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Camelot, the musical adaptation of The Once and Future King, allows for an interesting twist on the portrayal of Guinevere’s personality, mindset, and desires. The use of song and excellent acting allows for a unique display of the different aspects that make Guinevere a complex and strong character. Analyzing “The Lusty Month of May” shows Guinevere as a woman driven by her desires for the fantastical aspects of romance. However, contrasting “The Lusty Month of May” with other songs paints her as a more dynamic character and explains her relationship dynamic with Arthur, Lancelot, and other men in the court. This verse by verse analysis characterizes Guinevere as a woman driven by feelings of dissatisfaction and destiny.
The Arthurian Romances
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This song foreshadows the discord that will flow through Camelot due to Arthur and Lancelot’s love for Guinevere. Throughout the song she mentions desiring “to be on a pedestal / Worshipped and competed for” (The Simple Joys of Maidenhood). Although Arthur loves Guinevere wholeheartedly, his worships his kingdom and places his new ideas to improve Camelot on a pedestal. Guinevere is important to him, but in this moment, not as much as his pursuits to better the kingdom. His undying love cannot be expressed to the fullest due to his obligations as King, preventing Guinevere from experiencing the love and devotion she’s always dreamed of and believes is essential to her life and growth. After this song, she unbeknownst meets Arthur and asks for his aid in her escape from the kingdom and arranged marriage. She tries to escape her fate and duty to find her own happiness and live her life. However, Arthur’s charm and good personality convinces her to stay. Once again, she settles. A verse in “The Lusty Month of May” also hints at the dissatisfaction she possibly feels towards Arthur. She describes marriage as “those dreary vows that everyone takes, everyone breaks” (The Lusty Month of May). This song speaks of passion and love, but it also reveals a different side of Guinevere. A side that shows her unhappiness and portrays her adultery as more than …show more content…
However, Camelot dashes this expectation and shows their first interaction to be one filled with disdain caused by Lancelot’s pride and Guinevere’s indignation. Upon their introduction, Lancelot not only steals the attention of her man, he insults Guinevere belittling her agency and placing her in a position of docile, simple minded woman. She responds with quick wit and constructs a plan for his demise. Her ability to control the actions of Arthur’s strongest, most capable men shows her power and favor in the court. Within her own right she has the power to do anything she wants and the mental capability to orchestrate a plan and sway men. In “Then You May Take Me to the Fair” she convinces Arthur’s strongest men to joust against Lancelot by telling them she’s “convinced that splendid Frenchman can easily conquer one and all / And besting all our local henchmen” thereby making them feel inferior and act defensive (Then You May Take Me to the Fair). In this song she wields power that extends past the feminine influence a queen has over the men in her court. She shows intelligence and keen observance skills that shape her into a strong character that does not just easily bend to her carnal whims. The woman she portrays in this song serves as a contrast to the woman
The narrative opens with a holiday feast in King Arthur’s court. The richness of this setting is represented by the decorations surrounding Queen Guenevere described in lines 76-80. “With costly silk curtains, a canopy over,/ Of Toulouse and Turkestan tapestries rich/ All broidered and bordered with the best gems/ Ever brought into Britain, with bright pennies/ to pay.” These lines also symbolize the queen’s role in the poem of a stately symbol of chivalric Camelot and as a female ideal. In this setting women are all around, but Guenevere is positioned above them and is surrounded by expensive, beautiful things. She is clearly made superior.
Facing felony charges of misdeed, Lanval’s entire fate lies solely in the hands of his lady. When King Arthur agrees that: “if he [Lanval] can produce proof; / if his love would come forward, / if what he said, / what upset the queen, is true, / then he will be acquitted” (451-455), Marie places incredible power in the presence of a woman. In a time when being male was the prime prerequisite for holding authority—and women were openly seen as senseless and insignificant—Lanval’s lover’s ability to determine a knight’s fate makes a mockery of the current societal
Queen Guenevere is the first women to be introduced in the poem while the holiday feast is going on. The reason she is seen as having power is because of where she is seated at the feast. The poem states, “The noblest knight in a higher seat, as seemed proper; / Queen Guenevere gaily dressed and placed in the middle, / Seated on the upper level, adorned all about… (Winny 2011: 7).” The fact that she is even mentioned as being at the feast as well as sitting at the same level as all of the noblest knights shows the power she has. It was rare to see a woman seated with knights let alone seated near the noblest of all the knights. Also, the way in which the poem glorifies her appearance and outfit matches the entitlement she is seen having because of her seating position. Many times, descriptions of knights are exaggerated and that is just what is done with Queen Guenevere. In the quote it states that she is “adorned all about…” meaning she was all done up and looking beautiful (Winny 2011: 7). She is described as being “The loveliest to see / Glanced round with eyes of blue-grey; / That he had seen a fairer one / Truly could no man say (Winny 2011: 7).” This quote saying that she was so beautiful and that no man could say that they have seen anything more beautiful than her. This showing that her beauty alone gives her power over the men, power to attract them with her
The love triangle of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenever is a constant theme throughout every account of the Arthurian legend. Geoffrey Ashe's The Arthurian Handbook states that "We may say that these knights are expected to serve their King..."(81). The revelation of the affair finally comes when Sir Agravaine shouts, "'Traitor Knight! Sir Lancelot, now art thou taken'"(White 569). Lancelot was summoned to Queen Guenever's bedroom, and Sir Agravaine is finally exposing the affair and gaining revenge on Lancelot for unhorsing him many times in the past. The two people that Arthur trusts most are Guenever and Lancelot. Arthur is well aware of the affair between the two, but chooses to pretend that nothing is going on. Due to this naivety, Arthur earns the disrespect (and even hatred) of Agravaine and Mordred, who eventual...
