The Death Of Merlin

John Steinbeck

The Story

Merlin sees the damsel Nyneve, brought to court by Sir Pellinore, and falls in love. "He knew that his fate was upon him," (Steinbeck, 121). He persued her and wouldn't let her rest. He traded her company for his magic arts, for she was a damsel of the Lady of the Lake.

Merlin tells Arthur what is happening, gives some last minute advice, then claims teh whole incident to come is unavoidable even though he knows it will happen.

Merlin follows Nyneve to France, stops in to see Queen Elaine, Lancelot's mother, and tells the Queen about Lancelot's future. He also tells her that she will see some of his great deeds.

Merlin and Nyneve leave france and Merlin teachesr her magic, eventually including spells which cannot be broken by any means. He creates a room of great wonder under a rock cliff. As the two go through the passage entering the rock, Nyneve steps back and locks Merlin in the cave. Nyneve rides away leaving him imprisoned.

The Style

In his letters, Steinbeck claimed he wanted to remain true to Malory's manuscript. As such, Steinbeck's version lacks the humor of T.H. White's and reads more like a history text or even a modern translation of Malory.

Steinbeck wanted readers to compare his work with Malory's to make sure he stayed true to the source.

[Apparently he admired Malory's style which was (in later form) employed by the lides of Steinbeck and Hemingway. Steinbeck may also be fascinated by the "fact" that Malory was the first great prose writer in English - Steinbeck's own medium]