...King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table Chapter 1: Arthur and Merlin Read by Nathalie Drasse This very old story begins with Uther, a great king. He was a good man and he was king in the south of Britain. Other places were very dangerous at that time, but people did not fight in Uther's country. Uther loved a beautiful woman, Igraine, and he wanted to marry her. But she did not love him and he was very sad about that. Merlin was a very clever man and he knew a lot of magic. He could change into an animal or bird. Sometimes, when he used magic, nobody could see him. He also helped people with his magic, and one day he came to King Uther. 'You can marry Igraine,' he said. 'I will help you. But when you have a child, you will have to give the boy to me.', I will give him to you,' said the King. He married Igraine and later they had a baby son. They called him Arthur. When Arthur was three days old, a very old man arrived at the door of the King's house. It was Merlin. King Uther took the child in his arms and gave him to Merlin. Merlin took the child away. He gave the boy, Arthur, to a good knight. His name was Sir Ector. So Arthur lived with Sir Ector and his son, Kay, and the two boys were brothers. A short time after this happened, King Uther was very ill. He did not get better. He called for Merlin because he wanted to talk about the future of his country. Merlin came and listened to the King. 'I know that I am going to die,' King Uther said. 'Who will be king after me...
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...King Arthur: A Film Review The myth of King Arthur is full of action, adventure, chivalry, treachery, romance, betrayal and tragedy. Donna Rosenberg writes, “The story of King Arthur has appealed to writers and readers for hundreds of years because it is so complex and varied.”(419) This is what led me to choose Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 cinematic version for my film review. I have always enjoyed mythology. Monsters, magic, tragic love, heroes and villains. All genres of mythology we have read over the last 7 weeks are interesting, but the tales coming from the British Isles, especially King Arthur, are more translatable to me and my daily life. Although King Arthur’s existence is not known for sure, the ideals he strove to bring about are important in today’s society. Arthur dreamed of a better world where every man, woman and child are equals and have free will. His legendary Round Table possibly symbolizes an early form of democracy. “It will bring peace among all of his knights, since the table has nether a head nor a foot. Whenever the knights meet, their thrones, their services, and their relationship to one another will be equal.” (Rosenberg 433). The myth of King Arthur as written in World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics and the 2004 cinematic version has a few similarities and many dissimilarities. Both portray Arthur and his knights as courageous and strong. In Rosenberg’s World Mythology, Arthur is asked to fight a monster that has been ravaging the...
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...period as well as in the actions of many of the era's most prominent individuals. Knights, kings, soldiers, nobles, and more all followed the ideals of chivalry to one extent or another. The problem with examining their actions, however, lies in the fact that people within each of these groups interpreted chivalry differently. Whereas one person may view the act of war as chivalrous, others may look towards maintaining their estates and income as more important to their chivalrous valor. This makes simply defining...
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...successfully governed England, to the fullest of his abilities goes down in history today, this man is, King Henry VIII. On June 28, 1491, Henry Tudor, King Henry VIII, was born in Greenwich Palace, in London, England. Henry was born to an affectionate family that delivered six other children, but only four children survived: Arthur, Margaret, Mary, and Henry. Henry VIII’s brother, Arthur, was the eldest of the Tudor family and Arthur’s father would bequeath his position and the royal title to Arthur. When Arthur reached the age of fifteen he passed away leaving the right to the throne to he younger brother, Henry VIII. King Henry VIII was only ten-years-old when he was appointed king of England. He eventually married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, who was once betrothed to Arthur, his oldest brother. Catherine, being the daughter of the Spanish king and queen, was a contributing factor as to why Henry agreed to join Catherine in matrimony, for Henry could remain in relations with Spain (Ford 18). Catherine and King Henry VIII gave birth to a daughter, Mary. This was unacceptable to King Henry because he anticipated continuing his family’s name on the throne for generations to come, he would need to conceive a son to take his spot as king once he was deceased. The Catholic Church doesn’t permit divorce of a marriage, but Henry asked for Pope Clement VII to cancel his marriage. King Henry VIII demanded his marriage to Catherine be canceled, and he spoke out that their marriage...
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..."Prince Arthur," the man said, his voice not as low as the prince had expected but just as arrogant as his pompous appearance implied. "What an honor it is to meet you." Arthur clenched his fists at his sides, wishing he could just reach out and punch the man in his fat, smirking face. His captor was mocking him, the sarcasm and amusement practically dripping from his voice. Instead of being intimidated, Arthur only felt frustrated. He wasn't about to give in to his captor's attempts at riling him even though he was clearly at a huge disadvantage, and not just because he was in a cell. Even in a fair fight, he got the feeling he would have a hard time taking on the man before him. With a sword he would stand a better chance, but the hulking...
