Tennyson's Sources and Adaptations
Tennyson based his retelling primarily on Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and the Mabinogion, but with many expansions, additions, and several adaptations, a notable example of which is the fate of Guinevere. In Malory she is sentenced to be burnt at the stake but is rescued by Lancelot; in the Idylls Guinevere flees to a convent, is forgiven by Arthur, repents, and serves in the convent until she dies. Tennyson amended the traditional spellings of several names to fit the metre.
Read more about this topic: Idylls Of The King
Famous quotes containing the words tennyson and/or sources:
“Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror cracked from side to side;
‘The curse is come upon me,’ cried
The Lady of Shalott.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“The sources of poetry are in the spirit seeking completeness.”
—Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980)