J. Comyns Carr - King Arthur - Prologue lyrics

THE PROLOGUE EXCALIBUR SCENE: – The Magic mere. A wide lake with a rocky path descending to the shore. As the curtain rises there is a faint glimmer on the horizon, which gradually spreads over the water to an effect of dawn. CHORUS OF LAKE SPIRITS [singing]. Dawn and daytime turn to night, Darkness wakes to morning light; All the uncounted hours go by Swift as clouds across the sky, While we maidens of the mere, Heedless of the changing year, Guard the sword Excalibur. During the concluding bars of the chorus, Arthur, accompanied by Merlin, appears on the summit of the rocky path. ARTHUR. What shore is this, haunted by mystic sounds That are not earthly? MERLIN. 'Tis no earthly shore, Nor, till this hour, have mortal eyes beheld These fairy sands. ARTHUR. Then thou shalt go alone; For here, perchance, thy magic arts have power To lure my soul. MERLIN. Nay, Arthur, have no fear. A mightier power than mine had led thy feet There where I found thee sleeping by the lake: For whilst I watched a star fell in the sky, And, from the vacant space of Heaven, there came A voice that cried "Awake! the hour hath struck: Now guide him, Merlin, to that caverned home Where dwells the sacred sword Excalibur." ARTHUR. What is this sword? MERLIN. Look well and thou shalt see. As he speaks an arm rises from the Lake holding aloft a j**elled sword set in its scabbard, which gleams with supernatural light. CHORUS OF LAKE SPIRITS Sword, no mortal shall withstand, Fashioned by no mortal hand, Long we wait the hour shall bring England's sword to England's King; He shall wield Excalibur. MERLIN. What think'st thou, Arthur? ARTHUR. Nay, I have no word. Whence comes this sword? MERLIN. Long time, ere Time began, 'Twas forged beneath the sea; its glittering blade, Was tempered by the waves; sea-maidens wrought Its j**elled scabbard, and that warrior king, Whose arm is strong to wield it in the fight, Shall rule a kingdom that shall rule the sea. ARTHUR [musing]. For such a sword 'twere well to give the world, With such a sword 'twere well to rule the world. Who is this king? MERLIN. Nay, list, and thou shalt hear. CHORUS OF LAKE SPIRITS Warrior knight, into thy hand, Monarch of a mighty land That, in unborn years, shall be Monarch of the mightier sea; Great Pendragon's son, to thee We shall yield Excalibur. The sword again slowly sinks into the Lake. ARTHUR. Who is Pendragon's son? MERLIN. Thou art the man; Pendragon's son, albeit thou know'st it not; For at thy birth I took thee from the Court; Deep in the woods – a flower amid the flowers, – I watched beside thee, heard thine infant tongue First lisp responsive to the woodland birds, And by thy cradle, swung beneath the stars, Taught thee the wisdom that should fit a throne. Now art thou called! Stand forth and take thy sword Whose might alone can stay these wasting wars, Whose might alone shall bring the realm of peace. ARTHUR [rising]. Then was my dream no dream; for while I slept, I heard the noise of battle, and I saw The flashing of innumerable spears Lightening the dark of Heaven; then I rose And rode into the strife, and, where I led, The mightiest fell before me, and men cried, "It is the King." Yet did I heed them not, For in mine ears there rang a clarion voice Which said, "Nay, stay not till the end is won! Fight on, thine arm is mightier than theirs, Fight on, an unborn empire claims thy sword, Fight on, they strike for glory, thou for peace!" Long time the battle lasted, and the end Seemed afar off; yet at the end it came, And, ere my arm grew weary, I could hear A hush upon the thunder; and the noise And cry of war grew fainter, till it fell To echoing silence. Then far off I saw, Set in a redd'ning sky of blood and fire, A face most fair that wore an angel smile; And down the unending avenue of spears It drew towards me, seeming as it came Like a white rose leaf borne upon the tide Of crimson war. Whereat I knelt and said, "I have fought for thee, thou hast the smile of peace;" Yet answer made she none, and I awoke. Ah, thou