Editing King Arthur (section)

=== Tennyson and the revival ===
In the early-19th century [[medievalism]], [[Romanticism]] and the [[Gothic Revival]] reawakened interest in Arthur and the medieval romances. A new code of ethics for 19th-century gentlemen was shaped around the [[chivalry|chivalric]] ideals embodied in the "Arthur of romance". This renewed interest first made itself felt in 1816, when Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' was reprinted for the first time since 1634.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parins|1995|pp= 8–10}}</ref> Initially, the medieval Arthurian legends were of particular interest to poets, inspiring, for example, [[William Wordsworth]] to write "The Egyptian Maid" (1835), an allegory of the [[Holy Grail]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wordsworth|1835}}</ref> Pre-eminent among these was [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Alfred Tennyson]], whose first Arthurian poem "[[The Lady of Shalott]]" was published in 1832.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Potwin|1902}} for the sources that Tennyson used when writing this poem</ref> Arthur himself played a minor role in some of these works, following in the medieval romance tradition. Tennyson's Arthurian work reached its peak of popularity with ''[[Idylls of the King]]'', however, which reworked the entire narrative of Arthur's life for the [[Victorian era]]. It was first published in 1859 and sold 10,000 copies within the first week.<ref>{{Harvnb|Taylor|Brewer|1983|p= 127}}</ref> In the ''Idylls'', Arthur became a symbol of ideal manhood who ultimately failed, through human weakness, to establish a perfect kingdom on earth.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Rosenberg|1973}} and {{Harvnb|Taylor|Brewer|1983|pp= 89–128}} for analyses of ''The Idylls of the King''.</ref> Tennyson's works prompted a large number of imitators, generated considerable public interest in the legends of Arthur and the character himself, and brought Malory's tales to a wider audience.<ref>See, for example, {{Harvnb|Simpson|1990}}.</ref> Indeed, the first modernisation of Malory's great compilation of Arthur's tales was published in 1862, shortly after ''Idylls'' appeared, and there were six further editions and five competitors before the century ended.<ref>{{Harvnb|Staines|1996|p= 449}}</ref>

This interest in the "Arthur of romance" and his associated stories continued through the 19th century and into the 20th, and influenced poets such as [[William Morris]] and [[Pre-Raphaelite]] artists including [[Edward Burne-Jones]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Taylor|Brewer|1983|pp= 127–161}}; {{Harvnb|Mancoff|1990}}.</ref> Even the humorous tale of [[Tom Thumb]], which had been the primary manifestation of Arthur's legend in the 18th century, was rewritten after the publication of ''Idylls''. While Tom maintained his small stature and remained a figure of comic relief, his story now included more elements from the medieval Arthurian romances and Arthur is treated more seriously and historically in these new versions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2007a|p= 127}}; {{Harvnb|Gamerschlag|1983}}</ref> The revived Arthurian romance also proved influential in the United States, with such books as Sidney Lanier's ''The Boy's King Arthur'' (1880) reaching wide audiences and providing inspiration for [[Mark Twain]]'s satire ''[[A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court]]'' (1889).{{sfn|Lanier|1880}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Twain|1889}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|Thompson|1996}}.</ref> Although the 'Arthur of romance' was sometimes central to these new Arthurian works (as he was in Burne-Jones's "The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon", 1881–1898), on other occasions he reverted to his medieval status and is either marginalised or even missing entirely, with [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s Arthurian opera [[Parsifal]] providing a notable instance of the latter.<ref>{{Harvnb|Watson|2002}}</ref> Furthermore, the revival of interest in Arthur and the Arthurian tales did not continue unabated. By the end of the 19th century, it was confined mainly to Pre-Raphaelite imitators,<ref>{{Harvnb |Mancoff|1990}}</ref> and it could not avoid being affected by [[World War I]], which damaged the reputation of chivalry and thus interest in its medieval manifestations and Arthur as chivalric role model.<ref>{{Harvnb|Workman|1994}}</ref> The romance tradition did, however, remain sufficiently powerful to persuade [[Thomas Hardy]], [[Laurence Binyon]] and [[John Masefield]] to compose Arthurian plays,<ref>{{Harvnb|Hardy|1923}}; {{Harvnb|Binyon|1923}}; and {{Harvnb|Masefield|1927}}</ref> and [[T. S. Eliot]] alludes to the Arthur myth (but not Arthur) in his poem ''[[The Waste Land]]'', which mentions the [[Fisher King]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Eliot|1949}}; {{Harvnb|Barber|2004|pp= 327–328}}</ref>

<gallery widths="180px" heights="200px">
File:Idylls of the King 10.jpg|alt=|[[Merlin]] and [[Lady of the Lake|Viviane]] in [[Gustave Doré]]'s 1868 illustration for [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]'s ''[[Idylls of the King]]''
File:Charles Ernest Butler - King Arthur.jpg|''King Arthur'' by Charles Ernest Butler (1903)
File:Boys King Arthur - N. C. Wyeth - title page.jpg|[[N. C. Wyeth]]'s title page illustration for ''The Boy's King Arthur'' (1922)
</gallery>