Similarities Between Monty Python And The Holy Grail

The movie Monty Python and The Holy Grail is based on stories such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and Green Knight. The movie tells the basis of the stories by revolving around a technique called satire. Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to tell something in a funny tone or in a way that creates laughter. Satire was used in the film Monty Python and The Holy Grail to turn common medieval themes such as Chivalric code and Knightly behavior, characteristics of a noble quest and role of religion into a corny, yet laughable manner. Monty Python exemplifies many similar themes when comparing the movie to readings such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Many can see that throughout the film that King Arthur and his knights were on a noble quest to find the Holy Grail. This quest is much like another many know, the reading Beowulf. Beowulf goes on a quest to defeat all of the evil that was attacking herot or was a threat to herot. Another reading that is much like

Monty Python is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain accepted a challenge and the challenge was that if he chopped the Green Knight’s head off he must find the Green Knight in a year for the favor to be returned. A year later Sir Gawain would go on a quest to Camelot to find the Green Knight so they could complete their deal. The quests explained in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are very similar to the noble quest King Arthur and his knights were on.
Role of religion is another theme exemplified in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. When going to fight the scariest monster of them all, on the quest to find the holy grail, they bring out the “Holy hand grenade” to save them. The scariest monster turns out to be a very tiny rabbit. They end up underestimating it and it kills a few men before they fall back and use the “holy hand grenade.” The grenade is supposed to be used to smite the powers of evil. The role of religion was meant to not have any evil in it and the “holy hand grenade” is used to destroy the evil.
Chivalric code was another theme used throughout the film and was depicted through satire as well.

There was never an authentic code of chivalry as such, yet there were qualities idealized as chivalric such as bravery. Bravery was shown through satire during the film as King Arthur and his knights would run into many things that would exemplify their bravery and they retreat or fall back. One example would be when King Arthur and his knights go through the forest and run into the knights of “Ni.” The Knights of “Ni” would back King Arthur and his knights down by using the term “Ni” and force them to find shrubbery to move forward. King Arthur and his Knights would then go get the shrubby to come back for the Knights to say they are no longer the Knights of “Ni” and that King Arthur needs to find another shrubbery. King Arthur and his knights would not knowingly use the word “it” to back the Knights of “Ni” down so they could follow on with their quest to find the Holy

Grail.
To conclude, Monty Python and The Holy Grail is based on stories such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. The film explains themes such as chivalric code, characteristics of a noble quest and role of religion. Many of the viewers of this film will capture these themes through satire, which the film is revolved around. Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to tell something in a funny tone or in a way that creates laughter. The film creates a better understanding of the time period by using satire to turn the old boring stories into a corny, yet laughable manner.