Arthur the Forever Flawed

In all the stories we've read so far, the Arthur moment that has bothered me the most was killing the babies on the ship in our Malory text. It didn't make sense to me, and it felt so out of character with the King Arthur I thought I knew before starting this class. This is why I love the scene in this book where he tells Lancelot and Guenever about what he did. I'm really glad T.H. White kept this detail, because I think it's important. Lance and Gwen try to justify Arthur's actions by saying, "Hey, Mordred's alive though! No harm, no foul!" But Arthur says, "You mustn't forget the other babies...I dream about them" (549). Arthur is still haunted by the actions he took in his past, and he faces them head on. He doesn't try to explain them away now that he is an older man, and he doesn't blame Mordred at all for wanting to kill him. Depressing? Yes. But this Arthur feels so much more human. He knows he has flaws, and he spends much of our last chapter trying to better himself and his kingdom. This Arthur isn't perfect, and I think he's better off for it.

First Impressions

What does our first impression of Merlyn tell us about his character in this story? And why is it so different than other tales of/ with Merlin?

Wart the Fish

*This fanfiction story takes place during the events of chapter 5 in "The Sword in the Stone" and is from the perspective of Arthur/Wart*

Dear diary,

Today was a rather intriguing start to my training with this old Merlyn fellow. I don't know what exactly I'm getting myself into but I think I am caught up in some type of hippy psychedelic coup. Just looking at this man gives me the feeling he's ready to rip a bong at any minute but that's besides the point. I am very concerned for my health for I believe Meryln somehow slipped drugs into my system without my knowledge. One minute I'm in class bored out of my mind thinking of random things I could be doing right now like being a fish (I'm weird don't ask why). So I just decided to yell out loud that I wanted to be a fish and POOF all I remember after that is being an actual fish! Did Merlyn have me take acid before my training? It's funny because I remember seeing a fish Meryln. It was the spitting image of him I can't make this up. It was so wrinkly and had a long gray beard just like him. Anyways that's besides the point we ended up meeting a freaking fish king! His name was Black Peter which I find odd because he looked more like a John to me but I'm getting off track. This man was crazy as balls. Who's decision was it to make this guy king because he was the most selfish, egotistical fish I've ever met. He was going on this hour long rant about how "Power of the body is the ultimate thing. Might is right". Which seemed like some good advice, I thought we were making good progress until he threatened to eat me and Merlyn fish. Everything after that was a blur, the only thing I remember happening afterwards was me and Merlyn lying on the drawbridge. I don't know what kind of drugs this old man is taking... but I think I like it.

Merlyn the Timelord and Arthur his Companion

"There is a thing about Time and Space
which the philosopher Einstein is going to find out.
Some people call it Destiny." Pg.286

I believe no other story we have read thus far has gone as in depth into the friendship and teachings of Merlyn and Arthur. Even when Arthur has become king he still looks to Merlyn for guidance, especially on page 247 when Arthur believes he knows why Might isn’t Right and how Might can be Right. In this scene I believe Arthur to going back to being a child and looking up to his tutor/teacher for guidance hoping he has the right answer. Merlyn not responding to this moment shows that he no longer wants Arthur to look for him for anything else because he won’t always be there, he only praises Arthur when he starts thinking for himself and doesn’t rely on Merlyn anymore. But I believe the real reason why Merlyn doesn’t look at Arthur during his speech is because Merlyn doesn’t actually know whether his teachings are right or not. He goes in time backwards but knows that any decision he makes can affect the future which he has already lived, which is why he keeps telling Arthur what happens just in case things don’t work out completely the way it’s supposed to. Merlyn knows any sort of mistake he make affects the future, he has to make sure the lessons he teaches Arthur are the right ones. Arthur’s big speech is the result of everything Merlyn has taught him and it seems like the beginning of Arthur’s legacy. It’s like The Doctor from Doctor Who letting go of his companions in the hopes that they will be better off without him and they will do greater things because they knew him.

Virtue of Knowledge and Freedom

            

