Arthur's Three Great Queens," all named Gwenhwyfar, and name Gwenhwyfar as "more faithless" than the three faithless wives of the Island of Britain. Tennyson presents Guinevere as a sinner who was "spoilt the purpose" of Arthur's life, while Malory proposed great defense of Guinevere's virtue and purity.

14 Knights of the Round Table Their code of ethics (CHIVALRY), as outlined by Malory, include: 1. To never do outrage nor murder 2. Always to flee treason 3. To by no means be cruel but to give mercy unto him who asks for mercy 4. To always do ladies, gentlewomen and widows succor 5. To never force ladies, gentlewomen or widows 6. Not to take up battles in wrongful quarrels for love or worldly goods

15 The names of the 25 knights inscribed on the Winchester Round Table are given as: King Arthur Sir Galahad Sir Lancelot du Lac Sir Gawain Sir Percivale Sir Lionell Sir Tristram de Lyones Sir Gareth Sir Bedivere Sir Bleoberis La Cote Male Taile Sir Lucan Sir Palomedes Sir Lamorak Sir Bors de Ganis Sir Safer Sir Pelleas Sir Kay Sir Ector de Maris Sir Dagonet Sir Degore Sir Brunor le Noir Le Bel Desconneu Sir Alymere Sir Mordred

16 Balin and Balan The story of Balin and Balan is recounted in Malory's Morte d'arthur. They are tragic brothers who, despite their nobility, wind up killing each other. Balin in particular seems cursed by fate & is the more prominent, though the two are sometimes confused in Malory. Balin also kills the Lady of the Lake when she seeks his head as reward for giving Arthur Excalibur. Balan kills Balin, mistaking the impassioned Balin, who is driven to frenzy by a conviction of Guinevere s adultery, for a demon.

17 The Lovers 1. Lancelot and Guinevere 2. Tristram & Isolde 3. Elaine & Lancelot 4. Merlin and Vivien 5. Geraint and Enid 6. Gareth and Lynette 7. Peleas & Ettare

18 Lancelot and Guinevere Although Thomas Malory in Book XIV of Le Morte D' Arthur extols the transcendent virtues of courtly love between Lancelot and Guinevere during the glorious Arthurian age, close examination of the text reveals many problematic elements of their love: it is arguably lecherous; its obsessive and dysfunctional elements lead to Lancelot's madness; its scandalous nature is a catalyst for the final conflicts that destroy the great fellowship of knights.

19 Tristram & Isolde (Iseut the Fair) The Great Lovers Although the many versions of the story naturally differ, the basic plot is much the same in all of them. Sir Tristram is sent to Ireland to bring Isolde the Fair back to Cornwall to be the bride of his uncle, King Mark. A potion that Tristram and Isolde unwittingly swallow binds them in eternal love. According to most versions of the story, after many trysts the lovers become estranged, and Tristram marries another Isolde, Isolde of the White Hands. Later, dying of a battle wound, Tristram sends for Isolde the Fair. Deceived into believing she is not coming, Tristram dies of despair, and Isolde, on finding her lover dead, dies of grief beside him. Does this story sound familiar?

20 Elaine dies of unrequited love for Lancelot and floats in a barge to Camelot with a letter for Lancelot clutched in her lifeless hand. She and Lancelot are the parents of Sir Galahad, the Pure Knight The Lady of Shalott (Elaine of Astolat) & Lancelot

21 Merlin & Vivien Vivien, sometimes called Nineve, Nimue, Niniane, etc., is best known as the woman, who seals Merlin in a cave or a tree. Despite foreseeing his fate, Merlin is unable to prevent being captivated and captured by the woman; Vivien is an ambiguous character. In Malory, for example, even though Nyneve, who is one of the Ladies of the Lake, deprives Arthur of Merlin's service, she rescues him twice, first by saving him from Accolon who has been given Excalibur by Morgan le Fay to use against Arthur, and then by preventing him from donning the destructive cloak sent to him by Morgan. She also uses her enchantments to punish Ettarde for her mistreatment of Pelleas.

22 When Enid and Geraint marry, Geraint forgets his knightly duties. Enid laments that she is the cause of her husband's dishonor. Geraint, hearing only the last part of her lament, believes his wife to have been unfaithful, and takes her with him on a quest in which he proves his prowess and she her fidelity. Geraint and Enid

23 Gareth and Lynette parallel to Peleas & Ettare Gareth as an exemplar of chivalry, who is knighted by and devoted to Sir Lancelot, and who acts chivalrously towards Lynette despite her abuse of him. This picture of Gareth is one of the elements that comes together in the final scenes of the Morte to produce the tragic ending. Lancelot blindly slays Gareth in his rescue of Guinevere from the stake.

