The Vision of Sir Launfal

In the 10 stanzas of Part Second, Launfal’s vision is narrated and his quest for the Holy Grail concludes.

In Stanza 1, the wintry scene continues. There is an air of decay and death, and even the crow that was part of the summer landscape earlier is affected by the now “cold sun” (Line 245).

In the second stanza, Launfal returns to his castle to find an old man there in his place. He seems to be an older version of Launfal himself, having returned from his quest for the Grail, without his noble regalia but instead “the badge of the suffering and the poor” (Line 256). This Launfal, ill-equipped for the cold winter, remembers the warmth of the desert through which he had passed on his quest, and the “red-hot sands” (Line 268), where a camel train passed on its way to an oasis for a much-needed drink. There, a “little spring” (Line 270), reminiscent of the brook in The Prelude to Part Second, is personified and playful.

In Stanza IV, Launfal hears the leper ask for alms. The leper and his illness are described in harsh tones: “lank as the rain-blanched bone” (Line 276), “lone” (Line 277), “white” (Line 278), and “desolate” (Line 279).