The Tale of Balen
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Swinburne, Algernon Charles. The Tale of Balen. London: Chatto & Windus, 1896.
As in his retelling of the Tristan legend, Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) used fate as an overpowering force in his Tale of Balen. The author did not have to alter Malory's version of Balin's story very much to show how destiny governs human life. Even in Malory, Balin is buffeted by fortune as harshly and as clearly as Oedipus, and there is something of the feel of a Greek tragedy about the tale. But whereas in Malory Balin's story is preparatory to subtler tragedies that follow and that dissipate its effect, in Swinburne's version this is not the case, and so the reader feels the full power of fate.