Swinburne retells from Malory the story of Balen, the northern knight of the two swords, whose great deeds at Arthur’s court are shadowed by a curse. Written in a ringing nine-line stanza that carries hawthorn, heather and whin into every canto, the poem follows Balen and his brother Balan toward their fated end.
A late Arthurian narrative from Swinburne, rich in music, for readers of Malory and Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. Download the free EPUB.