In the early 19th century, medievalism, Romanticism and the
Gothic Revival reawakened interest in Arthur and the medieval romances. A new
code of ethics for 19th-century gentlemen was shaped around the chivalric ideals
that the "Arthur of romance" embodied. This renewed interest first
made itself felt in 1816, when Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur was reprinted
for the first time since 1634. Initially the medieval Arthurian legends were of
particular interest to poets, inspiring, for example, William Wordsworth to
write "The Egyptian Maid" (1835), an allegory of the Holy Grail. Pre-eminent
among these was Alfred Lord Tennyson, whose first Arthurian poem, "The
Lady of Shalott", was published in 1832. Although Arthur himself played a minor role in
some of these works, following in the medieval romance tradition, Tennyson's
Arthurian work reached its peak of popularity with Idylls of the King, which reworked the entire narrative of Arthur's
life for the Victorian era. First published in 1859, it sold 10,000 copies
within the first week. In the Idylls, Arthur became a symbol of ideal
manhood whose attempt to establish a perfect kingdom on earth fails, finally,
through human weakness. Tennyson's works prompted a large number of imitators,
generated considerable public interest in the legends of Arthur and the
character himself, and brought Malory's tales to a wider audience. Indeed, the
first modernization of Malory's great compilation of Arthur's tales was
published shortly after Idylls appeared, in 1862, and there were six
further editions and five competitors before the century ended. [Wikipedia ‘King
Arthur’]
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| Victorian view of the Holy Grail |
Blog Question:
What was it about the Victorian age that promoted the revival of the Arthurian
story?
Athurian stories were awaken during the Victorian age because of the period of public interest in Romanticism. Arthurian stories did not witness a great revival due to the heroic elements but because of the romantic story potentials they offered the authors. Authors during the 19th century chose to focus instead on the romantic relationships shared between the characters and re-write stories to focus and develop these more.
ReplyDeleteThe Victorian age brought with it an age of increased free time amongst the more wealthy society. Reading of poetry was almost the national passtime (if my images of Jane Austen movie scenes are anything to go by...) The authors and poets of this time are tending to write in a wistful, almost longing manner. Even as we read Tennyson for example, our visual images we conjure about the stories seem to be slightly out of focus and fuzzy at the edges, as displayed in the image shown above. Poets and authors are navigating away from battle stories (goodness knows there have been enough of these) and to more romantic notions surrounding unrequited love, misjudged love, and lost love, guiding idealised behaviours for men and women. This possibly reflects the increasing literacy of women and their influence over subject matter.
ReplyDeleteThe Victorian Period, as a time of rapid growth in the wake of the industrial revolution, demonstrated with vast technological and scientific discoveries what the human race could accomplish. However, these were fuelled by an oppressed proletarian class which included large numbers of child workers, clearly highlighting flaws in their society. Tennyson used the Arthurian cycle as a vehicle for presenting both the hope and disillusionment he witnessed in the Victorian period. The way he writes it, Arthur becomes a Christ-like figure and a representation for human potential, and yet he exists in a flawed world which ultimately destroys his attempts to create the perfect kingdom. Arthur's struggle is synonymous with that of the Victorian ideal for purity. The reality, however, was that technological and industrial development depended on an oppressed working class, which contradicts the ideal. This again conforms to the failure of Arthur and Camelot. And so Arthur and Camelot exist as an unattainable ideal in Tennyson's texts that reflect the hopes and flaws in Victorian society.
ReplyDeleteRachael Lampe
The Victorian era wasn't only an age of industrialization and modernization - it was also an age of child labor, illness and a pronounced class divide. Authors - and others - at the time, retreated from the dark world of reality, to enjoy a romantic, idyllic world - Arthur worked very well for that. And in the revival of Medievalism and chivalry,and it's not surprising that Arthur became so popular.
ReplyDelete-Ali
For many Victorian writers, especially Tennyson, the Arthurian legends were a means to express their feelings about the ambivalence of their age, torn between technological advances and social problems. The characters in his Idylls of the King represent this with Arthur being an allegory of near-unattainable perfection. One important theme is the discrepancy between appearance and reality that is featured prominently in most parts of the text.
ReplyDeleteWalter Woelfler
I think the reason why the Victorian age promoted the revival of the Arthurian story was that due to the increased industrialisation of the world. Many people due to the smog and poor quality of air became quite ill and their quality of life especially in big cities declined thus the need for positive and happy stories to brighten up their lives became a necessity. The romance of the Arthurian tales depict incredible quests, adventures, love, happiness and portrayed strong human qualities such as chivalry and strong masculinity which to me didn't seem to be around during the Victorian age of rapid industrialisation. Furthermore these forms of dense literature probably weren't created like in the medieval days because nearly everyone was focusing on creating wealth and new inventions and thus people had to rekindle stories from the past time in order to be entertained.
ReplyDeleteOllie
Just as in medieval times, the Victorian age seeked to justify its expansion across the world. By creating stories of its romantic and heroic past, it inspired it population to believe that their purpose and history was special, that they were connected to their own ancient and glorious past. Not only did it suit their colonial needs, but also there was a rise in interest for romantic novels, so the Arthur tails were exaggerated and reworked with a more romantic focus, instead of the heroics and battles etc. Now the focus was on courtly behaviour and extra-marital affairs.
ReplyDelete