It is in my opinion that today’s reading underlined some of the main virtues King Arthur must embody or learn in order to be a great and successful leader. Throughout the different texts, Merlyn is guiding and teaching Arthur in various ways. But, Merlyn cares only to impart a certain kind of wisdom to Arthur.  Merlyn doesn’t think that just because one can fight or joust well that that person is educated or wise. I think that Merlyn wants Arthur to actually learn morality, individuality and freedom. At first Arthurs thoughts and actions are childish. I think that Merlyn changed Arthur into a fish to show him that life wouldn’t be very much different if he were actually a fish. I think this encourages young Arthur to be more comfortable with who he is or more accepting of life in general. Then Merlyn showed Arthur his favorite knight King Pellinore. Arthur seemingly idolized his knighthood skills and I think Merlyn was attempting to show him that just because someone is a great knight does not mean that they are a great person. King Pellinore cheated during the fight which seems counter intuitive to a pure character. Then as the reading continued Arthur learned that Might isn’t Right and that things should be done because it is right for it to be done. At one point Merlyn gets annoyed by Arthur for asking him a question and emphasized the importance of being able to think all on your own. In order for Arthur to quell rebellion and to achieve peace, he must defeat ignorance in thought and ignorance in the old ways of life. Once Arthur matures more in wisdom he is able to turn the tides of the rebellion to end the fight. I think this is also an allegory for the rebellion that takes place within our own minds. Think about the times you wish things were different for yourself, or how our actions stemming from ignorant thoughts have caused injury to ourselves or to others. Think about the  fight between good and evil in ourselves. Merlyn wants peace, wisdom and virtue to reign. This is something he wants to instill in Arthur so that Arthur could then instill in his kingdom. Wisdom frees us from ignorance and grants us individual freedom. Ignorance enslaves our minds and actions. 

A Sad End to My Reign

I'm confused as to what has happened. I think I'm a failure. Will God even remember me if I die? That Gawain guy came to me last night, not the actual Gawain, he's dead, but the ghost kind, and he said that I'll die tomorrow. That scares me! I'll just take one thing at a time. I guess I have to go to this battle tomorrow.
Turns out, it's a pretty scary battle scene at Lyonnesse. Right out of the movies. It was pretty intense but all of my army seems to have died. That darn Modred guy is still alive though, I'm going to destroy him! Ouch, that really hurt. I think I'm dying, the time has come. Good ole Bedivere is taking me to the chapel. However if there is one last thing I want to do to save my dignity, it will be to get rid of that sword, Excalibur. Bedivere should throw it in the lake. I don't think he's going to though. Can I blame him? Nah, throw that into the lake man, don't lie to me when I'm about to die. There's a beautiful barge coming up onto the lake, that seems like a comfy place to rest. I wish to die on the barge and go peacefully into the horizon.

The Sword and the Water

Should Bedivere have kept Excalibur? 

Bedivere thinks that keeping Excalibur would do much more for Arthur's legacy than throwing it back into the lake. If he kept it, we might've actually have definitive proof that Arthur and Camelot had existed. He had already disobeyed Arthur twice and each time he returned, the king was closer to death.

Should he have just waited for Arthur to die and held on to the sword, disobeying his king's final wish? 

Did history lose out on one of its greatest treasures because Bedivere remained loyal to Arthur, even as he was bleeding out and possibly delirious?

Perspective of Time

Whereof this world holds record. Such a sleep
They sleep--the men I loved. I think that we
Shall never more, at any future time,
Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds,
Walking about the gardens and the halls
Of Camelot, as in the days that were.i

The perspective of time something is written and when it's being read is important to consider when interpreting its context. I selected the above lines, 15-19, to examine due how it can be read different ways depending on the time it is read in. The word I was most struck by in this passage is “sleep.” In the first stanza that proceeds these lines the speaker states that the knights have fallen— clearly indicating they died. While sleep is a word sometimes used as a synonym for death, it seemed like a passive word choice to describe knights who died in battle. Sleep conjures images of peace and calm: the opposite of a brutal felling of knights in battle. Moreover, the word is repeated twice: “such a sleep.” Sleep appears to be implying that these men will soon wake even though Tennyson makes it clear in the preceding lines that things will never be the same again. My focusing on sleep and the word choice seeming strange could be a modern interpretation though. The Bible uses sleep to describe death. I also believe it is important to consider the Victorian era which is when this was written when putting into context the above lines. Tennyson is writing about the legend of a man who lived hundreds of years prior to his time; yet, his popularity reigns. I think that Tennyson is describing though the physical man, King Arthur, may die the spirit will continue on. As has been the case with the majority of Arthurian texts, the poem does not focus solely on King Arthur himself; rather, these lines signal the change from Arthur as physical man to the Arthur we know today as a legend. I've come to realize that the King Arthur legend is not about a man but rather an entire culture.

Happily Ever After?

The theme of moral decay is emphasized in the Passing of Arthur. Arthur’s last mission request is for Sir Bedivere to cast the sword, Excalibur, into the lake.  However Bedivere tries to hide the sword, disobeying the kings command and lied about it twice. As a loyal knight from Arthur’s court, the reader would expect him to obey the king’s last wishes. But as Arthur is slowly dying, so are the moral values he invested. The dark symbolism of nature in this poem supports the feeling of evil, failure, and desolation, in the middle of winter with no other surviving knights of the round table. Before the king sailed away, Bedivere asks Arthur what is to become of him now that the Round Table is destroyed and justice has vanished from the world. Arthur answers by saying that with him gone, it leaves room for the new to be placed, and to sends prayers for his soul. It seems that all the virtues and high morals of the kingdom have vanished, but the rising of a new sun gives hope for a similar future.