Melissa Ridley Elmes

Arthurian Things Melissa Ridley Elmes

The legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are among the most beloved stories of all time. This poetry collection, the first of its kind, approaches the Arthurian world through the various lenses of its nonhuman creatures and things, presented alongside glimpses into the thoughts of some of its major characters. The poems in this book range in tone from lightly humorous to darkly meditative, and small things--cats, ants, flies, bees, an ingot in the treasury, a flower on the table, a cup, a lyre, a sword--explore big themes: relationships, mortality, gender issues, violence, and identity. These poems fracture the overarching legend, piercing its smooth veneer of unquestioned noble and valiant chivalry to reveal cracks that are by turns vulnerable, cynical, gentle, and uncertain. At every turn, they ask the reader to consider what we know and how the perspective through which we view a subject influences how we perceive it and what we think it means. This unique and original book offers fresh insights into (some of) the inner worlds and unconsidered corners of the Arthurian legend, breathing new life into the ancient stories and bringing the myth into a modern idiom.