...’s Lanval and Laustic, were subservient to men in three different ways: by being considered temptresses, by needing men’s protection, and by obeying men’s orders. The lady of Laustic conforms to all these types, and the Queen in Lanval as well, with the exception that as the Queen she has some power. Lanval’s lover breaks some of these trends, but we later learn that she is a lady of Avalon, the mythical land where King Arthur is buried and whence he will come again, and therefore it is not surprising that she does not conform to the standard status of women.
There are several events in the play which at one point or the other take a tragic turn which constantly undercut back into the play by speeches. What is set out in the play is a festive mood where people were engaged in activities of ‘Maying’ where people get together to sing and dance in the woods, activities that led to the maids’ belief that the pursuit if true love can be scored only through divination dreams (Barber 18). The fairy’s existence is conceptualized from the act of fusing pageantry together with popular games in a menacing way bring out their actual image of a relaxed
In this romance, there is a battle between reason and love. Both try to thwart the paths of the other. When love is taking control, there is always a sense of reason that prevents Lancelot from doing what he wants, and when reason has the better of him, love makes him go in a different direction. Reason is the logical explanation behind each action taken or decision made by Lancelot. Love is the attraction that Lancelot feels for Gweneviere and it has a way of pushing aside reason, when he tries to make a judgment. These two elements are almost the devil and angel inside of Lancelot. Neither one can be described as good or bad, but can be considered opposites of each other. Also, most times, love is a stronger trait in Lancelot than the process of thought and reason.
The Legendary Camelot This king lay at Camelot one Christmastide With many mighty lords, manly liegemen, Members rightly reckoned of the Round Table, In splendid celebration, seemly and carefree (Stone 22). This is the only time that Camelot, home of the Arthurian legends, is mentioned in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
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.
In his article “A Stranger in Camelot,” Edward Hirsh refers to “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” as a romance novel. While reading the story, you encounter many of the aspects of a Medieval romance story. For example, there is a near perfect leading character, Sir Gawain, and an evil enemy, the green knight. Also, in part one of the story, you are given the sense that even though a quest has not yet begun, that there will be one in the future, since Sir Gawain now faces such a large problem of being hit with an ax in a year and a day. Another aspect of the story that links it to medieval romance, is its use of supernatural elements. Although in part one the reader has not yet been told why the green knight can have his head cut off and still
Lanval, a handsome knight, falls desperately in love with a beautiful maiden, who grants the knight her love on the condition that he keep their bliss in full secrecy. Upon returning home, Lanval is confronted by Guinevere, who attempts to seduce him . After her initial advances are rejected, the Queen tries a new tactic, attacking Lanval 's masculinity: "I have been told often enough that you have no desire for women. Base coward, wicked recreant, my lord is extremely unfortunate to have suffered you near him. " By questioning Lanval 's worthiness to serve by Arthur, Guinevere is questioning Lanval 's very status as a knight, and once again we see a knightly protagonist put into a hopeless situation as many of his chivalric duties--- courteousness to the Queen, faithfulness to his King, honesty and loyalty to his lover, and defense of his own honor--- are forced into an unresolvable conflict. Lanval defends his honor and honors his King 's trust, but breaks his promise to his lover and grievously insults the Queen: "I love and am loved by a lady who should be prized above all others... you can be sure that one of her servants, even the very poorest girl, is worth more than you, my lady the Queen, in body, face and beauty, wisdom and goodness. " Lanval 's inability to simultaneously commit to all of his knightly responsibilities is comically underscored by his polite hesitation ("my lady the Queen") even
The tales of King Arthur and many of their numerous characters are well known in literature. The Arthurian world is one of the great myths of modern times. Those great pieces of literature have many common themes, one of them being courtly love “L’amour Courtois”. This paper talks of courtly love as seen in King Arthur’s world especially examining “Yvain or the Knight with the Lion” and “Lancelot: or the Knight of the Cart”. Furthermore, one of the goals is to show how that courtly love could be seen in today in our world.
In The Lais of Marie de France, the theme of love is conceivably of the utmost importance. Particularly in the story of Guigemar, the love between a knight and a queen brings them seemingly true happiness. The lovers commit to each other an endless devotion and timeless affection. They are tested by distance and are in turn utterly depressed set apart from their better halves. Prior to their coupling the knight established a belief to never have interest in romantic love while the queen was set in a marriage that left her trapped and unhappy. Guigemar is cursed to have a wound only cured by a woman’s love; he is then sent by an apparent fate to the queen of a city across the shores. The attraction between them sparks quickly and is purely based on desire, but desire within romantic love is the selfishness of it. True love rests on a foundation that is above mere desire for another person. In truth, the selfishness of desire is the
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is written in an entertaining and adventurous spirit, but serves a higher purpose by illustrating the century’s view of courtly love. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other pieces of literature written in the same century prevail to commemorate the coupling of breathtaking princesses with lionhearted knights after going through unimaginable adventures, but only a slight few examine the viability of such courtly love and the related dilemmas that always succeed. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that women desire most their husband’s love, Overall, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that the meaning of true love does not stay consistent, whether between singular or separate communities and remains timeless as the depictions of love from this 14th century tale still hold true today.
Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine.