Alfred Lord Tennyson Hero Worship

The adulterous affair between King Arthur’s most trusted knight Lancelot, and his wife, Guinevere, is symbolic to the coming of the mischievous serpent in God’s garden as a result to an end of a perfect world. According to the influential work of Sir Thomas Malory at the end of the 15th century, there became one of the major causes of the downfall of Arthur’s Round Table. Through various parts of literature, Lancelot’s romantic character becomes known. In The Knight of the Cart (ca. 1175), by Chrûtien de Troyes Sir Lanceolt rescues Guinevere from the evil knight, Meleagent, and ultimately spends the night with the queen in her chamber. He later listens and obeys every instruction she asks Lancelot to do, such as to do his worst in the Tournament. Another major romance of which Lancelot is the protagonist is the extensive early 13th-century Prose Lancelot, a part of the Vulgate Cycle of Arthurian romances. Here, he is raised by the Lady of the Lake, and by 18 sent to Arthur’s court after realizing his royal percentage. He is given a sword by Guinevere, who knights him in a ceremony of divided loyalties. He goes to act of numerous adventures for the king to earn his reputation, but his adultery with the queen disables his legitimacy to succeed in the quest for the Holy Grail. In the last romance of the cycle, Lancelot and the

“For ever, said Arthur, it is a worshipful knight’s deed to help another worshipful knight when he seeth him in a great danger; for ever a worshipful man will be loath to see a worshipful man shamed; and he that is of no worship, and fareth

Loyalty is very necessary for a knight, and Lancelot shows it vividly. Lancelot is not in a position that he is proud of when the problem comes, but he still works for what he believes in. Lancelot is facing a public trial in Camelot. Suddenly, Camelot is surrounded by the army of Malagant. He threated King Arthur to give him the city, or everybody will die. King Arthur starts the battle with Malagant’s army, and he gets shoots in his chest four times by crossbow. Lancelot goes into the crown, and he fights with Malagant who is also really good at sword. It is a really tough fight, so both of them gets injured. He does not give up, and he kills Malagant eventually. Lancelot is not trusted by King Arthur at the time when Camelot is invaded, because he is caught kissing Guinevere. He may be killed by King Arthur, and he can just run away due to the enormous chaos in the city at that tie. But he remembers that he is a knight, and he cannot fail the people in Camelot. So he picks up a sword, and helps people to defend their city. When he is fighting with Malagant, he tries to save an old man under the brutal broadsword of a knight of Malagant. He gets injured because of this action. All Lancelot has done shows everyone that he has loyalty to the city, Camelot, and his lord, King Arthur.

Two conflicting disciplines are prevalent throughout Arthurian Legend; that of chivalry and that of courtly love. The ideal of each clash throughout the medieval tales, and it is impossible to interfuse the two models for society. Chivalry is a masculine code, an aggressive discipline, whereas courtly love is based upon women - their needs, wants, and desires. The consistent problem if Lancelot and Guinevere’s adulterous relationship in different tellings of the affair relates back to the differences presented in chivalric code and courtly love ideals.

In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.

Within literature, there are many figures that readers can choose to remember. These figures can possess many attributes that give reasons for them to be remembered by. For literature based upon the Arthurian time written in the 14th century, there are many examples of people that should be remembered. In particular, a figure that is important to remember is Sir Gawain, from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This paper will be arguing that Gawain is remembered as the best knight in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight because while he is not a perfect knight he still shows many aspects of what it is like to be courtly and heroic therefore a great example to look up to.

A hero must do many things to be allowed the title of hero. However, there are some aspects a hero should not show. If these characteristics are shown, they should not be considered a hero. One attribute a hero should not display is selfishness. In the Knight’s Tale, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, Arcite and Palamon acted selfishly. They perceived a beautiful lady. They fought for the beautiful lady. They died for the beautiful lady. Nevertheless, they acted selfishly during this gripping story. For example, they fought for Emily, the beautiful lady, because neither could live without her. Nonetheless, neither ambitious young man could bother themselves to question her on whether she wished to marry either of these headstrong knights. She may not have desired to marry either of them. Therefore, they acted selfish and do not live up to one requirement of a hero. On the contrary, Beowulf, the main protagonist in the epic poem Beowulf written by an unknown source, did not act selfishly. Throughout the poem, he risked his life to fight horrendous monsters to save the good people living in the area. These actions define Beowulf as a hero. Contrarily, Sir Gawain, who starred in the book Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, embarked on a dangerous journey. The Green Knight had tasked him to find the Green Chapel. Before finding the chapel, the tired knight came across a castle tucked away in the peaceful forest. When he asked to stay for a night, his host proposed a trade. The host would

