Treatment of Arthurian legend

“Morte d’Arthur” is the final part of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s epic poem Idylls of the King. In this section, the poet narrates the death of King Arthur and the fate of his sword, Excalibur. The Victorian era is marked by significant scientific advancements, but it is also characterized by a sense of restlessness. With the rise of science, many people began to lose faith in religion. King Arthur remains a central figure in England’s history.

The true understanding of materialism versus myth in “Morte d’Arthur” is revealed in the scene between Arthur and Sir Bedivere. Mortally wounded, Arthur commands Bedivere to throw Excalibur back into the lake from which it came. Bedivere runs to the lake, ready to fulfill his duty, when the sight of Excalibur’s hilt catches his eye. The hilt “twinkled with diamond sparks, / Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth-work / Of subtlest jewellery” (56-58). Initially prepared to throw the sword into the lake, Bedivere is instead captivated by its beauty. Unable to part with it, he chooses to conceal Excalibur “there in the many-knotted waterflags” (62-63) and returns to the king, lying about the sword’s fate.

Arthur immediately recognizes the lie and gently scolds Bedivere, reminding him that it is a “shameful thing for men to lie” (78). He orders Bedivere once again to cast the sword into the lake. Bedivere returns to the lake but is once more captivated by the “wonder of the hilt” (85). He rationalizes his disobedience, speaking of the sword in purely materialistic terms, describing it as a “precious thing... which might have pleased the eye of many men” (89-91). He imagines it displayed in a treasure house or at a tournament, disregarding its sanctity and mystery. Most significantly, he disobeys his king. 

Arthur does not respond kindly to Bedivere’s second betrayal, and he seems to grasp the motive behind it fully. He condemns Bedivere as “miserable and unkind, untrue, / Unknightly, traitor-hearted...” (119-120) and laments that Bedivere would “betray me for the precious hilt; Either from lust of gold, or like a girl / Valuing the giddy pleasure of the eyes” (126-128). While Arthur forgave Bedivere’s first offense as a crime of impulse, the second was a deliberate act of rationalization that the king could not condone. Bedivere consciously chose to keep the sword, a symbol of material perfection, over obeying his king’s orders. In this, Tennyson offers a critique of the materialism that permeated his own culture, illustrating that while the allure of material perfection is tempting, it must ultimately be set aside in favor of something deeper.