Lancelot II by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Name: Lancelot II
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson

Lancelot and Guinevere sit together at sunset beneath flashing oak leaves, troubled by Gawaine’s knowledge and mocking laughter. Guinevere initially treats court gossip as an ordinary danger, but Lancelot reveals that something Gawaine has said has struck near the truth of their love. He insists that Gawaine himself is not the chief threat. Lancelot recalls first seeing Guinevere when Arthur sent him to her father, Leodogran. Even then, though Arthur trusted him and Merlin had warned Arthur, Lancelot felt that his loyalty to the King would fail: after he saw Guinevere’s face, “there were no more kings.” He now fears Modred, whom he imagines constantly watching Guinevere and waiting for a word capable of destroying both her and Lancelot in Arthur’s eyes. For Lancelot, any end that comes to Guinevere would also end his own life. Guinevere doubts that Modred is the deepest cause of Lancelot’s dread. She sees that Lancelot has changed, especially after the Quest, and believes he fears a Light more than darkness: a spiritual or moral summons that has drawn him away from their former happiness. She says she has long understood that he can no longer hold what has held him. She refers to the men who rode away when the wild light came around Arthur’s Table, including Bors, Percival, Galahad, and Lancelot, while Gawaine soon returned. She also recalls her jealousy over the two Elaines, one of whom died for Lancelot. Guinevere refuses to let Lancelot protect her by speaking only in warnings of Modred and disaster. She tells him not to turn her into a burden on his conscience or a weight he must drag through life. Yet her tenderness persists: she kisses him and asks whether he would come to her that night if Modred were their only obstacle, since the King will be away hunting. She urges Lancelot to come and tell her all the terrible things he believes she must hear, even if they concern bones, horrors, and waves breaking forever at the world’s last edge.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1927 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Arthurian Literature, Dramatic Monologue · 3,704 words

First lines

THE FLASH of oak leaves over Guinevere

That afternoon, with the sun going down, / Made memories there for Lancelot, although

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Lancelot II is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1927 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
Date: 1927 CE
Language: English
Genres: Narrative Poetry, Arthurian Literature, Dramatic Monologue, Tragic Poetry, Romantic Poetry
Length: 3,704 words
Structure: 1 section, 259 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Genres

Narrative Poetry — The work is a sustained dramatic narrative in verse, using poetic imagery, meter, and elevated language to portray an Arthurian scene.
Arthurian Literature — It centers on Lancelot, Guinevere, Arthur, Gawain, Mordred, the Grail quest, Camelot, and the fatal pressures surrounding the Arthurian court.
Dramatic Monologue — Although composed largely as dialogue, the poem intensely exposes the inward states, moral conflict, fear, and changing consciousness of its principal speakers.
Tragic Poetry — Lancelot and Guinevere's love is shadowed by guilt, separation, betrayal, Mordred's threat, and the anticipated ruin of Camelot, giving the poem an unmistakably tragic movement.