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Monty Python and the Holy Grail explained
Monty Python and the Holy Grail explained
Monty Python and the Holy Grail satire
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Two of the best things in the world, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Harry Potter,” have a good deal in common. Other than the vast amount of space reserved in my brain for storing quotes and random facts from these two stories, both tales share many similar objects, plot devices, character attributes, and themes. Even though Python's “Holy Grail” is an exact historical representation of the Arthurian Grail legend, some might argue that the “Harry Potter” story is more reflective of the actual ancient texts than the 1974 film.
Harry has many things in common with King Arthur. Both characters were orphans raised with their cousins, and mentored by wise men with large beards. Neither knew of his importance until it was revealed to him by mystical, somewhat divine means, and both men fell in love with a woman named Ginerva. Certainly not least of all, a major ordeal in the lives of both Harry and King Arthur was the quest for a mystical cup-- The Holy Grail for Arthur, and the Triwizard Cup for Harry.
The Holy Grail, according to legend and “Indiana Jones,” is the cup that Jesus and his disciples drank from during the last supper. Later writings also tell that the cup was used to catch Jesus's blood while he was being crucified. While sometimes depicted as a rather fancy, jeweled chalice, it is much more likely that Jesus, the poor son of a carpenter, would have drunk from a simple wooden cup (Ford).
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” features two chalices, both of great import. The Goblet of Fire is a wooden cup that determines who will participate in the Triwizard Tournament. When Filch brings out the Goblet, it is stored in “a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels” (Rowling, 254). Sir Thomas Malory, au...
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...did Rowling include all of these allusions to the ancient Arthurian myth? Succinctly, because it makes the story seem more impressive, and gives it a bit more depth. Most everyone has heard of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and perhaps Rowling thought that associating her story with the great tales of old would trump up the value of her epic novels. Nearly all of the Weasleys are named/modeled after characters/objects relating to King Arthur, and so are a few places (Voldemort's lake), passwords (Caput Draconis), and magical artifacts. I, for one, immediately recognized many of the references, and found them to be rather endearing.
Of course, it's also possible that Rowling simply finds it entertaining to sneakily implant pieces of classical mythology into her novels and watch as her fans try to find some deep, overarching meaning to all of it.
In movies, novels, and life, people are named as heroes. The heroes we establish and the heroes we recognize, however, may not meet the criteria for a mythic hero. A mythic hero ventures forth on his journey, and comes forth from the hero’s path to greatness. Joseph Campbell, a mythologist who studied many of the great human myths and religious tales, realized, in studying these myths and tales, that there were certain steps that every hero went through. Campbell called this “The Hero’s Journey”; it is based on Carl Jung's idea that all human beings have an archetype. After Campbell studied a lot of the great myths and realized this pattern, he published his findings in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Ever since then, authors have used “The Hero’s Journey” as an outline to tell their stories. “It is important to note that not all of these individual steps are present in every hero’s tale, nor is it important that they be in this exact order” (Vogler 20). The Hero with a Thousand Faces gives a sense of significance as it looks into the inner mind and soul. The author, Joseph Campbell, performs two extraordinary accomplishments: compelling his readers that myth and dream, those are the most effective and everlasting forces in life and a unification of mythology and psychoanalysis with a gripping narrative. One well-known example of “The Hero’s Journey” from popular culture is the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. In the novel, Harry Potter, the main character, is the chosen one and “The Hero’s Journey” applies to his life from the moment he is attacked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a baby.
Another link between the Legends of Arthur and the Catholic Church is the Holy Grail. The Grail was said to be the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper and at the Crucifixion to have received blood flowing from Christ's side. At the round table there was an extra seat reserved for the finder of the Holy Grail. The grail was an important object in King Arthur’s Court because whoever did find it was considered a great knight. The church also thought the Holy Grail to be an important objec...
Who was King Arthur? Most people would tell of a great King; a devoted circle of heroic knights; mighty castles and mightier deeds; a time of chivalry and courtly love; of Lancelot and Guinevere; of triumph and death. Historians and archaeologists, especially Leslie Alcock, point to shadowy evidence of a man who is not a king, but a commander of an army, who lived during the late fifth to early sixth century who may perhaps be the basis for Arthur. By looking at the context in which the stories of King Arthur survived, and the evidence pertaining to his castle Camelot and the Battle of Badon Hill, we can begin to see that Arthur is probably not a king as the legend holds.
• There were also scenes ever so often a historian would pop up and give you a brief narrative about what was going on in the movie. This was a parody of all the historians that covered the story of Arthur. The comedic affect was delivered when Arthur killed the historian at the end of the movie.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a book about a boy named Harry Potter who is a wizard. Its setting is in London, which is where Harry lives. The time element is supposed to be present day, but it is a fiction book.
