The Fall of Arthur: Difference between revisions
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{{Book | |||
| title=The Fall of Arthur | | title=The Fall of Arthur | ||
| image=[[File:The Fall of Arthur.jpg|225px]] | | image=[[File:The Fall of Arthur.jpg|225px]] | ||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
| illustrator=Bill Sanderson | | illustrator=Bill Sanderson | ||
| publisherUK=[[HarperCollins]] | | publisherUK=[[HarperCollins]] | ||
| publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin | | publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin]] | ||
| date=[[23 May]] [[2013]] | | date=[[23 May]] [[2013]] | ||
| format=Hardback | | format=Hardback | ||
| pages=240 | | pages=240 | ||
| isbn= | | isbn=0007489943 | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Fall of Arthur''''' is a poem by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] | '''''The Fall of Arthur''''' is a long poem by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] concerning the legends of [[King Arthur]], written in the [[Old English]] alliterative meter. It was published, along with three essays by [[Christopher Tolkien]], on [[23 May]] [[2013]]. | ||
==Pre-publication history== | |||
The poem's existence was first revealed in [[1977]] when ''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'' was published. In [[Letter 165|a 1955 letter to Houghton Mifflin]], Tolkien, discussing his use of alliterative verse, mentioned that he hoped to finish his "long poem" ''The Fall of Arthur''.<ref>{{L|165}}</ref> | |||
In his [[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography|1981 biography of Tolkien]], [[Humphrey Carpenter]] published a few brief extracts of the poem and commented that it "has alliteration but no rhyme [and] did not touch on the Grail but began an individual rendering of the [[Wikipedia:Le Morte d'Arthur|Morte d'Arthur]], in which the king and Gawain go to war in 'Saxon lands' but are summoned home by news of Mordred's treachery".<ref name=Bio>[[Humphrey Carpenter]], ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography]]'' (1977 ed.), pp. 168-8</ref> It was also revealed that "The Fall of Arthur" was read and approved by both [[E.V. Gordon]] and [[R.W. Chambers]],<ref name=Bio/><ref>[[Verlyn Flieger]], "Arthurian Romance", in ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]]'', pp. 34-5</ref> and that the writing of the poem was abandoned in the mid 1930s.<ref name=Bio/> | |||
==Contents== | ==Contents== | ||
| Line 24: | Line 29: | ||
==From the publisher== | ==From the publisher== | ||
The world first publication of a previously unknown work by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], which tells the extraordinary story of the final days of England’s legendary hero, King Arthur. | {{blockquote|The world first publication of a previously unknown work by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], which tells the extraordinary story of the final days of England’s legendary hero, King Arthur.<br><br> | ||
''The Fall of Arthur'', the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur King of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skilful achievement in the use of the [[Old English]] alliterative metre, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur’s expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere’s flight from Camelot, of the great sea-battle on Arthur’s return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle.<br><br> | |||
''The Fall of Arthur'', the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur King of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skilful achievement in the use of the [[Old English]] alliterative metre, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur’s expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere’s flight from Camelot, of the great sea-battle on Arthur’s return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle. | Unhappily, ''The Fall of Arthur'' was one of several long narrative poems that he abandoned in that period. In this case he evidently began it in the earlier nineteen-thirties, and it was sufficiently advanced for him to send it to a very perceptive friend who read it with great enthusiasm at the end of [[1934]] and urgently pressed him ‘You simply must finish it!’ But in vain: he abandoned it, at some date unknown, though there is some evidence that it may have been in 1937, the year of the publication of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and the first stirrings of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Years later, in a [[Letter 165|letter of 1955]], he said that ‘he hoped to finish a long poem on ''The Fall of Arthur''’; but that day never came.<br><br> | ||
Associated with the text of the poem, however, are many manuscript pages: a great quantity of drafting and experimentation in verse, in which the strange evolution of the poem’s structure is revealed, together with narrative synopses and very significant if tantalising notes. In these latter can be discerned clear if mysterious associations of the Arthurian conclusion with ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', and the bitter ending of the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, which was never written.}} | |||
Unhappily, ''The Fall of Arthur'' was one of several long narrative poems that he abandoned in that period. In this case he evidently began it in the earlier nineteen-thirties, and it was sufficiently advanced for him to send it to a very perceptive friend who read it with great enthusiasm at the end of [[1934]] and urgently pressed him ‘You simply must finish it!’ But in vain: he abandoned it, at some date unknown, though there is some evidence that it may have been in 1937, the year of the publication of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and the first stirrings of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Years later, in a [[Letter 165|letter of 1955]], he said that ‘he hoped to finish a long poem on ''The Fall of Arthur''’; but that day never came. | |||
Associated with the text of the poem, however, are many manuscript pages: a great quantity of drafting and experimentation in verse, in which the strange evolution of the poem’s structure is revealed, together with narrative synopses and very significant if tantalising notes. In these latter can be discerned clear if mysterious associations of the Arthurian conclusion with ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', and the bitter ending of the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, which was never written. | |||
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==Reception== | ==Reception== | ||
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== | ==Publication history and gallery== | ||
* [[HarperCollins]] | {{Gallery | ||
* [[HarperCollins]] | |width=125 | ||
|height=125 | |||
|lines=2 | |||
|File:The Fall of Arthur.jpg|2013 hardcover | |||
|File:The Fall of Arthur deluxe.jpeg|2013 hardcover deluxe edition | |||
|File:The Fall of Arthur 2015.jpeg|2015 paperback | |||
}} | |||
*[[HarperCollins]] hardcover ([[May]] [[2013]]), pp. 240. ISBN 0007489943 | |||
*[[HarperCollins]] hardcover with slipcase ([[May]] [[2013]]), ISBN 0007489897 | |||
*[[HarperCollins]] paperback ([[2015]]), ISBN 0007557302 | |||
==Errata== | ==Errata== | ||
There are some typos in the book: | There are some typos in the book: | ||
| Line 59: | Line 64: | ||
*[[Letter 165]] | *[[Letter 165]] | ||
*''[[The Book of Kyng Arthur]]'' | *''[[The Book of Kyng Arthur]]'' | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 15:00, 5 June 2022
| The Fall of Arthur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Editor | Christopher Tolkien |
| Illustrator | Bill Sanderson |
| Publisher | HarperCollins (UK) Houghton Mifflin (US) |
| Released | 23 May 2013 |
| Format | Hardback |
| Pages | 240 |
| ISBN | 0007489943 |
The Fall of Arthur is a long poem by J.R.R. Tolkien concerning the legends of King Arthur, written in the Old English alliterative meter. It was published, along with three essays by Christopher Tolkien, on 23 May 2013.
