Question: Discuss Tennyson's treatment of old legends in his poetry.
Answer: A legend is a story or group of stories about the heroic or miraculous deeds of a man. Such deeds display the superhuman powers of that person. For his acts of adventure or extraordinary activities, he is remembered by people generation after generation. In course of time, such a person becomes as respectful or as popular as a god or goddess. Many tales, true or imagined, generate around him and pass from one age to another. The lives of many kings, saints, and warriors have assumed legendary character. The best knows legends are those of Faust of Germany, King Arthur of Britain, Ulysses of Greece, Aeneas of Rome, and Charlemagne of France.
The concept of legend is associated with the concept of myths. In many cases, they are intermixed. But a difference is often made between the two. In a myth, the central figure is a supernatural being like a god and goddess. But in a legend, the story or the series of stories centers around a human being. In classical as well as modern literature myths and legends occupy an important place. Poets and writers use them in their works to express various ideas, feelings, or thoughts. In the poetry of Tennyson, we notice a number of legends. Of them, the most notable is those of King Arthur. With Arthurian legends, he composed one of his great works "The Idylls of the King”. He wanted to write the poem on an epic scale. But it could not attain the dimension and dignity of an epic. It turned out to be a collection of twelve narrative poems composed over a period of more than 25 years. The main interest of the stories lies in descriptive, romantic, and at times moral elements. Apart from “ The Idylls of the King” Tennyson wrote individual poems that deal with legendary characters. Of them, the most notable are “Morte D' Arthur”, "Ulysses”, “Sir Galahad” and “Tithonus”.
The poem “Morte D'Arthur” forms a part of the last Idyl of “The Idylls of the King". It is based on Arthurian legend. In it, the last moments of Arthur's life are narrated with a note of pathos and solemnity.
Arthur was a warrior who lived in the sixth century AD. Though there is no written record of his life and activities, modern researchers are of the view that he was the leader of several tribes that lived in the southwestern part of England. With extraordinary bravery and fighting skill he defeated the Saxons and other invaders and gained control over the whole of England. His nephew Modred attempted to seize the kingdom. A fierce battle took place between Arthur and Modred. Arthur killed Modred but he himself was seriously wounded. His injury led to his death. A number of tales developed about Arthur's acts of bravery and generosity. In the Middle Ages, many romances were written in European countries. Such writings had a marked effect on the poetry of Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, and other poets of later periods.
Tennyson drew the materials of the poem from a famous prose romance "Morte D'Arthur" written by 15th-century author Sir Thomas Malory. In Malory's book and in other tales Arthur is. represented as the epitome of greatest virtue. About Arthur other writers relate stories of sin and shame which appear inconsistent with the ideal perfection associated with his name. Tennyson purged his story from inconsistencies and imparted to it intellectual refinement, aesthetic beauty, and moral tinge. Their emphasis was on acts and incidents. They had little care for the decorative aspects. Moreover, spiritual elements form an insignificant part of their story. They relied more on miracles rather than on any systematic philosophy of life. Tennyson improved on all these elements. He enriched his poem with thoughts, descriptions, feelings, and sublimity. An analysis of the poem will show how the poet has done it.
The poem opens with a description of the place where Arthur is lying wounded. Then the poet relates how Arthur is taken to a chapel. Arthur talks to his most trusted knight Bedivere. He remembers the heroic deeds of his other knights and mourns their death. He laments his own impending death and asks Bedivere to take his sword Excalibur and throw it into the lake. He instructs him to watch what really happens and inform him about it. Bedivere goes to the lake. The dazzling beauty of the hilt of the sword allures him. He conceals the sword and comes back to Arthur without throwing it into the lake. Arthur asks him what he has seen. Bedivere tells him that he saw nothing except “the ripple washing in the reeds/and the wild water lapping on the crag”. Arthur realizes that Bedivere is not speaking the truth. He rebukes him mildly and asks him to go again. This time also Bedivere fails to carry out Arthur's instructions. He thinks that such a priceless thing will be a right relic of his lord. It will remind people of Arthur's noble deeds and heroism. So he returns to Arthur without throwing the sword. He tells Arthur that he has seen exactly what he saw earlier.
