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Between Vivian and Enid: The Platypus Reads Part LVIII




On this trip through Tennyson's "Idylls of the King," as with "Jane Eyre," the symbolic/allegorical level of the work is standing out. With Tolkien, I tend to dislike formal allegory but often find myself attracted to layers of carefully created symbolism. Indeed, I find this to be the main draw of authors like Hawthorne. In my own writing, I find that symbols and images tend to take over the work, if I'm not careful, and drown out plot and characterization. Perhaps Tennyson's heavy use of symbols in "The Idylls of the King" is one of the things that draws me so strongly to the book.

I can't claim any particular genius in decoding Tennyson's symbols. Dorothy L. Sayers' writings got me pointed in the right direction by mentioning that Arthur stands for human reason and Guinevere for human emotion. The theme of the cycle is "sense at war with soul," and so Arthur and Guinevere's inability to reconcile and rule forms the central motif of the the book. Keeping that in mind, other sets of symbolic pairs appear: Gareth/merit and Lynette/praise Geraint/inconstancy and Enid/constancy, Balin/animal self and Balan/rational self, Merlin/wisdom and Vivian/cunning, Lancelot/incontinence and Elaine/will, Galahad/spiritual man and Gawain/carnal man, Pelleas/innocence and Ettaire/worldliness, Tristram/cynicism and Dagonet/idealism. These pairings drive both the action and meaning of the book.

Other symbols worth looking at include music/divine order, the three queens/ Faith, Hope, and Love, the Lady of the Lake/the Christian tradition, water/death, Sir Bors/moderation, the seasons/change.

That's all for the moment, but it's a deep work and I'm sure there will be more to come.
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