Lancelot VII by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Name: Lancelot VII
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson

In “Lancelot VII,” Lancelot shelters at Joyous Gard during relentless rain, surrounded by memories of the many men who died in the conflict over Guinevere. He reflects bitterly on Gawaine, Arthur, Modred, and the dwindling space in the world for all of them. Guinevere joins him by the fire, fearful of Gawaine and wounded by Lancelot’s calm insistence that Rome’s authority and her safety require her return to Camelot. Guinevere accuses him of having saved her from one fire only to condemn her to a slower suffering. She recalls the morning when he rescued her from the fire at Camelot, where men died for her, and she rejects his attempts to absolve her of blame. Lancelot admits that his love led her away from Arthur, but argues that their world is dying and that their love, however real, has brought exile, fear, bloodshed, and ruin. He believes he must relinquish her rather than continue living on a false hope. Guinevere hears his resolve as cruelty. She begs him not to send her back to Arthur, whom she dreads and believes she may hate enough to kill. She asks instead to be hidden in France, Egypt, a cave, or any remote place, even if Lancelot does not remain with her. Her pleading turns into anguish over her lost beauty, queenship, and value to him. She clings to him, asking whether nothing remains of the woman he once called his “white and gold.” Lancelot answers that she cannot conceal herself in France, for Rome would find her, and that neither of them can turn their former love into an obscure private life. Guinevere is too recognizable, too much a queen, and their flight would invite Rome’s interdict and a longer war. He tells her that they cannot make one world out of two or count one life as more than one. Their old happiness cannot be restored; if they returned to it, its fruit would already have fallen and would taste of earth. Guinevere continues to beg to be taken anywhere but Camelot, saying she would rather die in France than face Arthur. Lancelot only raises and holds her while she moans in grief. Through the night he sits by the dying fire, listening to rain fall upon the graves and feeling emptied of certainty except for the unseen Light that guides him. He resolves that he must not kill men for Gawaine, recognizing that he has already killed Gawaine’s brothers. Seven days later, Guinevere rides into Camelot with a silent escort, Lancelot grimly beside her. Returning to Joyous Gard, Lancelot receives Arthur’s banishment and foresees that Gawaine will give Arthur no peace. Lancelot then sails from Cardiff to Bayonne with many knights who are no longer Arthur’s, while Gawaine, Arthur, and Arthur’s army follow for further war and sorrow.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1920 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Arthurian Literature, Tragedy · 5,796 words

First lines

ALL day the rain came down on Joyous Gard,

Where now there was no joy, and all that night

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Lancelot VII is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1920 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
Date: 1920 CE
Language: English
Genres: Narrative Poetry, Arthurian Literature, Tragedy, Dramatic Poetry, Romantic Tragedy
Length: 5,796 words
Structure: 1 section, 393 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Narrative Poetry — The work is a sustained verse narrative that advances plot, character, setting, and conflict through poetic lines rather than prose.
Arthurian Literature — It draws directly on the Matter of Britain, centering on Lancelot, Guinevere, King Arthur, Gawaine, Mordred, Camelot, and Joyous Gard.
Tragedy — The poem treats the love of Lancelot and Guinevere as an inescapably destructive force, amid guilt, deaths, exile, political collapse, and the approaching ruin of Arthur's world.
Dramatic Poetry — Its long, psychologically charged exchange between Lancelot and Guinevere gives it the concentrated conflict, voice-driven action, and emotional intensity of drama in verse.