Classical Poetry PDF EPUB Audio

The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems

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First published: 1858
Pages: 143

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Read by Sonia, Jim Locke, George Allen and others · 3 h 31 min · 30 parts

The Defence of Guenevere
13:08
King Arthur's Tomb
23:30
Sir Galahad, a Christmas Mystery
13:27
The Chapel in Lyoness
4:18
Sir Peter Harpdon's End
42:00
Rapunzel
17:00
Concerning Geffray Teste Noire
11:48
A Good Knight in Prison
6:47
Old Love
3:11
The Gilliflower of Gold
2:58
Shameful Death
2:03
The Eve of Crecy
2:50
The Judgment of God
5:56
The Little Tower
2:51
The Sailing of the Sword
3:03
Spell-Bound
4:33
The Wind
6:05
The Blue Closet
4:18
The Tune of Seven Towers
2:28
Golden Wings
10:45
The Haystack in the Floods
7:32
Two Red Roses across the Moon
2:04
Welland River
4:16
Riding Together
3:25
Father John's War-Song
2:42
Sir Giles' War-Song
1:09
Near Avalon
1:04
Praise of My Lady
4:03
Summer Dawn
1:06
In Prison
1:03

The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems (1908) is a public domain work.

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About this book

Guenevere speaks in her own defence before knights and lords, answering accusation with memories of fear, beauty and her meeting with Launcelot. William Morris gives the queen a voice that shifts between defiance and pleading, while images of colored cloth, changing seasons and a walled garden carry her argument. The opening poem places private feeling under public judgment within the world of Arthurian legend.

This collection extends beyond Arthur's court into other imagined medieval settings and fairy tales. In the Rapunzel passage, a prince pauses beneath beeches near a lonely marble tower, uncertain whether his experience belongs to a dream. The witch's call and the sight of Rapunzel's falling hair turn that uncertainty into an encounter. Readers drawn to narrative verse can follow distinct speakers through scenes shaped by longing, confinement and danger. The poems offer close attention to color, sound and physical surroundings, making emotional conflict visible in buildings, landscapes and small gestures.

About the author

William Morris

William Morris (1834-1896) was an English poet, designer, and socialist whose wallpapers and textiles helped define the Arts and Crafts movement. Late in life he turned to prose romances set in imagined lands, and those books are now regarded as foundations of modern fantasy literature.