Idylls of the King

Alfred, Lord Tennyson's verse narrative Idylls of the King is inspired by Arthurian legends, especially Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur; however, it also draws extensively on the Mabinogion and French traditions. The complete Idylls consists of 12 poems, plus a dedication to the deceased Prince Albert and an epilogue addressed to Queen Victoria. Tennyson, a longtime enthusiast of the Arthurian tales, worked on the collection for decades: the first four poems appeared in 1859, and the last one in 1885. (In book form, the poems are not in order of writing or publication.)


Tropes used in Idylls of the King include:

"Mark's way," said Mark, and clove him thro' the brain.

  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Tennyson's Arthur is a romanticized version of Prince Albert.
  • Not So Different: The Red Knight's point about the relationship between his court and King Arthur's. Given what follows, he appears to be correct.
  • One Steve Limit: Unlike the original legends, Tennyson does not deluge us with multiple characters with the same name.
  • Playing Cyrano: Sir Gawain promises to do this for Sir Pelleas in "Pelleas and Ettarre." The execution, however, leaves something to be desired.
  • Public Domain Character: The entire cast of characters.
  • Smug Snake: Modred, Vivien.
  • Sole Survivor: Sir Bedivere.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Because Tennyson skips large chunks of the legend, some characters simply disappear without a trace (Vivien), or have blink-and-you'll miss-it resolutions to their plot (Lancelot).
  • Your Cheating Heart: Lancelot and Guinevere; Tristram and Isolt.
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