the King
Made at the man: then Modred smote his liege
Hard on the helm which many a heathen sword
Had beaten thin; while Arthur at one blow,
Striking the last stroke with Excalibur,
Slew him, and all but slain himself, he fell.
4. LYONNESSE. The geography of the _Idylls of the King_ is designedly
vague. The region of Lyonnesse was supposed to be adjacent to Cornwall,
and the sea now covers it. The Scilly Islands are held to have been the
western limit of this fabulous country.
6. THE BOLD SIR BEDIVERE. The epithet "bold" is used repeatedly in this
vaguely descriptive fashion with Sir Bedivere's name. Cf. lines 39, 69,
115, 151, 226. The use of "permanent epithets" in narrative poetry has
been consecrated by the example of Homer, who constantly employs such
expressions as "the swift-footed Achilles," "wide-ruling Agamemnon," etc.