10 th Grade World Lit/Comp Unit I Review Geller’s Spectacular Sophomores Fall 2013

Background Information  Important aspects of the chivalric code included loyalty, bravery, helping the weak, respect for women, honoring God and country, etc.  The “historic” Arthur fought against the Angles and Saxons.  The King Arthur tales have some basis in historic truth, but evolved into legend over time.

Background, con’t.  Sir Thomas Malory was the first to compile all of the Arthurian legends in one place, his classic Le Morte d’Arthur  Ironic that he wrote about chivalry and honor—while in jail for petty crimes.  Courtly love was not supposed to be physical, though the French added elements of romance; generally a relationship of honor and respect between a knight and his queen

Le Morte d’Arthur: “The Tale of King Arthur”  Uther is miserable because he wants the love of Lady Igraine, but she is loyal to her husband, the Duke of Tintagil  Merlin says he will help Uther to get Igraine if he hands over their firstborn child; Uther eagerly agrees.  Merlin transforms Uther to look like the duke; Uther sleeps with Igraine and conceives Arthur

“The Tale of King Arthur,” con’t.  Igraine realizes the man she slept with was not her husband when she learns the duke was killed three hours before  With the duke dead, Igraine and Uther are married.  Igraine’s daughter with the duke, Morgan le Fay, is sent to a nunnery and later begins practicing witchcraft

“The Tale of King Arthur,” con’t.  Lady Igraine is relieved to learn that the man with whom she conceived Arthur is now her husband  Merlin takes the infant Arthur to be raised by Sir Ector  When Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, Sir Ector bows before him, but the rest of the nobles make him repeat the feat several times

“Arthur Becomes King” from The Once and Future King by T.H. White  Uther’s death has thrown the country into an uproar because he has no direct heir  Young Arthur (known by the nickname Wart) is sad to learn that Merlin will be leaving  Sir Kay, Arthur’s foster brother, sends Arthur to retrieve his sword from the inn where they were staying, but it’s locked  Arthur doesn’t want to disappoint Kay, so he grabs the sword from the stone instead

“Arthur Becomes King,” con’t.  Animals come to Wart’s aid, showing that he is a kind, pure soul  Because he was not in the room when King Pellinore told the story of the sword in the stone, Wart does not realize its significance  Sir Kay initially tries to take credit for pulling the sword from the stone, but his honor gets the best of him—plus he realizes he can’t pull it out, and no one will believe him

“Arthur Becomes King,” con’t  When Wart realizes he will become king, he is overwhelmed and begins to cry  We can infer that he understands the enormity of the responsibility before him, and will likely take it seriously

“The Tale of Sir Launcelot du Lake” from Le Morte d’Arthur  Sir Launcelot sets off in search of adventure to help those in need  Due to his devotion to Queen Guinevere and his distaste for adultery, he refuses to become the paramour of Morgan le Fay or the other three queens who accost him in the woods  Sir Tarquine—the dark knight (archetypal villain) who has been terrorizing the forest—wants to kill Launcelot because Launcelot killed his brother

“The Tale of Sir Launcelot,” con’t.  Sir Launcelot exchanges armor with Sir Kay in a classic display of chivalry—helping the weak.  In this tale, Sir Launcelot is depicted as brave, noble, as well as headstrong and arrogant

“The Death of Arthur” from Le Morte d’Arthur  As the story opens, Arthur is having a horrible nightmare. He is strapped to a chair that is mounted on a wheel, suspended over a dark sea full of horrible monsters.  The wheel moves and dumps him into the water where he is devoured by the sea monsters  Consider the symbolic significance of dark water and serpents—foreshadows Arthur’s death

“The Death of Arthur,” con’t.  In Arthur’s second dream, his nephew Sir Gawain (accompanied by several fair maidens for whom he’s jousted), comes to warn him not to fight Mordred  Arthur takes the warning seriously and agrees to a peace treaty—on the condition that if a sword is drawn on either side, all bets are off.  A knight draws a sword to kill a snake, and mayhem ensues. Arthur and Mordred mortally wound each other.

“The Death of Arthur,” con’t  On his deathbed, Arthur asks Sir Bedivere to throw Excalibur in the lake  Twice, Bedivere lies and says that he has thrown the sword away—he feels it is too beautiful and valuable  Arthur knows he is lying and insists; after all, once he’s dead, there is no one worthy to wield it

“The Death of Arthur,” con’t.  On the third attempt, Bedivere throws Excalibur into the lake, where it is caught by the Lady of the Lake  Arthur asks to be taken to the shore  A barge with three queens arrives to receive him; they are sad because it seems they might be too late  The queens will be taking Arthur to the heavenly Vale of Avalon to be healed

“The Death of Arthur,” con’t.  Bedivere learns that some ladies brought a body to a hermitage to be buried, and assumes it was Arthur  He moves in with the hermit (once the Bishop of Canterbury) and lives the rest of his life in service to the Lord and praying for Arthur’s soul

General Knowledge  Tone: Author’s attitude toward the story  Legend: A story set in a particular time or place, based on people who may have actually existed  Hero Archetype: King Arthur, Jesus, Odysseus, Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker etc.  Launcelot + Guinevere= courtly love, tainted by adultery

General Knowledge  Myth: Attempts to explain the origins of life, evil, natural phenomena, etc. Not rooted in a particular time or place. Native American creation stories are an example of this genre.  Archetype: Recurring character, symbol, situation, etc. that appears in epics, myths, legends, folktales

King Arthur’s Family Tree