Tristram of Lyonesse

Tristram of Lyonesse is a long epic poem written by the British poet Algernon Charles Swinburne, that recounts in grand fashion the famous medieval story of the ill-fated lovers Tristan and Isolde (Tristram and Iseult in Swinburne's version). It was first published in 1882 by Chatto and Windus, in a volume entitled Tristram of Lyonesse and Other Poems. Swinburne himself considered Tristram of Lyonesse to be the crowning achievement of his poetic career (quoted by Harrison, p. 96). William Morris (referring to this poem) commented that Swinburne's work 'always seemed to me to be founded on literature, not on nature'.

The poem consists of 4488 rhyming pentameters and is divided into ten different sections: one 'Prelude' and nine 'Cantos'. It is usually preceded, as in Tristram of Lyonesse and Other Poems by a dedicatory sonnet to Swinburne's friend Theodore Watts-Dunton. Below is a brief summary of the content of the poem's different parts:

Prelude The 'Prelude' starts with a hymn to love and then places Iseult among the twelve beautiful women of myth and story, each of whom represents a different month of the year. It ends with Swinburne's apology for adding yet another retelling to the already lengthy literature written on the subject of Tristan and Iseult.

I. The Sailing of the Swallow In the poem's first canto the actual story begins, with elaborate descriptions of both Iseult and Tristram sailing to King Mark of Cornwall whom Iseult is to marry. The future lovers discuss various tales of the Matter of Britain and Tristram sings two love-songs to please the innocent Iseult. The canto ends with their drinking of the love-potion and their fateful first kiss.

II. The Queen's Pleasance The ship arrives in Cornwall and Iseult marries King Mark. By trickery, however, she spends her first marriage-night with Tristram while her hand-maid Brangwain sleeps with King Mark. Swinburne tells of the lovers' fortunes in Tintagel, which abruptly end when the evil knight Palamides carries Iseult away. After Tristram has chased and killed Palamides, the lovers retreat together to a bower in the woods and are allowed the first full consummation of their love, which Swinburne describes in abundant detail.

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