Matthew Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum and Other Poems Part 24

=89-93. Hark ... sun.= In her song Margaret shows she is still keenly alive to human interests, temporal and spiritual. The priest, bell, and holy well (l. 91) symbolize the church, here Roman Catholic. The bell is used in the Roman Church to call especial attention to the more important portions of the service; the well is the holy-water font.

=129. heaths starr'd with broom.= The flower of the broom plant, common in England, is yellow; hence, _starr'd_.

In his work on Matthew Arnold, George Saintsbury speaks of this poem as follows: "It is, I believe, not so 'correct' as it once was to admire this [poem]; but I confess indocility to correctness, at least the correctness which varies with fashion. _The Forsaken Merman_ is not a perfect poem--it has _tongueurs_, though it is not long; it has its inadequacies, those incompetences of expression which are so oddly characteristic of its author; and his elaborate simplicity, though more at home here than in some other places, occasionally gives a dissonance. But it is a great poem,--one by itself,--one which finds and keeps its own place in the fore-ordained gallery or museum, with which every true lover of poetry is provided, though he inherits it by degrees. None, I suppose, will deny its pathos; I should be sorry for any one who fails to perceive its beauty. The brief picture of the land, and the fuller one of the sea, and that (more elaborate still) of the occupations of the fugitive, all have their charm. But the triumph of the piece is in one of those metrical coups, which give the triumph of all the greatest poetry, in the sudden change from the slower movements of the earlier stanzas, or strophes, to the quicker sweep of the famous conclusions."

[167]

What is the opening situation in the poem? Have the merman and his children just reached the sh.o.r.e, or have they been there some time?

Why so? Why does the merman still linger, when he is convinced that further delay will count for nothing? Why does he urge the children to call? What is shown by his repeated question--"was it yesterday"? Tell the story of Margaret's departure for the upper world, and discuss the validity of her reason for going. Do you think she intended to return?

What is the significance of her smile just before departing? Give a word picture of what the sea-folk saw as they lingered in the churchyard. Will Margaret ever grieve for the past? If so, when? Why?

Who has your sympathy most, Margaret, the forsaken merman, or the children? Why? Do you condemn Margaret for the way she has done, or do you feel she was justified in her actions? Discuss the versification, giving special attention to its effect on the movement of the poem.

TRISTRAM AND ISEULT

The story of Tristram and Iseult is one of the most vivid and pa.s.sionate of the Arthurian cycle of legends, and is a favorite with the poets. The following version is abridged from Dunlop's _History of Fiction_.

"In the court of his uncle, King Marc, the king of Cornwall, who at this time resided at the castle of Tyntagel, Tristram became expert in all knightly exercises.... The king of Ireland, at Tristram's solicitation, promised to bestow his daughter Iseult in marriage on King Marc.... The mother of Iseult gave to her daughter's confidante a philtre, or love-potion, to be administered on the night of her nuptials. Of this beverage Tristram and Iseult unfortunately partook.

Its influence, during the remainder of their lives, regulated the affections and destiny of the lovers.

[168]

"After the arrival of Tristram and Iseult in Cornwall, and the nuptials of the latter with King Marc, a great part of the romance is occupied with their contrivances to procure secret interviews ...

Tristram, being forced to leave Cornwall on account of the displeasure of his uncle, repaired to Brittany, where lived Iseult with the White Hands. He married her, more out of grat.i.tude than love. Afterwards he proceeded to the dominions of Arthur which became the theatre of unnumbered exploits.

"Tristram, subsequent to these events, returned to Brittany and to his long-neglected wife. There, being wounded and sick, he was soon reduced to the lowest ebb. In this situation he despatched a confidant to the queen of Cornwall to try if he could induce her to follow him to Brittany.

"Meanwhile Tristram awaited the arrival of the queen with such impatience that he employed one of his wife's damsels to watch at the harbor. Through her, Iseult learned Tristram's secret, and filled with jealousy, flew to her husband as the vessel which bore the queen of Cornwall was wafted toward the harbor, and reported that the sails were black (the signal that Iseult, Marc's queen, had refused Tristram's request to come to him). Tristram, penetrated with inexpressible grief, died. The account of Tristram's death was the first intelligence which the queen of Cornwall heard on landing. She was conducted to his chamber, and expired holding him in her arms."

=1. Is she not come?= That is, Iseult of Ireland. Arnold's poem takes up the story at the point where Tristram, now on his death-bed, is watching eagerly for the coming of Iseult, Marc's queen, for whom he had sent his confidant to Cornwall. Evidently he has just awakened and is still somewhat confused; see l. 7. Surely none will fail to appreciate so dramatic a situation.

