Arthurian Literature: The Evolution of Merlin

2341 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Merlin character analysis in king arthur

Arthurian Literature: The Evolution of Merlin

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.

Merlin gains his first mention in eight ancient Welsh poems attributed to the Welsh bard Myrddin. (Bruce) Signs of his Welsh, druidical heritage are all through the verses. One poem invokes an apple-tree to hide Merlin from his pursuing enemies, and magical apple-trees are common in Welsh fairyland. Another of Merlin's purported poems is addressed to a little pig, and in another he mentions a wolf as one of his few companions. Both of these animals are common devotional cult-objects in Welsh druidism. One poem indicates that Merlin/Myrddin spends a great deal of his time with deer, perhaps even appearing in the form of a stag and living as one. This description is reminiscent of the Welsh stag-god Cernunnos, "The Horned One," who appears as a man with a stag's head and associates with deer. (Tolstoy) In the Welsh poem "Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin" ("The Dialogue of Merlin and Taliesin"), written down around 1050, we receive our first indication of Merlin's most prominent gift in later literature, that of prophecy. The poem ends with the lines "Since I, Myrdin, am next after ...

... middle of paper ...

...ne of the great and enigmatic characters of the Matter of Britain and, for that matter, of all literature.

Works Cited

Bruce, Dr. James Douglas.

The Evolution of Arthurian Romance. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1958.

Loomis, Roger Sherman.

The Arthurian Romance. London: Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., 1963.

Loomis, Roger Sherman, ed.

Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages: A Collaborative History. Clarendon Press, 1959.

Ownbey, E. Sydnor.

Merlin and Arthur: A Study of Merlin's Character and Function in the Romances Dealing with the Early Life of Arthur. Vanderbilt University, 1932.

Paton, Dr. Lucy Allen.

Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance. New York: Burt Franklin, 1960.

Tatlock, J.S.P.

The Legendary History of Britain. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1950.

Show More
Related

  • Exploring the Movie, Do The Right Thing

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... lead to his involvement in the events at the end. It was tragic to see him killed, but I didn’t see the loving character that the community saw. I feel of this theme of Love and Hate, Love didn’t get enough coverage. I think this was supposed to be a story about Love losing to Hate, but I don’t think Love was fairly represented here. It was interesting to see the Community at first adamantly deny boycotting Sal’s talking about how they grew up on Sal’s food, and to see how in the course of an evening they were chanting to burn it down. This was a really compelling movie, and to a degree its hard to distance yourself from it. I am a white guy watching it, so its harder for me to see it from Spike’s point of view, but after thinking about the movie for a week or so, he does bring up a lot of excellent arguments. I just hope that violence isn’t the right conclusion.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Movie Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    of Sal. It for the most part pawns him off as a racist. On the

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Do The Right Thing By Spike Lee

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Do the Right Thing” is a film directed by Spike Lee, which was released in 1989. The film takes place in a small predominately African-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The protagonist of the film named Mookie works in a pizzeria located in his neighborhood named, Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. Throughout the film, we see different characters who visit Sal’s pizzeria, including Buggin ' Out, who is a neighborhood local who feels offended when he sees the lack of diversity on the pizzerias wall; which only displays famous Italian-Americans. The lack of African-American culture in the neighborhood leads to a building up of tensions, which eventually explodes into a fight between the owner of the pizzeria Sal, his two sons and the locals.

