Merlin VII by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Name: Merlin VII
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson

By Merlin’s Rock, Bedivere urges Gawaine to abandon his hatred of Lancelot and dissuade Arthur from marching against him. Bedivere fears that Arthur’s pursuit of Lancelot and the Queen will destroy not only enemies but the kingdom itself. Gawaine, however, is consumed by anger over Lancelot’s killing of his unarmed brothers Gareth and Gaheris and demands violent vengeance. Bedivere argues that Lancelot’s men struck in confusion and that hatred of one man must not outweigh the fate of Camelot. Dagonet joins them and, beneath his joking manner, diagnoses the ruin around them. Lancelot makes war from love of the Queen; Arthur makes war from love and hatred joined in madness; Gawaine makes war from hatred; and Modred makes war from ambition for Arthur’s crown and the Queen. The world, he says, is crushed amid these passions. Bedivere nevertheless believes that later generations may build what survives them, perhaps under another Merlin, Camelot, and King. Gawaine silently goes with Bedivere toward Camelot, where Arthur’s army awaits its march to Joyous Gard, while Dagonet broods that Gawaine’s vengeance may drag the world into destruction. Merlin then appears, aged, sorrowful, and newly returned from Broceliande. He tells Dagonet that he foresaw the catastrophe and believes it signifies the end of Arthur’s majesty, though endings contain beginnings unknown to men. Dagonet recalls the coming of the Grail: Galahad’s calm in the Siege Perilous, the knights’ failed or troubled quest, and the altered returns of Lancelot, Bors, and others. He sees that Lancelot has never wholly returned from what he saw, while Gawaine’s hate hangs over the realm like a sword. Merlin says he had come to see Arthur but recognizes that he cannot avert what must reveal to humanity the vanity of wrecking the world for self. Arthur, Modred, Lancelot, and Gawaine are, in his vision, enlarged but bewildered expressions of an eternal will, driven through the destruction of empire. He declares that woman, together with the light Galahad found, will yet help illuminate the world. Dagonet bitterly mocks this hope, seeing only the immediate misery caused by the Queen and the men who fight over her, and resolves to leave the court for a simpler life among shepherds and children. Merlin insists that he is not dead but old. He recounts his bond with Vivian, whom he regards as wise beyond the limits of men’s understanding and as a figure whose significance will receive another name in a later time. He sees a vision of Camelot collapsing in black, red, and ruin, and recognizes in it an echo of Vivian. He will not return to her, believing that returning only adds weary wisdom and that time has taken him too far from both Vivian and Camelot. Dagonet realizes that Arthur’s fall and Modred’s rise are near, and fears that the Queen may also fall to Modred. Merlin asks Dagonet, as a knight, to accompany him and tell no one that he has seen him, since rumors that Merlin might have intervened would cast doubt on his loyalty to Arthur. Merlin says that Arthur was always meant to be a mirror in which men might see themselves and pause, though Merlin himself was neither Fate nor God. He has seen beyond himself two future fires that will light the world. Overcome by renewed love and pity, Dagonet calls himself Merlin’s fool and promises to follow him. Merlin answers that the King is listening, and Dagonet accepts that he will die a fool. Together they descend through the darkness toward Camelot as the wind rises and night settles over the stricken city.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1917 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Arthurian Literature, Tragedy · 5,449 words

First lines

BY Merlin's Rock, where Dagonet the fool

Was given through many a dying afternoon

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Merlin VII is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1917 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
Date: 1917 CE
Language: English
Genres: Narrative Poetry, Arthurian Literature, Tragedy, Dramatic Poetry, Mythic Poetry
Length: 5,449 words
Structure: 1 section, 413 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Genres

Narrative Poetry — The work tells a sustained story in verse, advancing an Arthurian episode through scene, dialogue, character action, and prophetic vision.
Arthurian Literature — It is explicitly set in the world of Camelot and centers on Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Gawaine, Bedivere, Modred, and Dagonet.
Tragedy — The poem presents the impending destruction of Camelot as the result of vengeance, adultery, ambition, madness, and irreversible historical decline.
Dramatic Poetry — Its action is chiefly conveyed through extended, highly theatrical dialogue among Gawaine, Bedivere, Dagonet, and Merlin.