Review of The Aftermath Of The King
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Review of The Aftermath Of The King
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Aftermath Of The King" by Robert Murray.]
As a child, Robert Murray loved the stories of Camelot and Excalibur and devoted much time and study to this literature. As an adult, he has become a broader history buff, concentrating his studies on North America and Europe. The Aftermath of the King, an epic poem, is the product of Murray’s passions. In it, he describes the struggles of Camelot after King Arthur has been killed, leaving Camelot without a leader. Murray creates a new hero in Guinevere, who leaves her self-imposed exile at a nunnery to accept her role as a strong but humble queen who strives to put Camelot back to rights.
Murray’s poem begins when Guinevere offers an Earldom to anyone who can stop the evil Zorgar from pillaging Arthur’s realm. She soon assembles a team to vanquish the villain: Martain, who is known for past heroics; Sir Varnell, who has the gift of prophecy; Shane the swift, who is stealthy and wealthy; and Elias the chaste, who is known for his uncompromising love of God. Guinevere joins them on their quest, vowing to do anything she can to save her kingdom. The party of five travels through Dartmoor Forest to convince Gregar of the Wood to join them in their fight. Throughout the narrative, Guinevere and her men are faced with many ominous challenges before confronting Zorgar in their ultimate test. Murray stays true to typical epic poetry characteristics: verse rather than prose, a large-scale setting, heroes and deeds of great valor, and supernatural forces.
Murray’s creation is incredibly impressive! First, the verse of epic poetry is so lofty that most authors wouldn’t presume to write it because its restrictive poetic format necessitates a wide vocabulary and knowledge of sentence structure. The narrative itself is very clever, daring readers to take a leap of faith to see Guinevere as a salvageable character who deserves to be queen. And intertwined in the plotline are flashbacks, extended monologues, songs, and musings of the characters. While it clearly doesn’t surpass the famous epic poems of the past (Beowulf, Paradise Lost, The Odyssey, and The Iliad), it certainly mirrors them enough to make it a great read!
However, Murray creates some problems for himself in the introduction by discussing what he calls his "domino rhyme." His explanation will leave literature buffs knowing that he doesn’t completely understand all of the complexities of rhyme schemes. He claims this poem is written in an ABCABC rhyme scheme, following Keats’s "Ode to a Nightingale," but that’s wrong in two ways. First, that’s not the rhyme scheme of Keats’s poem. ("Ode to a Nightingale" is written in ABABCDECDE, not ABCABC as Murray claims.) Second, Murray’s poem doesn’t even follow the incorrect rhyme scheme that he claims it does. He states ABCABC contains "pairs of tercets with two lines in between the lines that rhyme." Anyone who knows how rhyme schemes work knows that this is incorrect. He should have labeled his own rhyme scheme as ABCDECFGC, etc., with only the C rhyme repeating throughout the epic. While this may seem to be a minor error to most readers, it was quite distracting to me because I kept trying to make his rhymes work the way he states they should. Poetic license allows for a departure from strict structural requirements, but it does not allow for misunderstanding them.
I rate this poem 3 out of 4 stars. With the exception of rhyme scheme misconceptions, it’s a great work of art, filled with lively dialogue, clever verse, and swashbuckling adventure.
Clearly, with its advanced vocabulary and historical allusions, this is meant for adults. However, a good oral reading and some explanation might make this accessible to teens and even children because the story itself is so creative and entertaining.
******
The Aftermath Of The King
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
As a child, Robert Murray loved the stories of Camelot and Excalibur and devoted much time and study to this literature. As an adult, he has become a broader history buff, concentrating his studies on North America and Europe. The Aftermath of the King, an epic poem, is the product of Murray’s passions. In it, he describes the struggles of Camelot after King Arthur has been killed, leaving Camelot without a leader. Murray creates a new hero in Guinevere, who leaves her self-imposed exile at a nunnery to accept her role as a strong but humble queen who strives to put Camelot back to rights.
Murray’s poem begins when Guinevere offers an Earldom to anyone who can stop the evil Zorgar from pillaging Arthur’s realm. She soon assembles a team to vanquish the villain: Martain, who is known for past heroics; Sir Varnell, who has the gift of prophecy; Shane the swift, who is stealthy and wealthy; and Elias the chaste, who is known for his uncompromising love of God. Guinevere joins them on their quest, vowing to do anything she can to save her kingdom. The party of five travels through Dartmoor Forest to convince Gregar of the Wood to join them in their fight. Throughout the narrative, Guinevere and her men are faced with many ominous challenges before confronting Zorgar in their ultimate test. Murray stays true to typical epic poetry characteristics: verse rather than prose, a large-scale setting, heroes and deeds of great valor, and supernatural forces.
Murray’s creation is incredibly impressive! First, the verse of epic poetry is so lofty that most authors wouldn’t presume to write it because its restrictive poetic format necessitates a wide vocabulary and knowledge of sentence structure. The narrative itself is very clever, daring readers to take a leap of faith to see Guinevere as a salvageable character who deserves to be queen. And intertwined in the plotline are flashbacks, extended monologues, songs, and musings of the characters. While it clearly doesn’t surpass the famous epic poems of the past (Beowulf, Paradise Lost, The Odyssey, and The Iliad), it certainly mirrors them enough to make it a great read!
However, Murray creates some problems for himself in the introduction by discussing what he calls his "domino rhyme." His explanation will leave literature buffs knowing that he doesn’t completely understand all of the complexities of rhyme schemes. He claims this poem is written in an ABCABC rhyme scheme, following Keats’s "Ode to a Nightingale," but that’s wrong in two ways. First, that’s not the rhyme scheme of Keats’s poem. ("Ode to a Nightingale" is written in ABABCDECDE, not ABCABC as Murray claims.) Second, Murray’s poem doesn’t even follow the incorrect rhyme scheme that he claims it does. He states ABCABC contains "pairs of tercets with two lines in between the lines that rhyme." Anyone who knows how rhyme schemes work knows that this is incorrect. He should have labeled his own rhyme scheme as ABCDECFGC, etc., with only the C rhyme repeating throughout the epic. While this may seem to be a minor error to most readers, it was quite distracting to me because I kept trying to make his rhymes work the way he states they should. Poetic license allows for a departure from strict structural requirements, but it does not allow for misunderstanding them.
I rate this poem 3 out of 4 stars. With the exception of rhyme scheme misconceptions, it’s a great work of art, filled with lively dialogue, clever verse, and swashbuckling adventure.
Clearly, with its advanced vocabulary and historical allusions, this is meant for adults. However, a good oral reading and some explanation might make this accessible to teens and even children because the story itself is so creative and entertaining.
******
The Aftermath Of The King
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Justified Means by Cher Smith