    Read More

  • Spike Lee Film Analysis

    1948 Words  | 4 Pages

    Regardless of that, he continued to make films that spoke of the true nature of the lives of African Americans and the struggles the face .One of his most successful films Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989), the film that solidified his place as the leading African American director, explores racism in a neighbourhood in New York. ‘Spike Lee had done an almost impossible thing. He 'd made a movie about race in America that empathized with all the participants,’ (Ebert, 2001 cited in Leopold, 2009). Lee heavily exaggerates stereotypes of all the races shown within his film as a way to show the audience just how ridiculous stereotyping is. Although, another theme throughout the film is the representation of all the races relations with each other rather than the stereotypes given to

    Read More

  • Justice in movie Crash

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    This demonstrates to us that no matter how much your legal or moral laws are violated, what matters is how you as an individual react to the situation, justly or unjustly. This movie is centered around the notion that if you are a person of ethnic background, that alone is reason for others to forsake your rights, although in the long run justice will prevail

    Read More

  • Individuation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sir Gawain is, undoubtably, the most varied of the Arthurian characters: from his first minor appearance as Gwalchmei in the Welsh tales to his usually side-line participation in the modern retelling of the tales, no other character has gone from such exalted heights (being regarded as a paragon of virtue) to such dismal depths (being reduced to a borderline rapist, murderer, and uncouth bore), as he. This degree of metamorphosis in character, however, has allowed for a staggering number of different approaches and studies in Gawain.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Do The Right Thing

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    Spike Lee is brand name when it comes to the film industry. When you try to ask any group of people their opinion about this man, you will probably receive numerous positive responses from the film community as well as the African American community. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) is a film that illustrates how racial conflict can become a reality while showing the repercussions that come with racial segregation. Spike Lee uses a number of tools to write and produce the film in order to ensure the message reaches his intended audience in the best way possible. The use of location, soundtrack, and dialogue is abundant in this film. Therefore, this film analysis paper is for Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989). It is a film in which racial segregation ignites riots in a neighborhood dominated by the black population. The heightened scene of this film analysis is where Spike Lee throws a trash can and it is from this that hell breaks loose and riots begin.

    Read More

  • Race In The Film: Do The Right Thing

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    The key to the issue is black and white, and yet don’t fall into that racial trap. Although the film explores racial issues; the true point is that no issue is black and white, there are no easy answers. The film calls the audience to think about its message, and hopefully understand better the problem with racism. The heat imagery used within the film really emphasizes the slow-burning attributes of prejudice and how quickly everything can turn, which of course is clear in the actions of everyone at the end of the film. I feel like any viewer can identify with this story because everyone in the film whether white, black, Hispanic, or Asian, experiences negative racist

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Movie Crash

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    The much praised and Oscar winning film Crash presents an uncompromising insight into what is considered to be a modern and sophisticated society. The film challenges viewers to examine the issues of race, gender and ethnicity and to which extent they plague society even now, thirteen years after it’s theatrical release.

    Read More

  • King Arthur

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthur's character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthur's character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get better insight into the character of Arthur, the once and future king.

    Read More

  • Arthurian Legend

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malory also makes Merlin an intriguing character. However, Merlin is very ominous. He tries to steer Arthur in the right direction but he is not entirely a positive character. His magic and his ability to see the future make Merlin someone to be wary of. Merlin may not be represented in the movies so mysteriously.

    Read More

  • Journal: American History X

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    Giving more insights about how racist ideologies are born or even transmitted from one generation to another is probably the main mission of this movie. This is definitely a movie about racism which does not follow the traditional way Hollywood has of showing the victim’s side of the story. The audience of this movie will be attached, this time, to the racist’s point of view, thanks to the help various film elements and a literary design that are used to force the viewer to empathize and maybe even like the hero/bad guy of the story.

    Read More

  • Social Existing Issues Depicted in Fruitvale Station

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...

    Read More

  • Lanval and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Movie Crash Film Analysis

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a fan of cinema, I was excited to do this project on what I had remembered as a touching portrait on racism in our modern society. Writer/Director Paul Haggis deliberately depicts his characters in Crash within the context of many typical ethnic stereotypes that exist in our world today -- a "gangbanger" Latino with a shaved head and tattoos, an upper-class white woman who is discomforted by the sight of two young Black kids, and so on -- and causes them to rethink their own prejudices during their "crash moment" when they realize the racism that exists within themselves.

    Read More

More about Arthurian Literature: The Evolution of Merlin

Open Document