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...The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been around for a thousand years, evolving and developing. It was first written by author Nennius, but Sir Thomas Malory, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chretien de Troyes, and Alfred Lord Tennyson contributed to the legend and expands it even more. They introduced new characters and the different aspects of them into the legend, along with the themes. One of the most important themes depicted by the characters is the theme of betrayal. Using this theme, authors let characters both develop and decline throughout the legend. In the Arthurian legend, betrayals of characters such as Lancelot, Mordred, and Viviane result in the characters’ death in the end. Lancelot's betrayal is the center...
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...ENGL 2220 Dr. Rhonda Sanford 7 November 2012 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: The Role of Honor Honor has ancient roots in the history of man, but few periods from our past stand in comparison to medieval times. During this time of kings and castles stood a value system spawned out of the sheer and intense belief of honor. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight excellently encapsulates this immense respect for an honorable and noble lifestyle. Chaucer endowed English literature of the time with foundation and became a fore-father of English poetry. “Chaucer was the first to conceive of poetry in English not as the product of an isolated, provincial nation located in an obscure corner of Europe but as a vital agent in the fourteenth-century emergence of the vernacular as a literary language” (Simon pg. 657). In each of the four fitts composing Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one can easily interpret that Chaucer’s writing is developed on the basis of honor and a chivalrous approach to life. It takes no time in reading through the beginning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to notice the relevance and importance of honor in the culture encompassing King Arthur’s time. While preparing to feast, King Arthur, his knights, and numerous other respectable individuals of the kingdom are seated not at random nor by age, but by honor. It seems as if an individual’s seat at this dinner, through honor, represents their social status in the kingdom. Chaucer...
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...and Composition Tanrak Ploykao Table of Content Title | Page | Introduction | 3 | The Role of Women (Informative Essay) | 4 | Guenever (Character Analysis Essay) | 8 | Destiny of a King (Reader-Response Criticism) | 13 | Conclusion | 15 | Works Cited | 16 | Introduction The Arthurian Portfolio consisted of three different essays.. The first essay informs the reader about the role of women in 11th Century based on the book. I think the role of women clearly constructs throughout the Book II throughout Book VI. It is important to acknowledge the role of women based on the perspective of male author. The second essay analyzes Guenever who is one of the protagonists in the book. I chose her character because the male author wrote her through his perspective. I found it was interesting to observe her development from Book III through Book VI. The last essay is the reader-response criticism on Book I: The Sword in the Stone. I like this criticism because I can express my understanding about the book. The criticism allows me to explain how I interpret the text. Overall, these three essays are relevant to the Arthurian legend and what I have learned about it. Tanrak Ploykao 5th Period The Role of Women The presence of women in the Once and Future King has often been behind the shadow of the men: the noble knights, the knights and the mage Merlyn. Many women, in this book, have influence in the men’s life. Throughout the book, women are often...
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...as the absolute ideal way to conduct oneself by the upper class. Central concepts within chivalry are honour, generosity, loyalty, courage and physical prowess. I believe that Molory is attempting to use Le Morte d’Arthur to exemplify how to act chivalrously. The genre of Romance was often utilised in this period to provide a template of action and I believe the characters of Arthur and Gareth do so in this text. The times Malory wrote Le Morte d’Arthur were extremely turbulent for the English people. There was barely two years of peace between The Hundred Years’ War and The War of the Roses so the English throne was at an incredibly unstable point and people were uncertain who was going to rule. I believe this historical context had an effect on Malory’s depiction of Arthur – he is represented as the ideal king possessing great chivalry, perhaps as a template for future kings or to show the people how a king should act. I see many examples of Arthur embodying the chivalrous ideal within this text, some of which I will explore now. Firstly Arthur addresses Gareth as ‘ye’; this second person pronoun shows more respect than the...
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...were telling the fabulous tales and romances about Arthur and his kingdom. The common people heard them sung by bards, while in the court poets wrote different versions. In each retelling the speaker would select certain details for emphasis and introduce new elements, so that the story could be adapted to the particular time and audience. Although most historians believe that there actually did exist an Arthur, they differ on how major his role was on influencing society during his time. To understand the most widely accepted view on when and how Arthur gained fame, one must be aware of the historical time period surrounding Arthur. The unity that the Roman government imposed on Britain disappeared around 410 AD. In its place arose small villages whose rulers struggled for political and military supremacy. Around 540, a Welsh monk and historian named Gildas wrote in his book Concerning the Ruin and Conquest of Britain that The disasters that the British people suffered at the hands of the Anglo-Saxons after the Roman withdrawal were clear evidence that god was punishing them for their sins. It was during these disasters that the monk was referring to that Arthur held up resistance for the Britons against the Saxons, at a time when Britain was constantly being threatened by invaders. Through being the commander who routed the battles against the enemy and thereby saving the south of Britain from distruction of the Saxons, Arthur became the image of the hero and savior whose death...