24 Peleas & Ettare parallel to Gareth and Lynette Scorned by Ettare, Peleas overthrows formidable foes, ultimately proving his noble lineage and winning Ettare s heart. Peleas ultimately discovers Gawain and Ettarre laying together. Later, Pelleas swears to expose Launcelot and Guinevere's adultery, charges Launcelot, and goes insane.

25 Magic and Sorcery

26 Merlin Ambiguous Character. Represents the Celtic Religion. Merlin was the illegitimate son of a monastic Royal Princess of Dyfed. Merlin's father, it is said, was an angel, who had visited the Royal nun and left her with child. Merlin's enemies claimed his father was really an incubus, an evil spirit that has intercourse with sleeping women. The evil child was supposed to provide a counterweight to the good influence of Jesus Christ on earth. Merlin, fortunately, was baptized early on in his life, an event which is said to have negated the evil in his nature, but left his powers intact.

27 Morgan Le Fay: Mogana, Queen of Avalon Morgan le Fay is, in Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, Arthur's half sister, the daughter of Arthur's mother Igraine and her first husband, the Duke of Cornwall. Other versions present her as Arthur s aunt. She is presented as an adversary of Arthur, and she is the mother of Mordred.

28 Dame du Lac, Lady of the Lake, or Vivien Vivien, or The Lady of the Lake, raises Lancelot, hence, Lancelot du Lac., & cured him when he went mad. A rather shifting, supernatural character. In Malory, she gives Arthur Excalibur, but when she asks for the head of Balin as payment, Balin strikes off her head, for which deed Balin is banished from the court. She is best known as the woman who sealed Merlin in a cave.

29 The Quest of the Grail The Quest for the Sangreal

30 The Fisher King & the Grael The earliest fully developed Grail story is Parzival, in which the Grail is held by the Fisher King in his castle. Being unworthy, the Fisher King has been struck dumb and is unworthy to use the Grail. The emphasis is on purity and righteousness these are the only ways that the Grail can be used. The Fisher King directs the knights to the domain of the Grael. Perceval follows the instructions given to him by the fisher king and eventually finds the castle. There he is graciously received by the lord himself, who is crippled and lies on a rich couch in front of a blazing fire. Quest motif is dominated by Galahad (Galaad), renowned for his unparalleled purity and excellence. The themes of vengeance and healing are gone, as is the wasting of the land, which leaves spiritual enlightenment as the final goal. Perceval and Bors are now presented in the company of Galahad, but they are inserted merely as measuring stones to underscore Galahad's unquestionable superiority. As the son of Lancelot he is perfect; he has never failed, nor does he in his quest for the Holy Grail. In most versions Perceval reaches the castle, achieves the Grail, and then just disappears. He fulfills his destiny and then leaves this world in an ethereal blaze of glory.

31 Galahad Galahad is the son of Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic. Galahad was conceived when Elaine tricked Lancelot into thinking he was meeting and sleeping with Guinevere. Galahad is best known as the knight who achieves the quest for the Holy Grail. As the chosen knight he is allowed to sit in the Siege Perilous, the seat at the Round Table that is reserved for the Grail Knight. Galahad remains the pre-eminent Grail Knight in Malory's Morte d'arthur and in Tennyson's Idylls of the King. A shorter poem by Tennyson, "Sir Galahad," presented the popular image of the perfect knight whose "strength was as the strength of ten" because his "heart is pure."

32 The Dream Falls Apart

33 King Arthur weakens

34 Arthur fights Mordred Arthur kills his illegitimate son / brother (cousin) Mordred, while Mordred fatally wounds Arthur. Arthur dies a short time later.

35 Sir Bedivere Cast the Sword Excalibur into the Water Arthur's trial of FAITH and LOYALTY comes when commands Bedivere to cast away Excalibur. In his struggle to make Bedivere obey him by sheer force of will, and in the knight's struggle to keep faith with his beloved king, we have the climactic double-test.

36 Le Morte D Arthur The Passing of Arthur The net effect of these repeated descriptions is easily seen as an effort to ensure the tragedy of Arthur's death. If Arthur's death had come at the hands of a friend or to a gentlemanknight, his death would have been sad, but would not have led to the overall destruction of Arthurian society. By having him fall to his polar opposite, the effect of complete loss of culture is assured.

37 Guinevere in the Nunnery Following the death of Arthur, Guinevere entered a nunnery and remained there until her death. She felt deep sorrow for having loved Lancelot, and, because of her betrayal of Arthur, she chose to live her life at a convent in repentance.