Arthur’s Journey to Self Discovery
The future is inevitable. It is only with experience that one can come to an understanding of any sort. It is only with time that experience can become achievable. Understanding one’s true self can only be made possible with a multitude of experiences, leading to realizations. The entire package of experiences for one individual person can take no less that a lifetime. This reality, in itself, is a tragedy. A tragedy that Arthur, King of Camelot, was destined to realize.
Born into a life of deception, even the truth about his maternal origin is kept from him. Innocent and naïve, Arthur as a young man succeeds in doing what no other could do before. He pulls from a stone the sword named Excalibur. Long before his birth, his father declared that whoever could remove the sword was to be king.
Unsure and not at all confident in his abilities, Arthur’s strength and will as king is tested almost immediately. With the help of his sword, Excalibur, he wins a fight against Uriens’ men and saves the castle of another king. Arthur earns his first taste of victory. Accompanying this victory, is the respect of the people within his kingdom.
While attempting to cross a bridge, Arthur meets a man who refuses to respect his authority and clear the way across the bridge. Arthur’s “rage unbalances him”. He agrees to fight to the death over the crossing of a bridge that can easily be traveled around. Arthur’s opponent outmatches him. Arthur is forced to call upon the power of his sword, Excalibur. Arthur is victorious, but in the process, Excalibur is broken. “[His] pride broke that which could not be broken.” Arthur is remorseful and refers to himself as “nothing”. It is with this first display of condescension that Arthur realizes that especially because of his stature, his personal mistakes and poor decisions could affect many lives other than his own.
Adding an element of contrast to Arthur’s life is Arthur’s friend and mentor, Merlin. As a seer of the future and a man of great intelligence and wisdom, Merlin is everything Arthur is no. Arthur looks to Merlin for guidance. Through Merlin, the king’s many great possessions are put into perspective.
Who was King Arthur? Most people would tell of a great King; a devoted circle of heroic knights; mighty castles and mightier deeds; a time of chivalry and courtly love; of Lancelot and Guinevere; of triumph and death. Historians and archaeologists, especially Leslie Alcock, point to shadowy evidence of a man who is not a king, but a commander of an army, who lived during the late fifth to early sixth century who may perhaps be the basis for Arthur. By looking at the context in which the stories of King Arthur survived, and the evidence pertaining to his castle Camelot and the Battle of Badon Hill, we can begin to see that Arthur is probably not a king as the legend holds.
Three times Arthur has to ask Sir Bedivere to throw the sword Excalibur into the lake. This is in fact a testing of faith, one that encompasses body, mind and spirit, meaning he is tested physically, mentally and then spiritually. After being mortally wounded, King Arthur tells Sir Bedivere to "take Excalibur, / And fling him far into the middle mere:/ Watch what thou seest, and lightly bring me word" (Norton, 1298, 204-6). When he takes the sword to the water's edge the first time, he cannot bring himself to throw it in because of the Excalibur's blinding beauty. Tennyson describes the Excalibur as "brightening," "sparkled," "twinkled with diamond sparks, / Myriads of topaz-lights..." Bedivere "gazed so long/ That both eyes were dazzled" (Norton, 1298, 222-7). He returns to Arthur, who sends him back to complete his mission. Thus Sir Bedivere fails his first test, that of the physical realm.
The Legend of King Arthur is in comparison to The Epic of Gilgamesh because Arthur's closest companion was Merlin, and Gilgamesh's closest companion was Enkidu and neither Gilgamesh nor Arthur forgot their friends. Enkidu only came in contact with Gilgamesh after becoming a man. Enkidu released the animals from the hunter's traps when they ere caught, so to make him a man the prostitute slept with him so that the animals would be ashamed of him and reject him. King Arthur became aware of Merlin when he was a young man. When Arthur was born Merlin placed him in the care of Sir Ector, throughout his boyhood Arthur learned the ways of chivalry, knighthood and how to become a gentleman. At the tournament one day Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone and this is what brought upon Arthur meeting Merlin once again. In The Legend of King Arthur, Merlin exclaimed, "it is the doom of men if they forget." Gilgamesh along with Enkidu together fought and killed Humbaba, protector of the Cedar forest, and the Bull of Heaven, sent as punishment to Gilgamesh for killing Humbaba. King Arthur nor Gilgamesh forgot their faithful friends.
King Arthur shows to be a very provident king who treats his people with a large amount
In the epic poem, Beowulf, “The Beowulf” is depicted as the big bad guy. Though he is not seen as a big bad guy who resembles a villain, but a big bad guy who is boastful and arrogant. Beowulf is shown as a superhuman where nothing or no one can defeat him. However, the author does not show Beowulf with the same characteristics as he transitions from a good warrior to a questionable good king. During Beowulf’s new beginning of a king, he still lingers in the mindset of a warrior.
