Morte D Arthur Character Analysis

"I have always been intrigued by these lives I have never experienced," Daniel Day-Lewis. Intriguing, or fascinating things usually catch attention, whether it be a person a place or a thing. In The Green Knight and Morte D'Arthur, much of the stories catch your attention. In both of these stories, King Arthur is this heroic figure who seems to put himself at the front of the line whenever it seems it is his duty to do so. When no one stands up to take the challenge in The Green Knight, King Arthur is the one to do so. Also, in Morte D'Arthur, When Arthur hears word that he will die if he battles his son the next day as planned so he takes it into his own hands to try and make peace with his son so nothing bad happens. Throughout both of these stories not only is Arthur notable and strong, but he is an intriguing person as well. Arthur is such an

intriguing person because he lets his nephew take his place when it comes to the Green Knight, Attacks his son even though he seemed to have already won, and trusts one of his knights even though he had countless times lied to him.
To Begin, in the Green Knight, Arthur is willing to let his nephew, Gawain, to take his spot when someone is to take the task of chopping the Green Knights head of and having the favor returned within a year. At first, Arthur steps up seeming strong and noble simply agreeing to take the task because no one else at his table would do so. However, the second Gawain got up asking to take his place in the matter all of the knights around him as well as Arthur agreed that he shall take the quest even if he was the smallest and weakest of them all. Although Arthur did let him take his place, he seemed to be very proud of the young knight, almost honored that he would do such a thing for his king when no one else around the table was willing to do so. " 'Keep, cousin,' said the king, 'what you cut with this day, and if you rule it aright, then readily, I know, you shall stand the stroke it will strike after." Lines 145-147 page 175. It seems intriguing to me that Arthur has such confidence in such a small knight that is willing to take the spot of the king in such an odd task. This is relatable to the film watched in class, when Arthur is able to trust a knight so quickly when he breaks his sword fighting him. The two knights may not seem to be all too strong or important but Arthur seems to be able to tell their true colors.
Another reason Arthur is such a fascinating person is because when it comes down to battling his son he wants to fight him to the death even though he had already won. It is in Morte D'Arthur that King Arthur goes through a long treacherous battle with his son Mordred. The battle leaves thousands and thousands of soldiers and knights dead on both sides and seems to last a lifetime. When the end of the battle is near, Arthur notices that his son Mordred is standing on a pile of bodies leaning on his sword, just waiting for his father to know and realize he had won. However, Arthur didn't see the battle as a win until he killed his son too. Some of King Arthurs piers that were left try to talk him out of it because Arthur knew if he fought Mordred hand to hand his dream said he would die. This doesn't seem to face Arthur, now that Mordred was alone he didn't think there was any way for his son to kill him or get away. "Now tide me death, tide me life, now I see him yonder alone, he shall never escape mine hands. For at a better avail shall I never have him," King Arthur page 189. It's fascinating that he is so confident in himself once he gets his son alone on a field with no one to protect him. It is after he speaks these words that he charges at his son ready to kill, he gets his blow in, but Mordred is not giving up. With a swing he lands a blow to King Arthur as well. Mordred dies almost instantly after while Arthur has to suffer, but he doesn't seem to take it as bad as the others had thought he would. King Arthur is very accepting of his death which also makes him an intriguing person when it comes to this story.
Finally, the last thing that makes King Arthur such an intriguing person is that he repeatedly sends Bedivere back multiple times to take the sword to the lake after Bedivere lies to him over and over.

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

him.
In Conclusion, there are many times in which King Arthur proved himself to be an intriguing person. From his trusting of Bedivere, to wanting to fight his son until death and finally allowing his nephew to take his place with the Green Knight even though he had been the first to volunteer. All of these situations proved Arthur to be different than most people, a genuine character for sure. It may not seem at first that he was so fascinating, however once these stories are read fully and in depth it seems that there is more to him than just that of wanting to rule and be king.