Pelleas and Etarre

From Tennyson's Idylls of the King

By: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Arthur Roberts

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

"Pelleas could only stare. Is Guinevere herself so beautiful? he wondered. The lady's violet eyes were wide and luminous; her skin seemed lit by a dawn from some unclouded heaven. Her limbs bore the grace of full womanhood, and yet her form was slender and her hand delicate. She might have seemed no more than a lovely plaything, but those eyes, deep and mocking, hinted at something sharper."

In Pelleas and Ettarre, Tennyson presents a tragic episode in which Sir Pelleas, a young and idealistic knight, enters Arthur's court full of chivalric fervour and romantic hope. He falls hopelessly in love with the proud and beautiful Lady Ettarre, whom he proclaims Queen of Beauty after winning a tournament, but who ultimately scorns his affections.