Arthur was the first born son of King Uther but was advised to stay hidden until the need of his reign. However, when the King died, there was much controversy over who would be the next King. Merlin, a magician who knew of Arthur, set a sword in stone that read, "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is the rightwise born king of all England." When Arthur unexpectedly stumbled across the sword and pulled it out, he humbly took his place as King of England.
With a lack of courage, not many can accomplish much. As Beowulf travels, his courage not only grows but stands strong. In his journey to Hrothgar's kingdom, Beowulf is faced with many unbearable tasks many men wouldn't dare to go up against, but with Beowulf, he takes those tasks and runs with them. His fight with Grendal not only proves his courage but his strength as well. Beowulf, being a mortal man, takes Grendal by the hands and tears his hand from his body, leaving Grendal mortally wounded. When Grendal's mother attempts avenge for her son's death, she is rudely awakened. After her kill of Ashchere, she resorts back to her lair in Hell, but not for long. Beowulf goes looking after her and swims through the deep, dark, and miserable waters to Hell. He finds Grendal's mother there and kills her without any warning to her. His bravery saves his people back in his homeland as well. After gaining the throne, a terrible dragon starts to terrorize his home. Here he proves to his people that he is in fact a true hero. He, with the help of his dear kinsman, slays the dragon even after being wounded. His courage and strength truly proves him an epic hero.
In the story, The Crowning of Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, Arthur shows an unrealistic ability of strength. While everyone in the town was at a jousting tournament, Arthur, who was known as a peasant, went to fetch his brother’s sword because it was left at home. Since everyone was at the fight, the lodging doors were locked. Arthur did not want to leave his brother hopeless, so he decided to ride to Saint Paul’s because he heard there was a sword that was wedged in a stone there. With nobody being present, Arthur pulled the sword from the stone without reading any of the signs that were posted. When he gave the weapon to his brother, Arthur was informed he was now the King of Britain because he was able to remove it, something that only the true born king could do (Malory, The Crowning of Arthur 1069). Arthur started as a peasant and grew to be king because of his ability to be able to pull o...
Merlin is a character from the original Arthurian Legends, he is a powerful man that does not age, and has no earthly father. Merlin helps the succession of kings, and is associated with King Arthur, but throughout history authors have changed many things about Merlin’s character. The amount of power that Merlin has is changed throughout the retellings of his legend in order to show that Merlin is the most powerful man on the planet.
The heroic loyal character of Macbeth is forced into a internal battle to decide between ambition and loyalty to his king. Macbeth overcomes the evil within him, though Lady Macbeth crushes his thoughts of loyalty to the king by calling him a coward or threatening his manliness. Macbeth allows the evilness to grow within him, which allows ambition to take control of his life. Due to the evilness that has started to control his life he prepares to kill the man who has given him everything to his credit, to fulfil his ambition, and to become King.
"Life of King Arthur." Timeless Myths. N.p., 24 May 2006. Google. Web. 20 May 2014. .
Ardrey, Adam. Finding Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend of the Once and Future King.
When he is dying he wants his sword to be returned to the lake where it came from. He ask Bedivere to do this simple task for him because he couldn't do it himself. Bedivere agrees. However, as he goes to take the sword back he doesn't want the power of it to be lost so he hides it under a tree and tells Arthur he did it. When Arthur asks him what he saw, Arthur knows he hasn't returned the sword and sends him again. When Bedivere does this again, instead of getting mad Arthur tells him he needs the Excalibur to be returned and again asks the knight to return the sword. " 'That is untruly of thee,' said the King. " And therefore go thou lightly again and do my commandment; as thou art to me loved and dear, spare not, but throw it in,' " page 192. It is in this part of the story that you realize what loyalty means a lot when it comes to Arthur, but he is willing to allow a person to prove themselves noble and wise to
The legend of King Arthur has intrigued generations for over a thousand years. Over these years, this tapestry has been handed down through the hands of many gifted storytellers. Bits and pieces were taken out and replaced by new strands woven in to fabricate a slight variation of the original that’s suitable for the audience or perhaps the storyteller himself. These modifications are evident in the 1981 film of Excalibur and Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur” published in 1485. The film incorporates magical acts while religious allusions are portrayed in the text. There are several characters that appeared in one but not the other. The two versions have the same essential elements, but with some alterations. The main changes in the story plot are the events leading to the battle and the battle itself. The two versions have the same essential elements, but with some alterations.