Idylls of the King is a collection of twelve narrative poems that recount Arthur's attempt and failure to lift up mankind and create a perfect kingdom, from his coming to power to his death at the hands of the traitor Mordred. Tennyson sought to encapsulate the past and the present in the Idylls. Arthur is often seen as an embodiment of Victorian ideals, yet Tennyson shows that Arthur often has unrealistic expectations for the Knights of the Round Table and for Camelot itself, and despite his best efforts he is unable to uphold the Victorian ideal in his Camelot.

The Idylls are written in blank verse. The descriptions of nature are derived from observations of Tennyson's own surroundings, collected over the course of many years. The dramatic narratives are not epic either in structure or tone but derive elegiac sadness in the style of the idylls of Theocritus. Idylls of the King is often read as an allegory of the societal conflicts in Britain during the mid-Victorian era.