A review by ed_moore
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

“The wrath that forced my thoughts on this fierce law the doom of treason and the flaming death is past”

‘Idylls of the King’ is a collection of 12 of Tennyson’s narrative poems recounting Arthurian legend. It looks at the rise and fall of the Round Table, sparked by the events of the quest for the Holy Grail. I had limited knowledge on Arthurian myth prior to reading this and therefore struggled with it, it didn’t make much sense in many places and was difficult to keep track of the narrative. Honestly the knights followed themselves aren’t particularly chivalrous and flawed in many perspectives, yet so often heralded. 

There is often discussion about a lack of an English Mythology, and whilst Arthurian myth should fill this gap the stories, at least the ones as presented and retold by Tennyson, support this lack of a mythology as they didn’t seem to have the same resonance or memorability as the likes of Greek Mythology. I do however believe ‘Beowulf’ has its place as a English myth, and Tolkien’s stories in time have potential to join this mythology, especially due to their inspirations from Arthurian myth that should found our mythology. On their own however, something seems missing. 

My greatest struggle with ‘Idylls of the King’ is the similarities I could draw between such and Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’, especially in the tradition for knights to attack one another unprovoked. If there was less of this and a lot more communication a lot of fatalities would easily be avoided.