one will fail to
appreciate so dramatic a situation.

=5. What ... be?= That is, what lights are those to the northward, the
direction from which Iseult would come?
[169]
=8. Iseult.= Here Iseult of the White Hands, daughter of King Hoel of
Brittany and wife of Tristram.

=20. Arthur's court.= Arthur, the half-mythical king of the Britons,
set up his court at Camelot, which Caxton locates in Wales and Malory
near Winchester. Here was gathered the famous company of champions
known as the "Knights of the Round Table," whose feats have been
extensively celebrated in song and story. Among these knights Tristram
held high rank, both as a warrior and a harpist. See ll. 17-19.

=23. Lyoness.= A mythical region near Cornwall, the home country of
Arthur and Tristram.

=30-31.= Hence the name, Iseult of the White Hands.

=56-68.= See introductory note to poem for explanation. =Tyntagel.=
A village in Cornwall near the sea. Near it is the ruined Tyntagel
Castle, the reputed birthplace of Arthur. In the romance of Sir
Tristram it is the castle of King Marc, the cowardly and treacherous
king of Cornwall, the southwest county of England. =teen=. See note,
l. 147, _The Scholar-Gipsy_. (Grief, sorrow; from the old English
_teona_, meaning injury.)

=88. wanders=, in fancy. Note how the wounded knight's mind flits from
scene to scene, always centring around Iseult of Ireland.

=91. O'er ... sea.= The Irish Sea. He is dreaming of his return trip
from Ireland with Iseult, "under the cloudless sky of May" (l. 96).

=129-132.= See introductory note to poem. The green isle, Ireland is
noted for its green fields; hence the name, Emerald (green) Isle.

=134. on loud Tyntagel's hill.= A high headland on the coast of Wales.
Discuss the force of the adjective "loud" in this connection.

=137-160. And that ... more.= See introductory note to poem.

=161. pleasaunce-walks.= A pleasure garden, screened by trees, shrubs,
and close hedges--here a trysting-place. After the marriage of
Iseult to King Marc, she and Tristram contrived to continue their
relationship in secret. [170]

=164. fay.= Faith. (Obsolete except in poetry.)

=180.= Tristram, having been discovered by King Marc in his intrigues
with Iseult, was forced to leave Cornwall; hence his visit to Brittany
and subsequent marriage to Iseult of the White Hands. See intr