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...Texts are products of time Focusing of 2 texts from different eras, discuss how text reflect values of their context. Medieval literature and the renaissance literature was a period of time where religion and values were important, good and evil was widely distinct and the political structure was highly valued depending on the individual’s background. These factors had huge influence on how and why literature was raised. Middle ages was a more a time of religious fears and, scientific and cultural progress was considered evil which made stories more conservative, harsh and heroic. One of the famous medieval text includes Thomas Malory and the Morte D’Arther. The text is a fusion of historical and pre-Christian magical elements. On the other hand, the renaissance was quiet different to medieval period, it was the rebirth of individualism, humanism and free thinking. Renaissance writing, by contrast showed interest in writing, arts and culture. One of the key philosophical elements of the renaissance was the rise of humanism and precursor to the age of enlightenment. Renaissance literature and arts became more invested in the hands of rich and powerful. One of the famous renaissance text includes a Petrarchan sonnet called the Holy Sonnet 10 by John Donne. The sonnet has a lot of religious and biblical context of god, death and eternal life. It highlights the insignificance of death that it should not be feared, it reveals human dignity and happiness and individual freedom. These...
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...In the story A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs’s Court by Mark Twain, we are shown that slavery and equality were not things that existed in the times that time traveling Hank Morgan visits. Hank is a Yankee born in Connecticut who finds himself in the Court of King Arthur in the year 528, time traveling to many years before his time after being hit in the head. Hank Morgan is an ingenious, resourceful man, filled with realism and common sense, believing in complete democracy, contrasting to the Catholic Church. Hank Morgan demonstrates nineteenth-century equality, progress, and science, placed in a society that is controlled by inheritance, nobility and a dictatorial church with laws, and inhumanity. Throughout his journey, Hank...
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...cool. Give your feedback relative to the skill set of the writer. Never lie or obfuscate. Just serve it up gently. An upset writer isn’t going to hear your points anyway. But an encouraged one will. Trust me on this. — Julie Gray PRINTER FRIENDLY PAGE Literary analysis looks critically at a work of fiction in order to understand how the parts contribute to the whole. When analyzing a novel or short story, you’ll need to consider elements such as the context, setting, characters, plot, literary devices, and themes. Remember that a literary analysis isn’t merely a summary or review, but rather an interpretation of the work and an argument about it based on the text. Depending on your assignment, you might argue about the work’s meaning or why it causes certain reader reactions. This handout will help you analyze a short story or novel—use it to form a thesis, or argument, for your essay. Summary Begin by summarizing the basic plot: “Matilda by Roald Dahl is about a gifted little girl in small town America who learns to make things move with her mind and saves her teacher and school from the evil principal.” This will help ground you in the story. (When you write your paper, you probably won’t include a summary because your readers will already be familiar with the work. But if they aren’t, use a brief summary to orient them.) Context Research the author’s background and other work. This can give insight into the author’s perspective and bias, as well as tell the reader what...
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...Alfred Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King in the Discourse of Postcolonial Criticism Introduction: Ever since his name was first mentioned by the Welsh monk Nennius in the 9th century, writers modified and applied the great King Arthur's popular legend to convey their various political, religious and social beliefs. The Victorian author Alfred Lord Tennyson followed this tradition exemplarily and enwraped his imperialistic views in the famous Arthurian poem Idylls of the King. The aim of this paper is to accentuate his political and social ideologies from the context and introduce to some of the reactions of postcolonial critics. Idylls of the King, a Piece of Victorian Literature: Especially if Tennyson's Idylls are the first and only piece of Arthurian literature one has read, one can irritatedly ignore its dedication and letter to the royals Albert and Victoria, and simply summarize it as the story of a medieval King, the adventures of his accompanying knights, the fortune of the ladies at his court, and the creation and downfall of his kingdom in twelve books. Those readers, however, who are familiar with the previous versions of Arthurian stories written by Chrétien de Troyes and Thomas Malory, for instance, cannot be satisfied with that. They wonder about Tennyson's framing poems “Dedication” and “To the Queen”, stumble over the changes the author made in his adoption of the Arthurian legends, and start thinking about what Idylls of the King really is about. So did Cecil Y...
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...Chapter 12 – The Hunt / A Knight with the Queen Gawain remained in his seat, stunned into silence. Had his king really just ask Gawain to lie with Queen Guinevere? It seemed impossible. Gawain and Guinevere’s friendship went back several years. They met four years ago right after Gawain received his knighthood, right before Guinevere married Arthur. Back in those days, Gwen – she was always referred to as Gwen – wanted to visit her mother’s gravesite. Gawain, all of eighteen years of age at that time, was chosen to escort her. It was an honor, being the one selected to accompany and protect the king’s beloved fiancée for the brief trip, but he was nervous about the responsibility and worried about behaving appropriately around a future royal...
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