lnshire,Somersby, Tennyson faced a troubled childhood plagued by insufficiency andneglect. The severe physical and moral degradation of his father and brothersleft Tennyson a disgusted disposition with the world. These factors contributedsignificantly to Tennyson’s desolate attitude which was later displayed in hisworks. Later in life, while attending college, Tennyson experienced a greattragedy- the death of his best and beloved friend, Arthur Hallam. This travestyproduced in Tennyson profound spiritual depression, and he vowed to refrainfrom issuing any more of his verse for a period of ten years. During these tenyears, he continued writing though without publishing his works. After hisdepression, Tennyson returned to Authurian style and wrote his master piece,The Idylls of the King, which attacked the corruption of Camelot (Ricks 92). One of the most intriguing chapter of the Idylls is “Merlin and Vivien,” anarrative poem with both allegorical and moral points (Reed 48).“Merlin and Vivien was written to demonstrate how comic expectationsare foiled by ironic actuality (Kincaid 177). “Merlin and Vivien” is said by manyto be one of the most ill-tasted chapters of The Idylls. Jerome Buckleycomments that “Merlin’s yielding to the seductive wiles of Vivien is... thegrossest example of the abject surrender of the intellect to the flesh” (Hellstrom117). This is a very representative opinion of “Merlin and Vivien.” Althoughthe literal interpretation of the poem suggests it is a narrative concerning theinevitable doom of Camelot and the degradation of Authur, it centralizes onVivien and her manipulative ways. Until now, The Idylls has focused on theeffects of gossip, but Merlin and Vivien, the slanderer herself, now become thecentral characters (Hain 148). In “Merlin and Vivien,” Tennyson describes howthe failure of the mind to make its first step in th...