Pre-publication history
The poem's existence was first revealed in 1977 when The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien was published. In a 1955 letter to Houghton Mifflin, Tolkien, discussing his use of alliterative verse, mentioned that he hoped to finish his "long poem" The Fall of Arthur.[1]
In his 1981 biography of Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter published a few brief extracts of the poem and commented that it "has alliteration but no rhyme [and] did not touch on the Grail but began an individual rendering of the Morte d'Arthur, in which the king and Gawain go to war in 'Saxon lands' but are summoned home by news of Mordred's treachery".[2] It was also revealed that "The Fall of Arthur" was read and approved by both E.V. Gordon and R.W. Chambers,[2][3] and that the writing of the poem was abandoned in the mid 1930s.[2]
Contents
- Foreword
- The Fall of Arthur
- Notes on the Text of The Fall of Arthur
- The Poem in Arthurian Tradition
- The Unwritten Poem and its Relation to The Silmarillion
- The Evolution of the Poem
- Appendix: Old English Verse
From the publisher
The world first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the extraordinary story of the final days of England’s legendary hero, King Arthur.
The Fall of Arthur, the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur King of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skilful achievement in the use of the Old English alliterative metre, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur’s expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere’s flight from Camelot, of the great sea-battle on Arthur’s return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle.
Unhappily, The Fall of Arthur was one of several long narrative poems that he abandoned in that period. In this case he evidently began it in the earlier nineteen-thirties, and it was sufficiently advanced for him to send it to a very perceptive friend who read it with great enthusiasm at the end of 1934 and urgently pressed him ‘You simply must finish it!’ But in vain: he abandoned it, at some date unknown, though there is some evidence that it may have been in 1937, the year of the publication of The Hobbit and the first stirrings of The Lord of the Rings. Years later, in a letter of 1955, he said that ‘he hoped to finish a long poem on The Fall of Arthur’; but that day never came.
Associated with the text of the poem, however, are many manuscript pages: a great quantity of drafting and experimentation in verse, in which the strange evolution of the poem’s structure is revealed, together with narrative synopses and very significant if tantalising notes. In these latter can be discerned clear if mysterious associations of the Arthurian conclusion with The Silmarillion, and the bitter ending of the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, which was never written.
Publication history and gallery
|
- HarperCollins hardcover (May 2013), pp. 240. ISBN 0007489943
- HarperCollins hardcover with slipcase (May 2013), ISBN 0007489897
- HarperCollins paperback (2015), ISBN 0007557302
Errata
There are some typos in the book:
- According to Nelson Goering at Tolkien Society facebook group: "at line 182 we learn that 'hosemen hastened'. Now I'm wondering just what the role of the hoseman was. Perhaps it's a kind of squire, who travels with his knight to ensure he always has clean, dry, well-pressed trousers. Or perhaps it is something nobler, a high chivalric order marked out by their elegant legwear".[4]
- Nelson Goering also said "Canto II, line 76 is mislineated. It says 'He hastens home, and his / host summons', but should be 'He hastens home, / and his host summons'".[5]
See also
External links
- The Fall of Arthur: A Brief Presentation by Christopher Tolkien (at the website of the Tolkien Estate)
- Tolkien’s King Arthur, review by Tom Shippey
- "Tolkien’s Unfinished Epic: ‘The Fall of Arthur’", review by John Garth
- The Fall of Arthur – a collection of reviews by Troels Forchhammer
- Andrew O'Hehir Review at the New York Times
- Le Morte d'Arthur at Wikipedia
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 165, (undated, written June 1955)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (1977 ed.), pp. 168-8
- ↑ Verlyn Flieger, "Arthurian Romance", in J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment, pp. 34-5
- ↑ "The Tolkien Society group" dated 16 September 2014, Facebook (accessed 18 September 2014)
- ↑ "The Tolkien Society group" dated 16 September 2014, Facebook (accessed 18 September 2014)
