The Mist Of Avalon Essay

**The Queen of Air and Darkness, a novel written by T.H. White, mainly follows the lives of King Arthur and Morgause, as well as those around them. King Arthur is beginning his reign after pulling a sword of a stone and discovering he is the rightful king of England while Morgause is living a life of selfishness in the Lothian territories with her four sons. In The Queen Of Air and Darkness, White uses diction and tone to express the importance of devotion in the world through the Orkney boys’ relationship with their mother, King Pellinore’s love for Piggy, and Arthur’s mission of making the world a better place.

Since very few individuals could write, stories of Arthur were mainly told by word of mouth. Oral stories did not get written down until later; Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote down the stories as one of the first written manuscript of Arthurian legend in 1139. Word of mouth was the way in which Arthur's story is passed down through the years, and it is safe to assume that during that time, the story transformed and evolved. Stories are embellished and added to, depending on the audience, in order to make it more exciting. As discussed before in this paper, local tradition had placed Camelot in an area that was proven

The story of King Arthur is widely known, either his beginnings told in The Sword in the Stone or how he led the Knights of the Round Table. While there are many version of his story T. H. White’s written version and Disney’s animated version of The Sword in the Stone are two of the most recognized versions. Most movies have the ability to embody the original intent of the book they were based upon. Disney’s movie version of T. H. White’s rendition of The Sword in the Stone, however, while portraying the correct story, does not truly convey enough elements of White’s version to be effective in telling the original story. The characterization and Merlyn’s ‘lessons’ within the movie inhibit the film from being an effective portrayal of the

of Camelot and all that went with it. The Lady of Shalott is more of a

Mists of Avalon is a twist on the Arthurian tales as told by the four women

During a high point in medieval chivalric romance, both Marie de France’s Lanval and the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tell fanciful tales of knighthood, chivalry, and spiritual and temporal (courtly) love. Both Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight portray their female characters as possessing considerable power and influence, within the events in the story and in the structure of the plot. Indeed, the female characters in both works function as the catalysts of the events within the stories, and also as instruments for each author's conveyed meaning. While Lanval presents its female characters in an unorthodox reversal of gender roles, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight employs the female characters as moral and spiritual trials for the hero, Sir Gawain. I will examine how the fairy princess and Queen Gwenevere in Marie de France's Lanval present a reversal of gender roles as was traditionally understood; she presents femininity as powerful, inspiring, and morally dynamic (for a woman can be ideal, or she can be corrupt). I will compare this to the representation of Lady Bertilak and Morgan le Fay in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which they are used to convey a “Biblical” warning for an ecclesiastical audience; particularly that of moral failure and the temptation of the flesh.

Literary works on the story of King Arthur and his cohorts is a story that had been narrated in several books and even modified in movies which typical illustrates the lives of the Arthurian legends. The story “The Excalibur” cannot be compared with any of the other versions of the Arthurian tales ever in history. Sir Thomas Malory’s version of the Arthurian tale took a French style and name in which some elements of the movie are quite different from the original versions of the tale. Nonetheless, the significance of the story was never reflected in any of the versions of the tale that had been told. Attempts had been made in reconstructing the historical

Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” can be classified as similar through their themes, style and plots, although they are different through their language and diction. Even though both of these literatures can be viewed as similar as well as contrasting, in the end, each of these tales have illuminated the realm of fantasy throughout the court of King Arthur.

The legend of King Arthur has inspired, and continues to inspire, many retellings of the well known stories and cast of characters. Ranging from film to literature to art, these retellings often include depictions of two key characters in the legend: King Arthur and and the wizard Merlin. Disney’s The Sword and the Stone (1963) and the British Broadcasting Corporation program Merlin (2008-2012) both showcase the relationship between Merlin and Arthur in the development of Arthur, but they differ in approach; in the animated version, Merlin assumes the role of a mentor while the television program depicts Merlin as a friend to Arthur.

tale and la Mort d' Arthur the leading plot of both these stories is conceived by the wife and Guinevere's lust and pursuit of love and happiness.

King Arthur and the knights of the round table belong to a long line of books and stories of the Arthurian legend. Merlin, Lancelot, The lady of the lake, King Arthur, and Excaliber are all very important in the Arthurian legend. In this essay we will talk about King Arthur, the knights of the round table, and Merlin in the famous story, The sword in the stone.

Ideally, a king has an old look, a great amount of power, and naturally rules his domain with an iron fist in literature. In the two works, Le Morte d'Arthur and First Knight see two different versions of how king Arthur is portrayed. Yet the honor and respect that a king should have remains undisturbed, much like how both are products of their time. First Knight is told as a modern retelling of the legend and Le Morte d'Arthur is a minorly altered, much older work. While the depictions of king Arthur are seen as the paramount backbone for arthurian times, these two works have also proven to exhibit differences and similarities, illustrate Arthur’s figure in character, and serve as preservation of the time period.

During the Medieval times of England, society was created as a pure patriarchy by the Christian church, and nearly everything was made male-dominated where the men held the power and their female counterparts held little to no power at all. Arthurian texts such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight showcase many of the characters mostly following these traditions with the men being portrayed as strong-hearted knights who follow a code of chivalry, and the women as passive and submissive beings to the men. However, Arthur’s half-sister Morgan Le Fay is featured in Sir Gawain, and she does not play any parts given to her as a woman, as she is portrayed as an enchantress and an evil, manipulative woman, which is an archetype that was given to women who did not follow their given gender roles. Morgan Le Fay subverts the traditional roles for women by having her own power in the play, and overall presents herself as the antithesis to the church and the patriarchy of the Medieval times.

    In all the long history of literature, some fictional characters have loomed above others, written about again and again by various authors of various eras. Arthurian literature is one area of fiction that has always been popular for writers to recreate in new versions, and one of the most intriguing characters of all Arthurian literature is Merlin, the magician/ prophet who aids Arthur early in his reign. As the Arthurian saga develops, so does Merlin, changing from an aloof, druidical character into a more human, magical being, though always retaining some traces of his Welsh origins.

The Arthurian Legend is seen to be extremely influential in benefitting the English people during the Romantic Era. Even if King Arthur is a fictional character of myth and legend in England, his childhood, countless glories and achievements as the king of Camelot, and the final down fall of his strong empire validated his importance to English literature. Proof of King Arthur’s existence would possibly solidify the impact he had on the English culture (Arthurian Legends Vol. 1).