Boos, Florence S.  "1896-1996:  Morris' poetry at the fin de  mellenaire."  Victorian Poetry.  (1996): 285-298.

This essay is the opener for an issue of "Victorian Poetry" completely dedicated to William Morris.  The issue remembers the Poet on the one-hundredth anniversary of his death. In this first essay by the issue’s editor, Florence Boos forms a broader diagnosis of Morris’ style and a more general view on his career than the essays which follow.  Here, Boos discusses this Renaissance man’s multiple endeavors and how they related to his art, poetry, and genius while taking a more sympathetic approach toward the abrupt style changes in his poetry during his career than other critics of the genre.  On page 289 he relates "The Writing on the Image" to the point in Morris’ career that he wrote "The Earthly Paradise."  During this stage, Morris develops a "direct lyric voice" which is defined by a "narrative pattern, emotional resonance, and prosodic skill."  His poetry at this time resembled the lyrics of the bards of medieval times.

Eastwood, David R.  "Poetry Hypothesis."  Hypotheses: Neo- Aristotelian Analysis 9 (1994): 15-18.  This article  contains discussion of "The Haystack in the Floods."

Eshelman, Lloyd Wendell.  A Victorian Rebel: The Life of William  Morris.  New York: Scribner's, 1940.  This book contains  discussion of "The Defence of Guinevere."

---.  William Morris: Prophet of England's New Order. By Lloyd  Eric (pseud.). London: Cassell, 1949.  This book contains  discussion of "The Defence of Guinevere."

Faulkner, Peter. William Morris: The Critical Heritage.  London:  Broadway House, 1973. 42-47.

Faulkner is hostile in his criticism against William Morris and specifically "The Defence of Guinevere."  Faulkner begins his argument by questioning the Pre-Raphaelite and Morris’s intentions in creating art.  He describes the groups desire to maintain a truthful expression of life.  He argues that art should be an imitation of art and that the group goes so far to make their art as real as life that, "they not only forget what art is, but are ignorant of what artistic impression is" (44).   Faulkner then moves onto criticizing Morris as an artist.  Faulkner follows his previous line of thinking stressing the importance of the imitation of life to art.  He claims that Morris’ "The Defence of Guinevere" is about characters that have not lived in Morris’s lifetime and therefore should not be imitated.  Faulkner considers this to be a waste of Morris’s "considerable" talents.  Faulkner cites passages to emphasize the beauty of the world that Morris creates, but that they have no purpose.  The people who live in this world were possibly as Morris describes, but they are unknown to Morris except in images.  Faulkner uses "Golden Wings" and "Sir Peter Harpdon’s End" as specific examples to prove his argument.

The section on William Morris in Gurney's British Poetry appears in a chapter on the Pre-Raphaelite movement.  Gurney’s goal is to provide a comprehensive look at the major movements in nineteenth century British poetry and to the historical contexts in which they occurred.  Gurney explains the origins of Pre-Raphaelitism, and looks at everyone involved, both those outside the brotherhood and those inside it.  He includes John Ruskin, an extensive section discussing Dante and Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, George Meredith, and Coventry Patmore.

The section on William Morris in this text does not center specifically on one work or period but gives a general overview of Morris' life and criticizes his major works as part of a thematic structure.  Gurney describes William Morris' personal life as unhappy due to a failed marriage and points to this as the cause of Morris' workaholic attitude.  Gurney compares Morris in belief to John Ruskin and characterizes his poetry in three stages.  The first period is Middle-Age romance.  Poems from this phase include "The Defense of Guinevere" and "The Haystack and the Floods."  The second stage, which includes Morris' most important work (according to the author) entitled The Earthly Paradise, is a phase marked by contradictions in earthly love, life, death and hope.  The third and final stage of Morris' career marks a withdrawal from earlier romanticism and instead seems embittered, barren, and impersonal.  Sigurd the Volsung characterizes this final stage, which Gurney believes stemmed from personal unhappiness.

Harrison captures the essence of Morris’ poem and links it to the style and purpose of the Pre-Raphaelite movement as a whole.  Harrison discusses the poem in its relation to The Defence of Guinevere volume in its entirety.  According to Harrison, the apocalyptic tragedy signals the end of the characters as well as the end of the volume because of its placement.  The vagueness of the characters allows them to become universal symbols, making the tragedy even more intense.  Harrison dissects the poem in a clear, concise manner, focusing on the violence, betrayal, and ultimate frustration that typically dominates tragedies.

Harrison does not simply end with his interpretation of Morris.  Instead, he links Morris to the entire Pre-Raphaelite movement.  Citing the Pre-Raphaelite’s melancholic temper, Harrison concludes that their tragedy is a cross between Romantic melancholy and modern nihilism.

Henderson, Philip. William Morris:  His Life, Work, and Friends.  New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.

A comprehensive recollection of William Morris’ life is given in this biography with commentary about how certain works affected his life and how his life shaped his work. Among these works, Henderson mentions "The Defence of Guinevere" as evidence of Morris’ tendency to preserve the idea of romanticism as having a feeling for history.  In Henderson’s opinion, "The Defence of Guinevere" served as a vehicle for Morris’ ideas about conserving "the arts of life" (6) in the latter part of his life.  "The Defence of Guinevere," "The Wedding of St. George," and works like these were directly inspired by Dante Rossetti, and were attacked by reviewers in the Victorian era as being "affected and effeminate and of Rossetti’s School" (51).  According to Henderson, "The Defence of Guinevere" is an extremely decorative piece of literature, though containing unfavorable undertones.  Henderson argues that this poem is still admired today but more violent themes in accordance with Froissart’s ideas, such as those in "The Haystack in the Floods" are more prominently known.  "The Haystack in the Floods" is more realistic thematically to the reader, according to Henderson.  Even so, Morris reintroduced the theme of medievalism into poetry with "The Defence of Guinevere," something Tennyson had been trying to do throughout his whole career.  Henderson says that Morris had the ability to write great poetry but was ranked far below that ability.
 

Kennedy, Veronica M. S. "'The Haystack in the Floods': An  Uncharacteristic Preraphaelite Poem." University of Michigan Studies in English 8 (1990): 29-35.

MacCarthy, Fiona.  William Morris:  A Life for Our Times.  New  York:  Knopf, 1995.  Contains discussion of "The Defence of Guinevere."

MacEachen, Dougald B.  "Trial by Water in William Morris' 'The  Haystack in the Floods.'"  Victorian Poetry 6 (1968): 73-75.

Mackail, J.W.  Studies of English Poets.  New York:  Books for  Libraries, 1968.  Contains background information on Morris.

Noyes, Alfred.  William Morris.  London:  Macmillan, 1908. Contains discussion of "The Defence of Guinevere."

Thompson, E.P.  William Morris:  Romantic to Revolutionary.   Stanford: Stanford UP, 1955.  Contains discussion of "The Defence of Guinevere."

Vallance, Aymer.  The Life and Work of William Morris.  London:  Bestseller, 1986.  Contains discussion of "The Defence of Guinevere" and "The Haystack in the Floods."