Arthur does not fail to realize what has really happened. Now Arthur scolds him in strong words. Bedivere then goes to the lake and throws the sword into the lake. The sword makes a flash of lightning. But before it falls into the water a hand rises out of the water and catches it by the hilt. The hand moves the sword three times and dives into the water with the sword. Bedivere returns to Arthur and relates what he saw there.
Arthur now believes his story. He asks Bedievere to carry him to the shore from where the last journey of his life will start. Bedivere carries Arthur on his shoulder to a spot near the lake. A barge appears with three women. Seeing that Arthur is going to die, Bedievere laments the fact that in the absence of Arthur he will find none to guide him. Arthur consoles him by saying that change is inevitable. It is the law of God. God changes one custom so that it might not corrupt mankind. So he should pray to God. Prayer to God will give him the necessary strength to fight against everything in his life. The boat that is to carry the dead body of Arthur sails for an unknown destination. Bedivere is left with a sorrowful mind.
In this poem, the poet narrates events that happened hundreds of years ago. In the medieval period, it became very popular. So in the source materials of the poem the medieval world is depicted. Tennyson also creates a medieval atmosphere in his poem. We have a description of the tournaments in which knights took part. The caves, mountains, desolation, magic power of the sword, and the coming of mysterious women to carry Arthur to' an unknown place--all these create a medieval atmosphere. But this is the garb of the poem. Inside it lies a modern man's conflict within his mind between different motives, feelings, thoughts, and ideas.
Tennyson's age was marked by a conflict between the materialistic outlook and the spiritual aspirations of men. This conflict is reflected in the activities of Bedivere. He fails to determine which is more important to him—the loyalty to his master or his desire to retain a precious thing like the sword Excalibur. It takes time to make up his mind.
In the age of Tennyson, various scientific discoveries shattered man's traditional ideas about life and the world. Everything in the world was interpreted from a scientific and rational point of view. As - a result people could neither disbelieve the facts revealed by science, nor could they totally reject the concepts they formed on the basis of religious ideas. In such a condition Tennyson offered his message of compromise. His attitude of compromise is expressed when Arthur says,
"The old order changeth, yielding place to new,And God fulfils Himself in many waysLest one god custom should corrupt the world.”
So we see that the poem “Morte D'Arthur” is medieval in its setting but truly artistic in form and modern in its spirit. In the poem Ulysses we notice almost the same thing.
Ulysses was a legendary hero of the Trojan War. His heroic deeds and adventures have been recounted in Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Tennyson takes his story from Homer but the sentiment and spirit of the poem are of his time. As we find in this poem, after fighting in the war for ten years and then wandering for another ten years Ulysses returns to his kingdom Ithaca. He rules his kingdom for some time. But a life of peace and inaction does not suit him. He does not find any interest in ruling over people who are without any great ideal to follow. He asks his fellow mariners to be ready to start again in search of new adventures. His aim is to "follow knowledge like a sinking star beyond the utmost bound of human thought.” Though he is made weak by time and fate he is strong in will "to strive, to seek and not to yield”. With the description of events in the life of Ulysses, his wife and his son the poet creates an air of Greek atmosphere. But the emphasis of Ulysses on the life of noble and high ideal, lofty aspirations, and abhorrence for a life of ease and material prosperity make Ulysses a Victorian hero. Here again, the poet treats a legend in his own way. It attains artistry of high quality and expresses the spirit and sentiment of Tennyson's England.
Thus we see that Tennyson's treatment of old legends is unique. He does not change the basic facts but with them, he creates superb poetry. They become a vehicle of his own views on the contemporary. feelings and ideas. He enlivens the past to highlight the present. The old tales assume an artistic dimension hardly equaled by any. Here lies his greatness as a poet.
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