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Madness
Guenevere uses the term "mad" several times in her defense. Is she trying to plead insanity, or is she making a different point altogether? Is her "madness" just another way of viewing the past? Lots of things can drive a person to madness in this poem: beauty, the sky, the way colors look when you hold your hand up in front of them. Maybe it's something in the water in Arthurian England.
Although critics often assume that Guenevere is on the verge of hysteria during her defense, a close reading of the poem actually demonstrates that she is completely in control.
All the characters in this poem, including Guenevere and Gauwaine, exhibit symptoms of obsession and madness.
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