Lancelot VIII by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Name: Lancelot VIII
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson

Lancelot, besieged at Benwick, receives a truce message from Sir Gawaine: Arthur has abandoned the war against him in France because Britain now demands the King’s attention. Reading Gawaine’s letter, Lancelot suspects that Modred has seized the chance to threaten Arthur’s realm and that Gawaine, wounded in their fighting, has been left behind to speak with him. Lancelot visits Gawaine, who is fevered, exhausted, and near death from the wound Lancelot gave him while defending his own life. Gawaine tells him not to mourn Gareth, Gaheris, and Agravaine alone, for he himself expects soon to join them. He admits that revenge and a shared madness have driven them all, and he says that he no longer bears much venom toward Lancelot. He reflects bitterly on Modred, whom he portrays as innately destructive and as the evil force that has grown unnoticed beside Arthur. Gawaine warns Lancelot that Arthur has returned toward Britain with a depleted army to fight Modred for the throne. The Queen, he says, is in London, hiding in the Tower and exposed to Modred’s designs. Though Arthur may not confess it, Gawaine believes he needs Lancelot more than anyone else. Lancelot may still be able to save him, if he remembers both Arthur’s weaknesses of virtue and Modred’s singular wickedness. Gawaine insists that his past suspicions of Lancelot, particularly concerning the Queen, were diseased and inflamed. He recalls Arthur calling on both God and Lancelot when he believed the Queen to be in flames, showing how deeply the King depended on him. Gawaine laments the price the world has paid for Camelot and doubts that any renewed Camelot or king can escape the same human failures. He speaks of Merlin, Bedivere’s dream of “Another Camelot and another King,” and the possibility that he himself might have been king, while acknowledging the ruinous nature of his own life. As his mind wanders, Gawaine asks Lancelot to carry messages if he meets Arthur and the Queen again: to tell Arthur that Gawaine loved him but served him ill, and to say what may be said best to the Queen. He also asks to be remembered to Pelleas and speaks remorsefully of the dead and dying around them. Afraid of being left alone, he offers Lancelot his cold hand and asks him to pretend, for a while, that he is asleep. Lancelot urges him to rest and to forget what he forgives. After Gawaine sleeps for many hours, Lancelot recognizes his death and gives peace to Gawaine’s soul.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1927 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Arthurian Literature, Epic Poetry · 2,886 words

First lines

FOR longer war they came, and with a fury

That only Modred's opportunity, / Seized in the dark of Britain, could have hushed

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Lancelot VIII 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, Epic Poetry, Tragic Poetry, Legendary Fiction
Length: 2,886 words
Structure: 1 section, 194 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Narrative Poetry — The work is composed in elevated verse and advances a dramatic episode through narration, description, and extended dialogue.
Arthurian Literature — It centers on Lancelot, Gawaine, Arthur, Guinevere, Modred, Merlin, Camelot, and the collapse of Arthur's kingdom.
Epic Poetry — Its grand historical-mythic setting, heroic figures, warfare, kingdom-wide stakes, and formal blank-verse style align it with epic tradition.
Tragic Poetry — The scene is dominated by fatal wounds, remorse, irreversible political ruin, death, and the recognition that Camelot has paid dearly for its failures.