"Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue,
Unknightly, traitor-hearted! Woe is me!
Authority forgets a dying king,
Laid widowed of the power in his eye
That bowed the will. I see thee what thou art,
For thou, the latest-left of all my knights,
In whom should meet the offices of all,
Thou wouldst betray me for the precious hilt; . . .
In these lines, Tennyson captures the deep sense of betrayal and
disappointment Arthur feels as he faces the end of his reign and life. The
phrase "Authority forgets a dying king" suggests the erosion of Arthur's power,
once so commanding that it could bend the will of men. Now, even his last loyal
knight falters. By calling Sir Bedivere "traitor-hearted," Arthur expresses his
anguish over the knightâs initial failure to fulfill his dying wish. The
"precious hilt" signifies not just the sword but the temptation and weakness
inherent in humanity. Arthur's words lament the loss of loyalty and the
disintegration of noble ideals that once bound the kingdom together.
Ultimately, this passage reflects on the transience of power and the inevitable
decline that accompanies the closing chapters of a great leader's life.
