A nineteenth-century arras : Tennyson's Idylls of the King

Abstract

Idylls of the King was the manifestation of Tennyson's fascination with the British legendary past, particularly the Arthurian cycles. A number of Victorian and modem critics have maintained that through his Arthurian poetry Tennyson was deliberately turning his back on the Victorian age and the social upheaval that characterises it. However, the choice of medieval settings serves as a parallel to his times. He was very sensitive to a society in crisis, tracing the causes back to spiritual rather than material factors. Tennyson was not being escapist - the Victorian voice is audible within the entire work. The principle aim of this discussion is to identify the ways in which this voice is made evident.