We didn't have a chance to finish our discussion of this poem last Thursday, so here are some areas to consider.
1)Take a look at lines 118-131, where Guinevere calls attention to her physical appearance. Given the nature of her relationship with Arthur, which she references earlier in the poem, why would it matter to her that she was beautiful? Why does this thought make her "mad"?
Next, take a look at lines 223-238. She again references her appearance, but to what end? What does she mean when she warns, "say no rash word/ Against me, being so beautiful"?
2) On a related note, look back at Rossetti's "Goblin Market," and specifically at lines 376-390. Lizzie and Laura are "Golden head by golden head/...Like two flakes of new-fallen snow," and they are "Locked together in one nest." What qualities are usually associated with "golden hair" and "new-fallen snow"? While we might understand if Lizzie is associated with these qualities, is it odd that Laura is as well here? Given the Victorian fear that good women and corrupt women come from the same stock or might be indistinguishable, how does the poem comment on this?
Now, go back to "The Defense of Guenevere" and look at lines 236-241:
will you dare
When you have looked a little on my brow,
To say this thing is vile? or will you care
For any plausible lies of cunning woof,
When you can see my face with no lie there
What does Guenevere insist that beauty represents? According to her, can a beautiful exterior hide something "vile"? Given what we know of the woman's past behavior, is this statement surprising or ironic?
3) Finally, take a look at the final three stanzas, lines 287-295. We are told that Guenevere stops talking and listens to a coming sound, Lancelot actually coming to rescue her from execution. What do her mannerisms (She lean'd eagerly,/ And gave a slight spring sometimes") show about her emotional state? Given the somewhat disconnected nature of her discussion, could she have simply been stalling, biding her time until she is rescued? Which of her statements can we ultimately trust as true?
4) Finally, is Guenevere punished at the end of this poem?
3) When Guenevere stops talking and listens, it shows how much she was hoping to hear something that may signal her rescue. Her mannerisms seem out of place with her speech because her mannerisms suggest that she is anxious and worried while her speech was very eloquent and defiant, even though somewhat unfocused. From her mannerisms we can tell that Guenevere was very worried about her punishment, and it seems that her speech was just to stall time in the hope that Lancelot would come rescue her, or if not, then she would have somehow persuaded the knights not to kill her. Because of this, we cannot really know what is true in her speech or not. She may have been telling the truth, but the idea that she was just trying to buy time to save her life will always overshadow her other claims of the truth.
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