Literary Analysis of King Arthur - Romantic Elements - Andrew Lang

                                                    

            In King Arthur: Tales From the Round Table, the wise older figure of the story “The Sorcerer Merlin,” Merlin has a long history with Arthur even before Arthur was born. Merlin brought Arthur to Sir Ector as a baby for him to raise. Arthur was destined to be King of England; therefore, Merlin had a special attachment to him. Throughout King Arthur's early years as king, Merlin served as his adviser. Arthur turned to Merlin for his wise advice before every battle and decision he made. A quote from the story of The Questing Beast shows how much Arthur depends on Merlin; "But Arthur had many battles to fight and many Kings to conquer before he was acknowledged lord of them all, and often he would have failed had he not listened to the wisdom of Merlin..." Merlin also helped Arthur acquire his sword Excaliber.
            The number 3 is a recurring motif in King arthur and the Knight of the Round Table. One occasion in which the number 3 is seen is when Arthur asks Sir Bedivere to throw his sword Excaliber back into the lake. Arthur received Excaliber from the Lady of the Lake while he was with Merlin, but towards the end of the story he no longer wants it. On the first attempt Sir Bedivere decides to hide the sword and retrieve it later for his own keeping but when Arthur asks what happened as he threw it into the lake and he replies with nothing, Arthur is suspicious. He sends him back to complete the task but Sir Bedivere returns with the same story. Arthur then threatens Sir Bediveres's life and sends him for the third time and when he returns he explains that a hand rose from the water and caught the sword. Another example of the motif of the number three is when Sir Gareth encounters the three brothers on his quest with the Lady Linet. He meets a black knight, who he slays, a green knight after that, and finally he meets the last brother who wears red armor and defeats him as well.
            In romance literature the characters often have dreams or visions that are significant to the story. In the story of “The Questing Beast” King Arthur has a strange dream where "he thought the land was over-run with gryphons and serpents which burnt and slew his people, and he made war on the monsters, and was sorely wounded, though he still killed them all." Later in that same story Arthur and his knights go on a hung and Arthur encounters a very strange beast that is a combination of a serpent and gryphon. Another occurrence is when the squire has a dream in the story of how the king went on pilgrimage, and his squire was slain in a dream. The squire had a dream that he found a gold candle and was stabbed. When the squire woke up, he shouted for help because he had actually been stabbed and he was holding a gold candle.
            A magical/supernatural event occurs before King Arthur and all of his knights at the round table during the story of “The Coming of the Holy Graal.” They were all enjoying a Pentecost supper at the round table when suddenly they heard a clash of thunder and then an intensely bright light shone into the room. As everyone gazed at each other dumbfounded, the Holy Graal floated into the room and food appeared before them all as if by magic. Sir Gawaine along with several other nights were astonished at what they saw, so they devoted themselves to search for the Graal. The next day everybody who had taken on the challenge departed in all different directions.
            In the story of “The End of it All,” King Arthur is betrayed by his nephew Sir Mordred. Arthur entrusted Sir Mordred to govern the land while he was gone from England to fight Sir Lancelot. Sir Mordred accepted the responsibility, but he also had evil intents of what he would do while Arthur was away. Sir Mordred betrayed King Arthur trust by sending letters proclaiming Arthur had died in battle and that he has been crowned king. Queen Guenevere was also betrayed by Sir Mordred because he tried to force her to marry him even when he knew her husband was still alive. When Arthur returned he was denied landing by Mordred and faced a great resistance, causing him to retreat. Mordred had even turned the people against Arthur. Mordred was eventually slain by Arthur; however, all but three of Arthur's knights survived the battles.
            A test of honor subjects one's commitment to their morals as well as their promises to difficult tasks. In the story of “What Beaumains Asked Of The King”, Beaumains, also known as Sir Gareth, has his honor put to the test. Lady Linet comes to Camelot one day and asks for King Arthur to lend her some knights to rescue her sister. Beaumains sees this as an opportunity to prove his worth to everyone, so he begs Arthur to let him go with Linet. Arthur says yes and Linet is furious because Beaumains is a kitchen boy. As they travel to the castle where Lady Linets's sister is kept they encounter several strong knights that Beaumains must overcome if he is to stick to his promise of saving Linet's sister. Beaumains Refuses to give up and conquers them all, even with Lady Linet shouting that he is a worthless kitchen boy. Finally she sees how honorable Beaumains is and that he has endured a rigorous journey all for her and her sister's sake. He fulfills his promise in the end of the story by overthrowing the Red Knight and rescues Lady Lyonesse.
            A character in King Arthur: Tales From the Round Table who possesses both heroic traits along with a flaw is none other than King Arthur himself. Throughout the stories, King Arthur proves to be a powerful, just, and generous ruler. He very rarely commits mistakes and has the respect of practically all of his Knights. He may seem like a perfect character, but there is one thing about him that could be called a flaw; he is too reliant on the people around him. He often puts to much trust into the people closest to him which eventually causes his downfall. The best case of this is when King Arthur leaves England and temporarily entrusts his position to his nephew Sir Mordred. Mordred betrays him and Arthur must fight him to gain back his title. The battles were so intense that Arthur lost all but one of his knights and lost all of his power.
            The character listed as the evil enemy in King Arthur: Tales From the Round Table is Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's sister. Morgan Le Fay was very skilled in magic and also had a strong dislike of her brother because he had slain her lover. This proved to be a deadly combination. As the story proceeds, Morgan Le Fay paid a visit to Arthur while he was resting and stole he scabbard. Arthur pursued her but she tossed the scabbard into a lake and escaped afterwards. The next morning Morgan Le Fay sent Arthur a mantle that was decked in jewels in hope the he would forgive her but Arthur was suspicious. The Lady of the Lake appeared to him and warned him to let the messenger put it on first. She fell down and burned to ashes instantly and King Arthur was outraged. Morgan Le Fay had become Arthur's evil enemy because she let her hate control her actions.
            An archetypal female figure in the book is The Fair Maid Of Astolat. She is the daughter of Sir Bernard, the Baron that took in Sir Lancelot and help him prepare for the tourney. The Fair Maid falls into the category of an archetypal female figure because she is merely an innocent maiden who falls for Lancelot, just as a young lady would for a superstar Hollywood actor today. She instantly falls in love with Sir Lancelot upon seeing him and begs him to wear her token to the tourney. He accepts because it will provide a good disguise for him. Elaine, the Fair Maid, later asks Sir Lancelot if he would be her husband but he declines. Then, because she was young and irrational from her heartache, she killed herself because she swore to herself she would never love anybody but Sir Lancelot.
            Sir Percivale embarks on a quest in the story “The Adventure of Sir Percivale.” In the story he is on a quest for the Holy Graal just as several of the other knights are; however, he is horseless. He encounters a yeoman who says a black knight stole his horse, so he gives Sir Percivale his hackney to chase the other knight. Sir Percivale catches up to the knight, but the black knight kills his hackney and rides away. Percivale feels defeated but a lady appears to him and gives him a horse. The horse turns out to be a fiend and ran away from Percivale leaving him horseless once again, but he was just thankful he survived. The next day he witnesses a battle between a lion and a serpent. He decides to help the lion since it was the more natural creature and slays the serpent, earning himself a new companion in the lion.