=5. What ... be?= That is, what lights are those to the northward, the direction from which Iseult would come?

[169]

=8. Iseult.= Here Iseult of the White Hands, daughter of King Hoel of Brittany and wife of Tristram.

=20. Arthur's court.= Arthur, the half-mythical king of the Britons, set up his court at Camelot, which Caxton locates in Wales and Malory near Winchester. Here was gathered the famous company of champions known as the "Knights of the Round Table," whose feats have been extensively celebrated in song and story. Among these knights Tristram held high rank, both as a warrior and a harpist. See ll. 17-19.

=23. Lyoness.= A mythical region near Cornwall, the home country of Arthur and Tristram.

=30-31.= Hence the name, Iseult of the White Hands.

=56-68.= See introductory note to poem for explanation. =Tyntagel.= A village in Cornwall near the sea. Near it is the ruined Tyntagel Castle, the reputed birthplace of Arthur. In the romance of Sir Tristram it is the castle of King Marc, the cowardly and treacherous king of Cornwall, the southwest county of England. =teen=. See note, l. 147, _The Scholar-Gipsy_. (Grief, sorrow; from the old English _teona_, meaning injury.)

=88. wanders=, in fancy. Note how the wounded knight's mind flits from scene to scene, always centring around Iseult of Ireland.

=91. O'er ... sea.= The Irish Sea. He is dreaming of his return trip from Ireland with Iseult, "under the cloudless sky of May" (l. 96).

=129-132.= See introductory note to poem. The green isle, Ireland is noted for its green fields; hence the name, Emerald (green) Isle.

=134. on loud Tyntagel's hill.= A high headland on the coast of Wales.

Discuss the force of the adjective "loud" in this connection.

=137-160. And that ... more.= See introductory note to poem.

=161. pleasaunce-walks.= A pleasure garden, screened by trees, shrubs, and close hedges--here a trysting-place. After the marriage of Iseult to King Marc, she and Tristram contrived to continue their relationship in secret. [170]

=164. fay.= Faith. (Obsolete except in poetry.)

=180.= Tristram, having been discovered by King Marc in his intrigues with Iseult, was forced to leave Cornwall; hence his visit to Brittany and subsequent marriage to Iseult of the White Hands. See introductory note to poem.

=192. lovely orphan child.= Iseult of Brittany.

=194. chatelaine.= From the French, meaning the mistress of a chateau--a castle or fortress.

=200. stranger-knight, ill-starr'd.= That is, Tristram, whose many mishaps argued his being born under an unlucky star. See also the account of his birth, note, ll. 81-88, Part II.

=203. Launcelot's guest at Joyous Gard.= Prior to his visit to Brittany, Tristram had imprisoned his uncle, King Marc, and eloped with Iseult to the domains of King Arthur. While there he resided at Joyous Gard, the favorite castle of Launcelot, which that knight a.s.signed to the lovers as their abode.

=204. Welcomed here.= That is, in Brittany, where he was nursed back to health by Iseult of the White Hands. See introductory note to poem.

=215-226. His long rambles ... ground.= Account for Tristram's discontent, as indicated in these lines.

=234-237. All red ... bathed in foam.= The kings of Britain agreed with Arthur to make war upon Rome. Arthur, leaving Modred in charge of his kingdom, made war upon the Romans, and, after a number of encounters, Lucius Tiberius was killed and the Britons were victorious.--GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH, Book IV, Chapter XV; Book X, Chapters I-XIII. According to Malory, Arthur captured many French and Italian cities (see ll. 250-251); during this continental invasion, and was finally crowned king at Rome. It seems that he afterward despatched a considerable number of his knights to carry the Christian faith among the heathen German tribes. See ll. 252-253. [171]

=238. moonstruck knight.= A reference to the mystical influence the ancients supposed the moon to exert over men's minds and actions.

=239. What foul fiend rides thee?= What evil spirit possesses you and keeps you from the fight?

=240. her.= That is, Iseult of Ireland.

=243. wanders forth again=, in fancy.

=245. secret in his breast.= What secret?

=250-253.= See note, ll. 234-237. =blessed sign.= The cross.

=255. Roman Emperor.= That is, Lucius Tiberius. See note, ll. 234-237.

=258. leaguer.= Consult dictionary.

=261. what boots it?= That is, what difference will it make?

=303. recks not.= Has no thought of (archaic).

=308-314. My princess ... good night.= Are Tristram's words sincere, or has he a motive in thus dismissing Iseult?

=373-374.= From a dramatic standpoint, what is the purpose of these two lines?