Fault Lines

“‘He is all fault who hath no fault at all:
For who loves me must have a touch of earth.’”
("Lancelot and Elaine," ll.132-33)

Points for Reflection

"Balin and Balan" (written 1872-74; published 1885)

1. 1. why does Guinevere’s inspiring influence serve to restore the wild knight Edyrn but fail to transform the “savage” knight Balin?
2. 2. Arthur forgives Balin his earlier, nearly fatal loss of self-control and patience, and calls him to be “‘wiser for falling!’” (l.73).  Over the course of this tale, does Balin demonstrate that he has indeed taken up Arthur’s moral charge?
3. if Arthur is a Christ-like moral paragon, what is King Pellam?  Be sure to mention his religious asceticism (ll.95-116) in your response.
4. is Garlon correct in his claim that the knights of the Round Table are naïve “‘babes’” (l.356)?  Consider at least two tales read thus far in your response.
5. is Balin correct in his assertion that moral character is a gift “‘Born with the blood, not learnable, divine, / Beyond my reach’” (ll.171-72)?  Use the tales you have read thus far to back up your claims.
6. what does Balin’s limited success with restraining his temper suggest about the nature of the symbol (the queen’s crown-royal on his shield) inspiring his self-control?
7. what drives the short-fused Balin from the time he departs Camelot (ll.276-84) up to the tale’s end, suspicion or conviction?
8. are the accusations directed at Guinevere by Garlon, son of King Pellam, accurate?  What of those tossed the queen’s way by Vivien?  Should we fault Balin for dismissing Garlon’s accusations and accepting Vivien’s?
9. is Balin indeed “mad” (i.e. crazy)?

"Merlin and Vivien" (1859)

1. 1. why might Tennyson have begun “Merlin and Vivien” with “A storm was coming, but the winds were still . . .” (l.1).
2. 2. in “Balin and Balan,” Vivien sang a lyric that extols the “‘fire within thy blood’” (l.447) fanned by the “old sun-worship” (l.451), and deprecates Christian devotees (monks and nuns) for “‘[scorning] the world’s desire’” (l.439).  In “Merlin and Vivien,” she follows up by claiming that Arthur is not “pure” because created by a sexual act (ll.49-51).  What, at root, is her problem with Arthur and his court?
3. does this story support or interrogate the notion that men can love women without involving sexual desire?  In your response, consider the words of the minstrel from Caerleon, as well as those of Vivian and Merlin.
4. what is “the truth” (l.46) to which Vivien claims she has gained special access since being born on a battlefield, “sown upon the wind,” and arriving in the Cornish King Mark’s court (ll.46-51).  Do the stories read thus far suggest that her claim about human nature is correct?
5. Vivien claims that everything in life, in some form or fashion, revolves around sexual desire.  How does this belief shape her actions throughout “Merlin and Vivien”?
6. what clues in Guinevere’s language suggest that she suspects Vivien’s true intentions (ll.66-96)?
7. does Vivien correctly interpret what she witnesses at Arthur’s court (ll.96-147)?
8. Merlin half disdains, half believes Vivien for much of “Merlin and Vivien.”  Instead of simply categorizing her as false and foul—Vivien does, after all, repeatedly reveal her true colors to him—Merlin entertains the possibility that she truly loves him.  Why?
9. what types of people are vulnerable to Vivien’s skilful mixing of truth and falsehood?  Who appears to be invulnerable?
10. Vivien maintains that Arthur’s knights are not as morally pure as may appear to the casual observer.  Is Merlin’s defense of the four knights criticized by Vivien convincing?
11. does Merlin’s suggestion that women differ more widely from one another then do men (ll.810-13) smack of sexism?  Is this a comment on female limitations or female capacity?
12. does it appear that Vivien’s lies will earn her divine disfavor (ll.927-59)?

