The Lady of Shalott

I have just spent a most pleasant evening with my children learning all about the beautiful and tragic Tennyson poem The Lady of Shalott. First I read the poem out loud to them. Then we listened to the Loreena McKennitt song while we followed along in the book. Then we googled for images and found many, including the one above by Yang Zhang which is very similar to the one by Waterhouse but much cleaner and with a lovelier Lady.

The Lady of Shalott knows that there is a curse on her if she looks out the window down into Camelot so she sits at her loom weaving a magic tapestry looking at the images she sees in her magic mirror of the people that travel in and out of Camelot. She is content for a while but soon becomes weary of looking at the lives of others. One day she sees Sir Lancelot reflected within the mirror's frame. As she looks out the window at the real Knight her mirror cracks and the curse is in effect. So she writes her name on the side of a boat and floats down to Camelot, singing a song with her final breath. When Sir Lancelot sees her dead in her boat he says a blessing to her.

To see some of the rich artwork inspired by the poem and to read it for yourself check out this site. I encourage you to read the commentary as well. It is very interesting stuff.

This is just one of a series of Tennyson poems in connection with legendary King Arthur that I am reading for the Arthurian Challenge.

Review:The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone
by T.H. White

If ever a book was destined to made into a Disney movie this book is it. It was funny and corny in the same way that the Disney version is. I haven't seen the movie in a long time but there are scenes that popped into my head as I read them and made me smile. All the humor and fun were a pleasure to read. It starts to feel sluggish about 200 pages in but in the end it is all brought back together beautifully.

More than telling a story about the beginnings of King Arthur, I think this book was a treatise about the importance of learning. The Wart could not have become King Arthur without all that he had learned from Merlyn, no matter how silly or boring the reader may find it. Here is a quote that I think encapsulates this message perfectly:

"The best thing for disturbances of the spirit," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love and lose you moneys to a monster, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then-to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the poor mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you."

I happen to agree with that. And I offer my recommendation of this book to anyone 10 and older.

Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
translated by J.R.R. Tolkien

If you will listen to this lay bit a little while now,
I will tell it at once as in town I have heard it told,
as it is fixed and fettered
in story brave and bold,
this linked and truly lettered,
as was loved in this land of old.

Every time I read poetry I fall in love yet again. So it is truly a wonder that I don't read it more often. I must do something about that. You can be sure, though, that I will reread this one with some frequency. In fact, I plan to make this a read-aloud in our homeschool next year as we will be hitting this era in history. My daughter is a lover of poetry and my young son craves adventure.

The story begins in the courts of King Arthur who is celebrating the New Year with dainty food and hearty games, when a strange site rises before his eyes: a huge, emerald green knight atop a huge, emerald green steed. The Green Knight challenges the Round Table to a test of bravery; he and one brave knight will exchange one blow each with his mighty ax. Arthur's knight will strike that night but then he must find the Green Knight on the following New Year's day to receive his due. Strange sights are seen and a quest is started. There is seduction and a little magic. Will Sir Gawain be triumphant or will his worst fears be realized?

More than the storyline, which I took great pleasure in, what I loved the most was the alliterative poetic form. Look at this verse and watch how many times a particular sound repeats in each line:

Then was Gawain delighted, and in gladness he laughed:
'Now I thank you a thousand times for this beyond all!
Now my quest is accomplished, as you crave it, I will
dwell a few days here, and else do what you order.'

Notice the DLDL sound in the first line, the Th in the second, the Ck sound in the third, and the D sound in the last. Though I tried to pay close attention to the tale, I kept looking for the new sound that each line followed. I am in awe of the amount of work that goes into translating in this manner. Tolkien nails it beautifully. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem that should not be missed.

Though I've read this for the Arthurian Challenge I am thinking it would suit well as a folktale for the Once Upon a Time II Challenge as well. I may be stretching it a bit but I think anything related to King Arthur is so clearly cut from English cloth, that it tells us much about the people of that time and place, their beliefs and their longing for a hero.

On My Way to Camelot

I love romance and chivalry, the time of knights and ladies, quests and dragons. And what could capture the essence of these things more than the era of King Arthur? Despite my love of it, I really have read very little about that period in history. I feel the need to change that. So I have succumbed to another reading challenge. Becky is hosting the Arthurian Challenge that runs from April, 1008 to March, 2009. The goal is to read at least 6 books that are connected in some way to the story of King Arthur. Becky doesn't like to box you in with too many rules so that's pretty much all there is to it. You don't even have to post a list but I like gathering the books and noting them down somewhere so here are my choices:

1.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans. by J.R.R. Tolkien
2.King Arthur and His Knights by Henry Frith
3.The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
4.The Book of Merlyn by T.H. White
5.King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green
6.The Story of King Arthur by Tom Crawford
7.the following poems by Tennyson
-Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere
-The Lady of Shalott
-Morte d'Arthur
-Idylls of the King
-Merlin and the Gleam

So fare thee well sweet maids; fare thee well young gents. Mayhaps we shall meet again whither we go.