Romantic Heroes in Arthurian Legends

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Arthurian Legends Essay

Intellectual, mysterious, extraordinary. The qualities of a romantic hero influence an Arthurian Legend. An Arthurian legend is the tale of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Because these are pieces of Romantic literature, Arthurian Legends contain romantic heroes. The Crowning of Arthur, Arthur Becomes King, and Sir Launcelot du Lake are all Arthurian Legends that contain romantic heroes. The Crowning of Arthur refers to what happened before King Arthur was conceived, after he was delivered, and how he legitimately became King Arthur. While Arthur Becomes King is about what he did to become ruler, Sir Launcelot du Lake is about an adventure with one of the knights of the round table, Sir Launcelot du Lake. These three Arthurian Legends have a theme in common. White and Malory uses the protagonist’s chivalry in order to show that when someone has bravery, they will overcome many situations.

The Crowning of Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory, utilizes the protagonist’s bravery to show the theme, and King Uther shows bravery in this example. In the story, while King Uther becomes sick, enemies overrun the kingdom, causing many losses as they progress. Merlin predicts that the soldiers can be inspired by the existence of King Uther himself on the battlefield, and he can be carried on a stretcher. The army met with the opponent at proceed to the battlefield. King Uther properly showed up on a stretcher. While the soldiers were inspired, they defeated the enemy with the help of Sir Brastius and Sir Jordanus.(Malory, The Crowning of Arthur 1068). This demonstrates how King Uther, the protagonist, is brave. He was heroic enough to go to the battlefield, even though he was very sick. Chivalry, whic...

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... discussed Arthurian legends. One theme is that a journey will teach someone a valuable lesson. In an Arthurian Legend, the knights or the protagonist has unique abilities and has to overcome difficult journeys. Some of the situations are similar to problems in modern life. The Arthurian legends can be a lesson to people in general. They can show people that they can make many accomplishments.

Works Cited

Mallory, Sir Thomas. “The Crowning of Arthur.” Literature. Ed. Applebee, Arthur et. al. NY,

New York: McDougal Littell, 2006. 1065-1071. Print.

Mallory, Sir Thomas. “Sir Launcelot du Lake.” Literature. Ed. Applebee, Arthur et. al. NY,

New York: McDougal Littell, 2006. 1073-1079. Print.

White, T.H.. "Arthur Becomes King." Adventures in Appreciation. Ed. McDermott, Caryn et. al.

NY, New York: Holt Rinehart, and Winston, 1996. 753-762. Print.

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