"Lancelot and Elaine" (1859)

1. trace the use of the words “fancy” and “fantasy,” and spin an argument concerning their employment.
2. the narrator tells us early on that Elaine “lives in fantasy” (l.27).  How true is this?
3. compare and contrast “Lancelot and Elaine” with Tennyson’s earlier poem “The Lady of Shalott,” with particular attention to the function played by art/needlework. Does Elaine’s elaborate needlework match the form and function of that created by the lady of Shalott in Tennyson’s poem of the same name?
4. is the Guinevere of “Lancelot and Elaine” the same, virtuous Guinevere we have heard described in the earlier tales?
5. originally, “Lancelot and Elaine” was entitled “Elaine,” and “Merlin and Vivien” was entitled “Vivien.”  Does Tennyson’s renaming more closely indicate the proper focus of each of these two stories?
6. does the law of courtesy which directs Lancelot’s actions serve him well in “Lancelot and Elaine”?
7. how do characters most effectively communicate their thoughts, intentions, and/or emotions in this story, with or without words?
8. does Arthur appear, in “Lancelot and Elaine” as well as those tales which precede it, to be the “‘moral child’” Guinevere names him (l.145)?
9. attempt to answer the question Lancelot asks of himself—concerning his name—in lines 1391-93.
10. after finishing “Lancelot and Elaine,” go back and parse the symbolic value of Elaine’s various dreams.
11. why does Elaine of Astolat fall for Lancelot?  Over the course of this story, does her love ennoble or degrade her?
12. does the tale suggest that Lancelot errs worse in rejecting Elaine’s love than in dallying with Guinevere consistently?
13. does Lancelot’s repeat self-deprecation (ll.445-49, 1391-1416, etc.) cover over his moral transgressions?  Does he emerge from this tale with his virtue and heroism intact?
14. compare and contrast Guinevere and Elaine, considering their respective reactions to news of Lancelot’s near mortal wound, their treatment of him, the nature of their affection for him, etc.
15. closely analyze the conversation between Lancelot and Guinevere in which he proffers the diamonds (ll.1170-1232).  Does Tennyson’s version of the legend suggest that these secret lovers have consummated their relationship with physical intimacy, or that their bond is one woven by words and emotions alone?
16. Arthur suggests that Elaine appeared made “‘by God for [Lancelot] alone’” (l.1356).  Do the accurate prescience of Elaine’s dreams, the nature of her affection, and/or her interactions with Lancelot suggest that—within the bounds of this retelling of the tale—this observation is true?
17. does the narrator implicitly rose-color or critique the intimate relations between Lancelot and Guinevere in the tale “Lancelot and Elaine”?
18. what does Tennyson suggest about the path to virtue in lines 873-79?  Does this revelation about human psychology apply to any of the other tale(s) you have read thus far?

"The Holy Grail" (1869, dated 1870)

1. the monk Ambrosius shares with Percivale his conviction that all the knights of the Round Table, be they “good” or “bad,” are stamped “with the image of the King,” a condition he earlier connects with “courtesy” (ll.22-28).  Is Ambrosius correct, or have we seen in the tales thus far any exceptions?
2. does “The Holy Grail” suggest that romantic ardor and relationship are always a distant second --  morally speaking -- to such heroic and noble ventures as that undertaken by many of Arthur’s knights?
3. according to “The Holy Grail,” can moral righteousness coexist for very long with material (bodily and/or social) concerns?  Does one necessarily subsume or destroy the other?
4. do those who actually see the Holy Grail benefit from the experience?
5. why exactly does Arthur decry his knights’ departing on this particular quest?  Does this betray in Arthur an inattentiveness to spiritual and holy matters?
6. "The Holy Grail” draws a pretty clear demarcation between the miraculous features of the Holy Grail (clearly aligned with Christianity, given the nature of the cup) and the pagan power of that “remnant” strong in “old magic” who imprison Bors for describing his quest as divinely-driven and Christ-centered (ll.657-73)?  In light of this dichotomy, where does the tale seem to place Merlin?
7. why does that which Percivale sees and touches vanish, whereas Galahad is able to touch such things indefinitely (ll.378-439, 503-7)?
8. does the story suggest that Percivale made the right decision in going on the quest?
9. whose description of Lancelot’s moral fibre are we to take as truth, Lancelot’s own (ll.763-849) or Arthur’s (ll.761-62, 869-883)?
10. is this story the antithesis of RB’s Andrea del Sarto’s “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”  Does it place everyone in their place, suggesting that not everyone should strive for the highest?

The Beguiling of Merlin (1872-77)
Edward Burne Jones

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu