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— William Blake

Does the Eagle know what is in the pit?

Or wilt thou go ask the Mole:

Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod?

Or Love in a golden bowl?

…

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noun

One who, or that which, accelerates.

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PART III

101 lines
Matthew Arnold·1822–1888
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fter the death of Tristram and Iseult of Ireland, our thoughtsinevitably turn to Iseult of the White Hands. The infinite pathos ofher life has aroused our deepest sympathy, and we naturally want toknow further concerning her and Tristram's children. =13. cirque=. A circle (obsolete or poetical). See l. 7, Part III. =18. holly-trees and juniper=. Evergreen trees common in Europe andAmerica.[173]=22. fell-fare= (or field-fare). A small thrush found in NorthernEurope. =26. stagshorn.= A common club-moss. =37. old-world Breton history.= That is, the story of Merlin andVivian, ll. 153-224, Part III. =79-81=. Compare with the following lines from Wordsworth's_Michael_:-- "This light was famous in its neighborhood.... For, as it chanced,Their cottage on a plot of rising groundStood single....And from this constant light so regularAnd so far seen, the House itself, by allWho dwelt within the limits of the vale... was named _The Evening Star_." =81. iron coast.= This line inevitably calls to mind a stanza fromTennyson's _Palace of Art_:-- "One show'd an iron coast and angry waves.You seemed to hear them climb and fallAnd roar, rock-thwarted, under bellowing caves,Beneath the windy wall." =92. prie-dieu.= Praying-desk. From the French _prier_, pray; _dieu_,God. =97. seneschal.= A majordomo; a steward. Originally meant _old_ (thatis, _chief) servant_; from the Gothic _sins_, old, and _salks_, aservant.--SKEAT. =134. gulls.= Deceives, tricks. "The vulgar, _gulled_ into rebellion, armed,"--DRYDEN. =140.= posting here and there. That is, restlessly changing from placeto place and from occupation to occupation. =143-145. Like that bold Cæsar=, etc. Julius Cæsar (100?-44 B.C.).The incident here alluded to Is mentioned in Suetonius' _Life of theDeified Julius_, Chapter VII. "Farther Spain fell to the lot of Cæsaras questor. When, at the command of the Roman people, he was holdingcourt and had come to Cadiz, he noticed in the temple of Hercules astatue of Alexander the Great. At sight of this statue he sighed,as if disgusted at his own lack of achievement, because he had donenothing of note by the time in life (Cæsar was then thirty-two) thatAlexander had conquered the world." (Free translation.) [174] =146-150. Prince Alexander, etc.= Alexander III., surnamed "TheGreat" (356-323 B.C.), was the most famous of Macedonian generals andconquerors, and the first in order of time of the four most celebratedcommanders of whom history makes mention. In less than fifteen yearshe extended his domain over the known world and established himself asthe universal emperor. He died at Babylon, his capital city, at theage of thirty-three, having lamented that there were no more worldsfor him to conquer. (For the boundaries of his empire, see any map ofhis time.) Pope spoke of him as "The youth who all things but himselfsubdued." =Soudan= (l. 149). An obsolete term for Sultan, the Turkishruler. =153-224=. The story of Merlin, King Arthur's court magician, and theenchantress Vivian is one of the most familiar of the Arthurian cycleof legends. =Broce-liande= (l. 156). In Cornwall. See l. 61, PartI. =fay= (l. 159). Fairy, =empire= (l. 184). That is, power; heresupernatural power. =wimple= (l. 220). A covering for the head. =IsMerlin prisoner=, etc. (l. 223). Merlin, the magician, is thusentrapped by means of a charm he had himself communicated to hismistress, the enchantress Vivian. Malory has Merlin imprisoned under arock; Tennyson, in an oak:-- "And in the hollow oak he lay as deadAnd lost to life and use and name and fame."--_Merlin and Vivian_.[175]=224=. For she was passing weary, etc. "And she was ever passing weary of him."--MALORY. PART I. What is the opening situation in the poem? Why have it astormy night? What does Tristram's question (l. 7) reveal of hiscondition physically and mentally? What is the office of the partsof the poem coming between the intervals of conversation? How is thewounded knight identified? How the lady? Follow the wanderings of thesleeping Tristram's mind. Are the incidents he speaks of in the orderof their occurrence? Explain ll. 102-103; ll. 161-169. Tell the storyof Tristram and Iseult of the White Hands. What is shown by the factthat Tristram's mind dwells on Iseult of Ireland even at the time ofbattle? How account for his wanderings? For his morose frame of mind?What change has come over nature when Tristram awakes? Why thischange? What is his mood now? Account for his addressing Iseult ofBrittany as he does. Why his order for her to retire? What is herattitude toward him? Note the manner in which the children areintroduced into the story (ll. 324-325) PART II. Give the openingsituation. Discuss the meeting of Tristram and Iseult. What isrevealed by their conversation? What is the purpose in introducing theHuntsman on the arras? PART III. What is the purpose of ll. 1-4? Givethe opening situation in Part III. How is Iseult trying to entertainher children? What kind of a life does she lead? Discuss ll. 112-150as to meaning and connection with the theme of the poem. Tell thestory of Merlin and Vivian. Why introduced? Compare Arnold's versionof the story of Tristram and Iseult with the version given in theintroductory note to the poem. [176]THE CHURCH OF BROU
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