Katie Winge Ms.

Gilbert Honors Freshman English January 6th 2014 Literary Analysis

Winge 1

The definition of a king is the male ruler of an independent state. With just knowing that it is clearly a huge responsibility and honor. When reading Arthurian legends everyone can learn many things. Even though they are just legends they are extremely interesting and make people think. They all also have an important point. In a specific three legends it shows an unlikely person or people succeeding. T.H. White and Sir Thomas Malory use motif: good vs. evil in order to show people should not doubt a person because they may be greater than they seem. The first story, The Crowing of Author by Sir Thomas Malory has the genetic structure of good vs. evil. This is shown many times throughout this fascinating legend. At one point when Author pulls out the sword no one really believes that he could be King. It was said that whoever pulls the sword out of the stone is meant to be king. It was right for Arthur to become king but many people did not believe him since he was just a common boy, he didnt come from a royal family (Sir Thomas Malory, The Crowning of Arthur 1069). This connects to the theme because as stated previously, Arthur was just a normal boy. No one saw anything special about him but he turned out to become an extraordinary King. It shows that there was no reason to ever doubt him being successful just because at first he didnt show the qualities of a true king.

Winge 2 The second legend that was read, Arthur Becomes King by T.H. White also shows good vs. evil. In this legend Sir Kay lies and said he pulled out the sword. He is asked if he is really telling the truth and finally admits that he was lying and was never really the one to pull the sword out of the stone. They then find out Arthur was the one who really did it and he gets crowned king (White 758). This connects to the theme because Arthur becomes King. This was not a person who it would have been obvious to happen to. It would have made more sense if it was Sir Kay but it wasnt. At first he did the wrong thing by lying and saying that it was him who did it. Lastly, the third legend, Sir Launcelot de Lake also by Sir Thomas Malory it shows the genetic structure of good vs. evil. This shows when Sir Tarquine takes many prisoners. He keeps them for awhile. Near the end all of his prisoners are finally released. This is a very good outcome to the legend (Sir Thomas Malory, Sir Launcelot de Lake 1079). This connects to the theme because the prisoners were not likely able to be released but got to be and it shows that they should not have been doubted because they got to be set free and achieve greatness. In conclusion, T.H. White and Sir Thomas Malory used the genetic structure of good vs. evil so that they could show that people should not doubt anyone because they may be greater than they seem. Another genetic structure in these Arthurian legends is chivalry because Arthur does many good things with his power. Also, a theme is that in the end good guys always win. Arthurian legends still have a big impact on our world today. There are still many books and movies made about King Arthur. Some are even very popular!

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Malory, Sir Thomas. Sir Launcelot du Lake. Literature. Ed. Applebee, Arthur et. al. NY, New York: McDougal Littell, 2006. 1073-1079. Print. Mallory, Sir Thomas. The Crowning of Arthur. Literature. Ed. Applebee, Arthur et. al. NY, New York: McDougal Littell, 2006. 1065-1071. 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.