Original Thoughts of Arthur

I'm still working on my influence map, so I haven't included images from the assignment, but the assignment has made me think about who Arthur, what characteristics he has, and who influences him. I wanted to start this blog with listing my original thoughts of King Arthur, and hopefully see how they change over the semester.

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While Arthur is usually referred to as “King Arthur”, I realized that I rarely think of him in this role. My general impressions of Arthur is of a young boy or man coming of age or to power. He is learning who he is and the type of ruler he wants to be. My vision of Arthur is rooted from movies likes Disney's "The Sword and The Stone" where he becomes King at the end, and is wearing a crown and robe that are too big for him that he still needs to grow into, much like I

see him needing to do as King.

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Because I associate Arthur as someone who is young and becoming King, I consider him to be inexperienced and in need of guidance, and what character better fills this role then Merlin. In my mind, Merlin plays the role of a puppet master who usually is an old man, but has been portrayed as a young person. He pushes, manipulates, and counsels Arthur in his decisions, which Arthur sometimes listens to without conflict and other times challenges. Merlin plays a vital role in Arthur’s life because he develops and guides Arthur to become a king with the influence of magic. I have a difficult time thinking of Arthur without Merlin. On the BBC show Merlin, Merlin and Arthur are described as “ two-sides of the same coin”, which is a perfect interpretation of their relationship.

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From my exposure with King Arthur, he seems to always be on a journey to become King. The stories usually end with him being crowned and becoming King Arthur, but until then Arthur needs to prove himself worthy of being King. An image that sticks out to me, that shows Arthur is the real King, is the Sword in the Stone where he needs to pull the sword out of the stone in order to prove that he is the actual King. That story of Arthur is a good representation for me. He constantly needs to prove to himself and people that he is worthy enough to be King.

The last idea that I associate with King Arthur is his Knights of the Round Table. The concepts of Knights make me think of bravery, duty, and honor. I picture men going into battle fighting for a worthy cause. I think of Arthur's Knights as fighting for just causes, and dedicating their lives to quests. The video link is from "Monty Python and The Holy Grail" when Arthur and his Knights come across the French and ask about the Grail. While this is one of my favorite parts of the movie, it represents the quest that Arthur and his Knights supposedly went on in search of the Holy Grail.


                                       

                                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8yjNbcKkNY

These are not all the ideas I have about Arthur, but highlight the major contributors to who Arthur his. All of these ideas shape a concept of a young man learning how to be King, so I think it will be interesting to see a perspective of Arthur as older and already crowned and in a position of power.