Lancelot has the most plausible chance to be the hero of the story. He exhibits two of the three qualities needed to be the hero. He seems to be the protagonist because his existence is necessary for the progression of the story, and he is literally invincible. He can easily destroy any foe that blocks him from success from bouts with an invisible knight to bouts with up to 15 knights at once (). Lancelot apparently exhibits the strong qualities of a knight, so why is he not the hero of the story? He does not fit the heroic quality of committing himself to nobility. The notable example of this lack of quality is his affair with Guinevere. In “The Knight of the Cart” Lancelot heroically rides to save Guinevere, but later that night sleeps with her while committing treason against King Arthur (). Some may excuse his actions with the belief that he is in love with Guinevere and Guinevere with him. However, love does not always have to express with sex and thus

During the Anglo-Saxon Period and the Middle Ages, many great writers have written about Religion, Romance, Chivalry And many more. One theme that was most common throughout both periods and most of the poems was the Hero. The Anglo-Saxon period He or She was typically a warrior who doesn’t back down and shows no mercy and will fight for their people. During the Middle Ages, the ideal of a hero changed from an epic hero to a Romantic Hero. The difference between them, the epic poem, the hero is somewhat connected to a god, in a Romantic poem, the hero has been rejected by the society or is all on their own. One of the greatest hero’s during the middle ages was King Arthur, who was a king and a great hero of his time. The two poems that really portray the Hero in Anglo Saxon Period was “Beowulf,” and in the middle ages was King Arthur in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”

Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur,” and the Gawain Poet’s “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” are important works that should be considered when studying medieval literature. They both portray the style and structure of medieval romance. They also tackle the same topic of King Arthur and his knights, as well as share the same characters of King Arthur and Sir Gawain. In order to be able to go over these works and understand them, one must understand the aspects of literature of the time.

Lastly, respect and value for authority, seen or unseen, displays a spiritual element in the stories "Morte d'Arthur and "The Once and Future King." In Tennyson's "Morte d'Arthur," Sir Bedivere received a command from the dying Arthur to "take Excalibur, and fling him far into the middle mere." Twice, Bedivere defied Arthur's wishes. Arthur is harsh with Bedivere because of his disobedience saying, "Ah miserable and unkind, untrue, unknightly, traitor-hearted!" As soon as these comments left Arthur's mouth, Sir Bedivere quickly returned to the lake and launched the sword into the heart of it. Respect and the importance of mentors can also be seen in "The Once and Future King." In this story, Merlin represents the role of mentor to knights

It is of no question that there are certain qualities that society believes one must possess in order to qualify as a hero. One must be selfless, honest, and loyal. Throughout history, in every culture, it is these main qualities that have stood out as to what a hero is made of. Within Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as well as Beowulf, we see examples of the heroic ideal by Old English standards. In contrast, within Morte Darthur, readers can see what is represented as the opposite of the ideal hero from the character of Sir Lancelot. It is a common misconception that to be a knight is synonymous with being a hero; this is wrong. Despite being a knight, a king, a wizard, or any other type of position, being a hero is not a given simply because of your status, just as the type of hero you are is dependent upon your situation.

Honor and respect are words that many knights during the middle ages lived upon. During the Arthurian era, the most common story that everyone knew was the love triangle between Lancelot, Queen Guinevere, and King Arthur. In this tale, many scholars discuss the significance of being a great knight. The main question that they ask is: was Lancelot truly a great knight? For this purpose, Lancelot was not a great knight because he was not faithful to his King due to his love affair with Queen Guinevere.

The idolization of heroes is at the pinnacle of human culture. Humanity draws inspiration from those it a deems a model and aspires to achieve a heroic quality that they possess. Throughout history, and an undeterminable number of heroes have arisen to fame or have been conquered by authors and storytellers. The concept of heroes in universal yet each hero is unique. Heros all live different lives and achieve their renown in a number of ways, from slaying dragons to stand for what they believe in. Literature of all forms tells the tales of heroes. The play “12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose portrayed an ordinary person standing alone for what he believed in on a jury as a hero. Atticus Finch, the hero in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,

The Fate of Ten is unique because it has three narrators. The first is John Smith, or Four. Four is considered the hero figure in the novel, never thinking twice to save someone. He speaks in a more heroic tone trying to choose the best choice for everyone. As stated by Five when he returns the unconscious Nine back to Four, Five states, “Bravo John. Always the hero” (Lore 252). The second narrator is Number Six. Six not only describes what happens in Mexico while John is in New York, she also tells the story in a different tone. Six has a sarcastic personality and isn't seen as a hero but more of just an overall bad-ass. Her personality is strongly shown during a conversation with Adam, when she says, ‘“You bet your ass it isn’t,’ I say, taking