Favorite Arthur Text

            As I sit at my desk finishing the last few assignments of the semester, I am amazed at the amount of texts that we've somehow managed to power through, despite the incredible amount of snow days. Though all of these texts are on the same subject (more or less), there are certainly those that stand out against the others. To me, T. H. White's The Once and Future King, was just that. The amount of gorgeous details is what really sold it to me. Anything that is this descriptive is my guilty pleasure, and ultimately what inspires my own writing. As someone in class said, (I apologize for not remembering who) reading this book was like reading a Disney movie. How much better than that can you get?

          I want to thank each and every one of you for making this such a wonderful class, especially you, Dr. MB. I really and truly enjoyed it, and I hope to see many of you in the coming semesters.

5/5

Favorite Arthur

                 Not to get all emotional, but I am a little sad to say goodbye to this class. In the last few moths, I have learned more than I thought there was to learn about King Arthur, and will for sure keep all the books (Okay, fine, it's probable that Avalon High will go to my little sister, but it still counts).
               

Today in class we touched on the many different Arthurs we have met on our journey through all the literature we have read, and I got to thinking about all of them. Ever since I was young, I have always wondered about the origins of legends. Some examples are (yes, I did actually wonder about these things. I have old diaries as proof): How the ancient Greek and Roman gods came to be, the beginnings of magic, and why we didn't have magic and such things anymore(bear with me, I was eight). Imagine my happiness as I read the first Harry Potter book. The first book in the series will always hold a special place in my heart because it is the book that started it all, and it is the book that explained and showed how everything in the wizarding world worked. 

Anyway, I compared all the different Arthurs we've met, and have come to decision. My favorite Arthur is the younger version in the Disney film that goes by Wart. I think I like him because he is the beginning of it all and the movie shows how the legend comes to be, and of course, being a 90's child, I will forever love anything Disney. 

I believe that Julia has already asked this in her blog, but I am curious as well, so I will also ask: Who is your favorite Arthur?

(4/5)

Warning: Rant Ahead.

                As the title states, this is a rant and will most likely contain R rated language, sloppy grammar, and will not be suitable for those under the age of eighteen.

            Now that I've warned everyone, I can begin. 

            Here is my question. Why, in most of the texts that we have read in this class, is everyone just okay with this affair that Gwen and Lance have going on? I am aware that it has been addressed many, many times, in both class and in various blogs. However, I just cannot come to terms with a few things about it. Perhaps my biggest issue is not with Gwen and Lance, but with Arthur himself. Nobody in his or her right mind is ever okay with being cheated on. Never in my life have I met a person who was cheated on by their significant other and was just okay with it. THAT IS JUST NOT HOW IT WORKS. I realize that when reading these stories that we cannot always apply common sense to them, but come on, really? Are we honestly supposed to just believe that the great King Arthur, the most loved and respected king that ever was, just shrugged off the love of his life cheating on him with his *supposedly* most loyal and trusted knight?  Right. That makes total sense. my biggest issue concerns Arthur himself and the way he deals with this traitorous affair, don't think that I have forgotten about the two traitors in question. I'll start with Lady Gwen. In my head, I see her as weak, pitiful, easily swayed by the opinions of others, and immature. In fact, she reminds me a bit of Eve in the Garden of Eden, when she is tempted by the apple. I think that she sets a bad example for her people as well. If the Queen cannot stay loyal to her king, how does anyone expect any other kind of loyalty (both to the kingdom, Arthur, or spouses)? The way that I see her reacting to Arthur finding out about her affair is kind of like this:

        

            Now, moving on to the famous Lancelot. As I said earlier on, if Lance is supposed to Camelot’s golden boy and Arthurs most trusted knight, how could he have ever thought that sleeping with Gwen, the Queen, was a good idea? Certainly we all have experienced different sorts of temptation and lived to tell the tale of how we denied it. Are all men as weak as Lancelot, or is the bravest knight in all the land merely especially susceptible to Gwen’s' charms?  The world may never know. Another reason that I cannot stand Lancelot anymore (before this class I was a firm believer that one day my knight in shining armor would one day come galloping up to me on a powerful steed. However, now I am a bit wiser and more savvy, I know that if he actually does do that, it is probably not his first or his last time doing it), is that he never shows any signs of guilt or remorse. Though it probably wouldn't help the situation, at the very least he could gain a few points back.

            And so, here ends my rant. I will ask this: Am I just a ranting lunatic who is fixated on this issue, or does anyone else feel the same way? 

Avalon High

           Reading Meg Cabot's Avalon High sent me into a complete and utterly déja vu moment. This moment in particular sent me right back to middle school, where I must admit I spent so much time in the school library that all the librarians came to know me on a first name basis. As poisonous as this was to my reputation, I found that I just didn't care. It was probably this moment that I should have realized that I was destined to be an English major. This was one of the first books I had read about any Arthurian legend, so you can imagine how confused I was until I did a little bit of research.

            What I liked best about this book in middle school was the ending. Not because it meant that the book was finally over, but because it fueled my want for a 'Happily Ever After'.  Ever since I was little, and I am sure that I am not alone in this, I have been a hopeless romantic looking for the elusive 'One'. Cabot fulfilled all of my romantic hope that Elle and Will would end up together, no matter what the evil Marco did. To bad it never came with a disclaimer reading: "WARNING: This does not actually happen in real life".  Anyway, what I honestly liked best about the book after I read again for class was that portions of Tennyson's poem were put on the beginning of each chapter (that way, at least, there is an inkling of intelligence in the 'book').  

            One thing that really rubbed me the wrong way about the book was how much Elle stereotyped people. For example: When Elle assumes things about people based on how they look. Just because a person has tattoos doesn't mean that they do drugs. I myself am a prime example of this. I do have a tattoo, and I somehow manage to not do drugs. It can be done.

            Though there are only a few things in common throughout the many, many texts on Arthurian legend, the single thing that I consistently abhor is the affair between Gwen and Lance. It is hard for me to describe in polite words how I truly feel about the entire thing, and had I been Arthur, I would have beheaded them both and put their heads on stakes at the gates of Camelot... I guess it's a good thing that I was never destined to have an ancient kings past intertwined with my modern day life. 

(2/5)

The Passing of Arthur (1/5)

      I know that this is late, however, I've been having trouble with the website, so bear with me as I catch up. Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Passing of Arthur", though beautifully crafted, nearly made my heart break. Personally, I love anything that has to do with the romance and magic that is associated with the Arthurian time period, and this ending of the legend left me curled up in bed with a mug of coffee and Disney's "The Sword in the Stone". Does anyone else feel this strongly, or is it just me? Even if you don't share my love for this time period, anyone with eyes can appreciate how beautifully this poem is written. One particular set of lines that drew my attention was "As from beyond the limit of the world/Like the last echo born of a great cry/Sounds, as if some fair city were one voice/Around a king returning from his wars" (Lines 288-292). I found these lines very interesting because the first line in this stanza almost makes an allusion that Arthur is leaving this world, not merely dying, and going to heaven after the long, violent years on Earth. After all, where else would Arthur go? He was the greatest Christian king ever recorded. Did anyone else wonder if he would become some high powered official (if they even have those), in heaven? Food for thought...

    Another line that I found interesting was "And the new sun rose bringing the new year" (Line 300). Though we did talk about this particular line in class, I can't help but wonder why or what caused the end of this era. Was it because Arthur was such a great king that there was no way anyone else could fill his shoes, or was it because God decided it was time for the world to move on to a new era? As someone who is really not religious in even the slightest of ways, I tend to lean towards option one. However, if option two is correct, what a fascinating book that could be!