Scan barcode
christinecc's review against another edition
3.0
Truth be told, I... did not love this. I'm sorry. I tried, I really did. The poetry was alright, clearly Tennyson knew what he was doing, but it is very hard to enjoy a work for its form when it makes little to no effort to hide the fact that it blatantly hates women. And I know there are some people who love this book in spite of Tennyson's misogyny, and that is fine! I just wasn't able to do so myself.
The problem is that after reading "The Once and Future King," you can't go back. Heck, even Malory ruins you for life. White and Malory write the King Arthur ensemble cast with nuance and understanding. Tennyson decided that his time would be best spent ragging on all of the female characters and blaming the men's faults on them. Malory's version of the Tale of Sir Gareth read like 90s "i hate you i love you" romance in the best way, whereas Tennyson's reminded me of "Taming of the Shrew" done straight and crudely. My god. Why did Tennyson hate women so much? Did women kill his parents or something?
I still recommend this for (a) poetic value and (b) the influence Tennyson had on Arthuriana. I can't deny that "Idylls of the King" is a touchstone in the line of King Arthur retellings, but personally, I felt relieved when it ended. Also I may or may not be bitter at the utter lack of development of Gawain and the rest of the Orkney brothers. Tennyson, how could you?
The problem is that after reading "The Once and Future King," you can't go back. Heck, even Malory ruins you for life. White and Malory write the King Arthur ensemble cast with nuance and understanding. Tennyson decided that his time would be best spent ragging on all of the female characters and blaming the men's faults on them. Malory's version of the Tale of Sir Gareth read like 90s "i hate you i love you" romance in the best way, whereas Tennyson's reminded me of "Taming of the Shrew" done straight and crudely. My god. Why did Tennyson hate women so much? Did women kill his parents or something?
I still recommend this for (a) poetic value and (b) the influence Tennyson had on Arthuriana. I can't deny that "Idylls of the King" is a touchstone in the line of King Arthur retellings, but personally, I felt relieved when it ended. Also I may or may not be bitter at the utter lack of development of Gawain and the rest of the Orkney brothers. Tennyson, how could you?
opheliaandsocrates's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this!! Its incredibly beautiful the language the storys were all so good!!!
lnatal's review against another edition
3.0
Free download available at eBooks@Adelaide.
From BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3:
Alfred Lord Tennyson's epic poem The Idylls of the King, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith and adapted by Michael Symmons Roberts.
From BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3:
Alfred Lord Tennyson's epic poem The Idylls of the King, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith and adapted by Michael Symmons Roberts.
nicholasbobbitt1997's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not a huge fan of the poetry but it's Arthur and interesting, so I definitely want this on my shelves.
blueeyedshook's review against another edition
4.0
“Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer / Than this world dreams of." What a beautiful classic story. I actually read this with my teen son as he had to read it for school and I had never read an entire book by Tennyson or on King Arthur. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. Plus I could help him as he read the rhythms and words that he didn't fully understand on his own. And the best review I can give is that he was the one who brought the book to me to continue reading. Of course, he didn't enjoy the romantic portions as much as I did, and while he might not admit that he enjoyed it at all, I noticed how much he paid attention and how much he understood and when he laughed or reacted. That made my heart love the book all the more.
bookishjenn's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a huge fan of poetry, but I really liked how Tennyson interpreted the Arthurian legends! Super depressing, but really interesting.
Now I just have to present on this tomorrow...
Now I just have to present on this tomorrow...
glamafonic's review against another edition
Reread select portions outside of the confines of an English class for funsies. Even more terrible and misogynistic than I remember, but also still so pretty.
hammard's review against another edition
1.0
I am not a fan of Tennyson but I love Arthurian lore. This may explain why I struggle to enjoy Idylls. I don't feel this ever manages to convey a coherent enough narrative arc for the rise and fall of Arthur nor do I feel it adds much that was not already presented better in Malory.
brynhammond's review against another edition
4.0
As usual, I thought right up there the short story of Balin, who is to blame for his own tragedy ('My violences, my violences!').
Darker than I had expected and gutsier. I think I decided to read this at last after I saw a book on Tennyson's battle poetry. How he wrote 54 battle poems and had a genuine feel for the 'heroic ethos' of ancient fiction to which he was devoted. Fair enough, I thought. Tried a couple of short ones: his Boadicea is as bloody as she came, and I throbbed to 'The Revenge: a Ballad of the Fleet'. I even felt the tribute in his Ode on Wellington.
I think he's a gorgeous poet, on the whole, although I'd make cuts. The guy can write.
Arthur is his hero, and not Lancelot. This isn't the courtly love version, but the version where a self-indulgent love corrupts a heroic kingdom. Arthur's certainly a fighting king against pagans. Give him a pagan, he can let loose without qualms and soar with the sword.
The comedy can be faux-medieval -- I mean you think of those silly films in tights, but perhaps comedy wasn't his forte. I expect tragedy is, and melancholy.
Again, I'll have Balin, ten pages of him, gut-wrenchingly tragic and very darkly done. But I'd say that about Malory's Balin. Which proves to me Tennyson was awake to the old authentic stuff, though he's often condemned for Victorian.
Darker than I had expected and gutsier. I think I decided to read this at last after I saw a book on Tennyson's battle poetry. How he wrote 54 battle poems and had a genuine feel for the 'heroic ethos' of ancient fiction to which he was devoted. Fair enough, I thought. Tried a couple of short ones: his Boadicea is as bloody as she came, and I throbbed to 'The Revenge: a Ballad of the Fleet'. I even felt the tribute in his Ode on Wellington.
I think he's a gorgeous poet, on the whole, although I'd make cuts. The guy can write.
Arthur is his hero, and not Lancelot. This isn't the courtly love version, but the version where a self-indulgent love corrupts a heroic kingdom. Arthur's certainly a fighting king against pagans. Give him a pagan, he can let loose without qualms and soar with the sword.
The comedy can be faux-medieval -- I mean you think of those silly films in tights, but perhaps comedy wasn't his forte. I expect tragedy is, and melancholy.
Again, I'll have Balin, ten pages of him, gut-wrenchingly tragic and very darkly done. But I'd say that about Malory's Balin. Which proves to me Tennyson was awake to the old authentic stuff, though he's often condemned for Victorian.
More...