who know'st the secrets of the stars, Tell me whose face I saw! – MERLIN. Nay, ask not that. ARTHUR. I will be answered! all the world to me Dwells in that smile. MERLIN. Then look upon thy fate. As he speaks a vision of Guinevere appears. Arthur kneels. ARTHUR. Who art thou? Speak! MERLIN. Listen, and thou shalt hear. At this a chorus of unseen spirits is heard. CHORUS Fairest form of all the earth! Joy and sorrow at one birth; Love and beauty, hope and fear, Wait for thee in Guinevere. MERLIN. Love and beauty, hope and fear, Wait for thee in Guinevere. Thou hearest, Arthur? ARTHUR. Nay, I do but see A form too fair for this rough world's embrace, Fit for a kingdom that no sword can win; Yet would I win thee, take thee for my Queen. Ah, say she shall be mine! MERLIN. Fate answers thee, Yet in that gift of beauty lurks thy doom. ECHOING CHORUS Love and beauty, hope and fear, Wait for thee in Guinevere. ARTHUR. These fairy tongues are false, for, see, she bears The emblems of the spring: all the new world Leaps into flower about her; and the may Trails its white blossom round those stainless brows. MERLIN. Yet thou shouldst know full many a poisonous weed Grows rank amid the blossoms of the may. CHORUS Love and Hate are born in May; Love, the bird upon the wing, Hate, the worm devouring All Love's flowers of yesterday, Wait for thee in Guinevere. The vision fades. MERLIN. All Love's flowers of yesterday, Wait for thee in Guinevere. ARTHUR. Thou wilt not stay! then I will seek for thee, And through the world, if thou art of the world, I'll find thee, crown thee, Guinevere, my Queen! ECHOING CHORUS All Love's flowers of yesterday, Wait for thee in Guinevere. ARTHUR. And yet those mystic voices chaunt of doom! Ah, thou whose vision spans futurity, Hath not thy magic art all power to stay The hand of Fate? MERLIN. Our knowledge is not power. Who knows the end of Life hath reached the end, His wisdom is but d**h; while ye, who stand Eager to thread the winding maze o' the world, Led on by faith, do more than angels dare. Such destiny is thine: for thy right arm, Out of this mound of earth, shall raise a throne Whose glory echoes through unacted time – Wherefore I charge thee ask no more of Fate. The hand of doom is patient, and the sword That flashes in the glimmering light of dawn, Falls not till night-fall: thou shalt rule thy day. ARTHUR. I'll ask no more; I do but crave my sword. The Spirit of the Lake appears,and at the same time the sword rises again from the Lake. MERLIN. Thy prayer is answered, she will give it thee. THE SPIRIT OF THE LAKE Arthur, England's chosen lord, Fear not Fate but take thy sword; Thou the first whose mortal hand E'er hath touched that mystic brand. Sword and scabbard both are thine, Sword and scabbard both divine: Guard them well and use them well, So that aftertime shall tell Of thy kingdom in the sea, Blazoned on whose shield shall be, "Right and Might and Liberty." [Arthur makes a movement toward the sword.] Yet beware! Time's beating wing, Restless and untiring, Speeds along Time's endless way. Bravely thou shalt rule thy day, And at last, when Day is done, Those three Queens of Avalon, Rulers of the night, who keep In their charge the keys of sleep, Far across this mystic mere Silently thy barge shall steer, Till thy wearied eyes have won Endless sleep in Avalon. ARTHUR. He who would rule the day must greet the dawn, There is no hour to lose; give me my sword, For, echoing through the night, I too can hear, The voice of England, like a sobbing child That longs for day; and, gathering in night's sky, I see that throng of England's unborn sons, Whose glory is her glory: prisoned souls With faces pressed against the bars of Time, Waiting their destined hour. Give me my sword That I may loose Time's bonds and set them free. The chorus is heard, and the picture is held till the fall of the curtain. CHORUS Great Pendragon's greater son, Arthur, ere thy race be run, Thou shalt rule from sea to sea England that is yet to be: Great Pendragon's son, to thee Here we yield Excalibur.