It All Started With a King

What makes somebody a hero? According to Campbell there are only four things that every hero needs to occur in a story: a special birth, early recognition, a great deed, and a loss of power. Hamlet is a hero that follows this basic outline. “King Arthur and the Tales of the Round Table” is another one of the most fitting tales for this archetype.

A unique birth is something that all heroes seem to have in common. In “King Arthur and the Tales of the Round Table,” Arthur was born to King Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine. This account does not delve into his birth, but many do such as Malory's Le Mort D'Arthur. Uther Pendragon was the king of Britain and was at war with the Duke of Cornwall the husband of Igraine. Malory explains that after a feast with the duke, “King Uther grew passionately desirous of Igraine and, when it was over, begged her to become his paramour” (p.21). Shortly thereafter, Uther sought out Merlin to help disguise him in order to consummate his love with Igraine. She bore a child shortly after at the castle of Tintagel (Monemutensis, 1136). Unique is an understatement of this birth. One, Uther was ruler of all Britain. Two, Merlin allowed the use of magic in the conception of Arthur.

“’Whoso pulleth out this sword is by right of birth king of England’” (Lang, pg. 21). These thirteen words define in every way how Arthur gained his early recognition. People from far and wide pulled with all their might, with hopes of drawing that sword out of the stone. However, not even the most noble and prestigious knights could do so. The only person to do so was young Arthur, who pulled the sword out so his foster-brother Sir Kay could participate in the tourney that day. After proving himself, he obtained the titl...

... middle of paper ...

...He was apprehensive when his knights decided they wanted to go on the quest, but that did not stop him from going. Had he not gone on a pilgrimage for the Holy Grail, his wife wouldn’t have had an affair, he wouldn’t have had to war with Lancelot or leave his kingdom. He may not have even died. Heroes such as Hamlet and Arthur prove that not only archetypes exist, but they also follow similarities in their loss of power, self-inflicition.

Works Cited

Crowther, John, (Ed.). (2005). No Fear Hamlet. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from http://nfs.sparknotes.com/hamlet/

Lang, Andrew. (2009). King Arthur and the Tales of the Round table. In Patrick J. Jung (Ed.), Supplemental Reader for the Humanities (pp 21-69). Milwaukee: Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Malory, S. T. (1485). Le Mort D'Arthur. London: Caxton.

Monemutensis, G. (1136). Historia Regum Britanniae.