SOURCE: Perrine, Lawrence. “Morris's Guenevere: An Interpretation.” Philological Quarterly 39, no. 2 (April 1960): 234-41.

In the following essay, Perrine provides an interpretation of Queen Guenevere's character in “The Defence of Guenevere” and finds her guilty of adultery in the poem.

“The Defence of Guenevere” is a poem that has been widely admired without being fully understood. An initial difficulty lies in its central situation. The Queen is pleading her innocence of an accusation made by Gauwaine. Whether she is innocent or guilty, however, and, indeed, what exactly the accusation has been—though it includes the charge of adultery—are not stated. Critics of Morris have either disagreed, admitted their perplexity, or dodged the issue altogether. A few of their comments follow:

Though wedded to Arthur, [Guenevere] has loved Launcelot, but not sinned with him. This she confesses, at the same time denying the baser charge.¹

Were it not for “King...