>Thou therefore take my brand Excalibur,>Which was my pride: for thou rememberest how>In those old days, one summer noon, an arm>Rose up from out the bosom of the lake,>Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,>Holding the sword—and how I row'd across>And took it, and have worn it, like a king;>And, wheresoever I am sung or told>In aftertime, this also shall be known:>But now delay not: take Excalibur,>And fling him far into the middle mere:>Watch what thou seëst, and lightly bring me word." Is there any better narrative poem of the Arthurian cycle? No one talks about it here, but Tennyson's "Idylls of the King" is epic in scale and proportions, poetic and witty in the infinitesimal, as well as evocative and filled with imagery that tickles the senses.
>>24717644Yes, Tennyson is a great poet, but at the end of the day people want an AUTHENTIC medieval view of Arthurian legends and Tennyson is a product of the Victorian imagination. There is certainly more spiritual depth in Wolfram von Eschenbach than Tennyson.
>>24717644 >epic in scaleNo, it's not. It's at least 10 books shy of 'epic scale'I liked it, but left off wanting more. Far too short
