Article: The Stones in the Sword: Tennyson's Crown Jewels.(Alfred Lord Tennyson)(Critical Essay)

OF ALL THE ILLICIT AFFAIRS IN THE IDYLLS OF THE KING, NONE IS MORE unusual than "bold" Sir Bedivere's relation with Excalibur (PA, l. 207) [1] Commanded to cast the kingdom's founding sword into the lake where it surfaced, the Round Table's first knight finds himself dazzled by the brand's moonlit handle, which "twinkle[s] with diamond sparks, / Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth-work / Of subtlest jewellery" (PA, ll. 224-226).[2] Thinking of how the gems might please "the eyes of many men" by being preserved for posterity "in some treasure-house of mighty kings" (PA, ll. 259, 269), an enthralled Bedivere tries to salvage the sword through disobedience and deceit. Only ...

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