The Death of King Arthur

translated by Simon Armitage

seen at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on 14 July 2015

The so-called 'alliterative Morte Arthure' is a poem composed in about 1400 in alliterative verse. A modern translation by Simon Armitage has been prepared for dramatic recitation by the poet assisted by David Birrell and Polly Frame, with musician Paul Johnson, directed by Nick Bagnall.

The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse proves an ideal location to hear the recitation of a mediaeval English poem, just as it did a few weeks ago for 'Beowulf'. Simon Armitage presents his own modern alliterative version of the original poem, with musical accompaniment (mainly percussive, with some pipes) and two actors to vary the pace and characterisation. These are essential, as his own reading style is not dramatic, but rather sing-song - effective in a narrator with this style of verse, but made all the more so with the contrasts provided by the others. David Birrell mostly gives Arthur's speeches, while Polly Frame provides some narrative, and also speeches by the Emperor Lucius and other characters.

This poem is stripped of almost all of what is commonly supposed to be 'Arthurian' - no magic and no love triangle, no mysterious queens in Avalon (though that is still Arthur's final destination). The first half tells of Arthur's defiance of the Emperor Lucius who imprudently tries to claim his homage. At the pinnacle of his success he has a dream of Fortune's Wheel in which he is at first favoured and then dismissed; after this news arrives of Mordred's treachery back in Britain. Arthur returns from the continent to face the traitor in personal combat, in which both perish.

Mordred has been made regent in Arthur's absence; his motivation for usurping the throne and marrying Guinevere remains opaque. There is no suggestion that he is Arthur's son. There is no Lancelot - Gawain is the premier knight, and his death on the battlefield is described in gruesome detail prior to Arthur's own demise.

Yet even with the emphasis on military achievement and glory, and the absence of so many familiar themes, the story remains rich and compelling. The king's two dreams - especially the dream about fortune - broaden the perspective, so that more than a mere military defeat is depicted. The arc of a man's life is seen to be formed both by his own efforts and by the inscrutable favour - or withdrawal of favour - of Dame Fortune, who brooks no special pleading, even (or especially) from a king.