Image via Photobucket and maryklong.

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I could barely follow this story.  The main plot (from what I could deduce) centers around the knight Florian of the House of the Lillies.  He and his men storm a castle to kill a woman named Swanhilda for revenge because she killed a man they loved.  Then he goes to a place called The Hollow Land.  Think of the Hollow Land as a sort of Elysian Fields.  There, he meets Margaret who I think represents his true love.  While at the Hollow Land, Florian receives condemnation for taking Swanhilda’s life.  Regarding her name, it reminded me of Queen Brunhilda.  Going back to Florian, William Morris cannot decide whether he supports or condemns the actions of Florian.  He definitely showed no neutrality when having Florian about to kill Swanhilda, with her written as whining and on her knees.  Basically, Morris switches gears a lot throughout this tale.

This gear-switching also leads to scenes that just left me confused then riveted.  For example, The Hollow Land’s climax comes out of nowhere with Florian fighting a painter while naked.  After that happens, Florian himself takes up painting.  At the end of the story, he and Margaret leave the Hollow Land and it stops with talking about flowers.

The Hollow Land with its knights and queens, it obviously takes places during the Medieval era.  Anyone aware of Morris and his devotion for this time, it comes through in this story.  Regarding the imagery, one can see Morris’s artistic roots because of his flower imagery (House of the Lillies and the name Florian).  Snakeshead, image via Photobucket and canaryyell.

He also gives off detailed descriptions of textiles and the constant discussion of colors such as red and yellow.  From the beginning to the end, they all feature so predominantly in the story.

Is this story good?  Not really, due to the fact that I could barely follow the story.  The thing is, I have read and enjoyed Morris’s writings before I came across The Hollow Land.  In the meantime, I will read more of his works for future entries.

ETA: Reworked a link and tweaked a sentence.