She had to have put in an abundance of time and research in order find and make these allusions, but she did so in order to create a further depth and meaning to her characters. J.K Rowling stated, “I love freakish names and I have always been interested in folklore and I think it was a logical thing for me to end up writing” (“What Jo Says About”). Through Rowling’s interest in mythological folklore, she ingeniously links her characters to those of classical mythology, which only proves to add complexity and strength to her characters. Readers who are educated on these classical counterparts will be entranced by their similarities and will have a further connection to these particular characters due to the new depth they hold. Through comparing and contrasting the similar roles, readers will be able to have a stronger background and sense of who this wizarding character is with the groundbreaking resemblances to the classical figures. J.K. Rowling does a remarkable job with creating the etymology of her characters’ names and does amazing work by extending her allusions so that their portrayals closely resemble the traits and behaviors of their classical namesake. Although this can often be found in fiction, the extent and detail that Rowling puts into her etymological work is scarcely found in modern literature. Through her characters’ names and classical folklore background, Rowling continues and modernizes these Greek/Roman mythological figures, grounds her wizarding characters, and adds even more magic into her
The story of king Arthur has multiple adaptations, and there many different forms of King Arthur. Back in the days Chreiten de Troyes wrote the story of Perceval, and The Holy Grail. This story was then adapted by Eric Rohmer in his film Perceval de la Gallois. Eric Rohmer went on to use a few of Thomas Leitch’s forms of adaptation. The modes of adaption that he used were expansion, compression, Anti-House style and celebration. In Thomas Leitch’s writing he explains expansion as adding on new parts of a story, compression as shortening a story to fit a certain time frame, and Celebration is kind of celebrating someone’s work or making a tribute to it. This adaptation of Perceval really brought on an interesting twist to Perceval. Rohmer added elements such as a choir singing every time an important event in the plot happens, and the simple background like the fake trees to try to get that medieval feel to it. The film’s artificiality, irony, and different ways of telling the story can really stop the viewers from gaining a lot of attachment to the story, it the same time it makes you use your brain to really think about the story. Perceval is one of the many Arthurian tales that have been adapted throughout the
The Quest for the Holy Grail is the most well-known of the Arthurian Legends. It describes King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and their journey to find the holy cup, from which Jesus drank and caught his spilled blood on the cross. This Grail supposedly had the ability to heal wounds, and provide means of life for those who drank from it. This quest is riddled with stories about the the legendary knights of the Round Table, and describes their exciting search across the country for the Holy Grail.
...y for the lunatic fringes of my own religion” (“'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery”).
Aspects of fairy tales are woven into many novels as a way to bring a sense of familiarity to the reader. Foster writes, “...we want strangeness in our stories, but we want familiarity, too. We want a new novel to be not quite like anything we’ve read before. At the same time, we look for it to be sufficiently like other things we’ve read so that we can use those to make sense of it,” (Foster 36). Fairy tales will be the same year from now and therefore hold the same familiarity to the reader. Evil stepparents, a magical fairy godmother, and the ultimate rescue to the castle are all component to the perfect fairy tale that is seen in many novels. J. K. Rowling’s infamous Harry Potter Series follows the journey made by the powerful, young wizard Harry Potter. While Harry Potter is not a fairy tale, it has many subtle attributes woven in throughout the novels. The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, while not a fairytale, has many attributes woven throughout the novel. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone introduces the reader to Harry’s home life which compares to that of a fairy tale. Harry is mistreated by his step parents and wishes for his fairy godmother to save him, clearly showing the distinct evil and good characters like many fairy tales have. However, Harry’s fairy
Arthur is portrayed to be somewhat foolish and gullible in Book I along with Book IV, not in the sense that he is silly and imprudent, but in the sense that he is a pushover.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is the third book in the trilogy of J. K. Rowlings other Harry Potter books, though she is coming out with four more books in the coming years.
The Quest for the Holy Grail was the greatest and noblest of all quests for King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. The Holy Grail was believed to be the cup used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, and it was the cup that caught Christ's blood when he was thrust in the side with a spear at his crucifixion. Joseph of Arimathea, the wealthy man who allowed Christ to be placed in his tomb, is said to have brought the cup with him to Britain, but it was later lost. It was said that the cup disappeared because of the sins of the times, but many believed it to be hidden, and still in England. The Quest for the Holy Grail, led by King Arthur was to find this divine cup.
Harry Potter starts off slow, but gets very interesting near the end. In the beginning, you meet the Dursleys, Harry’s aunt, uncle, and their son Dudley. Then you learn that Harry’s parents were witches, and that they were destroyed by a evil wizard. A good witch, Albus Dumbeldoor, sends Harry to the Dursleys, because they’re his only remaining family. The Dursleys however, hated Harry and his family, so Harry was mistreated for years. He was forced to live in a cuborrod under the stairs. He had to watch as the fat, stuck up Dudley got whatever he wanted, and then usually broke whatever it was he got. Then one day Harry got a letter.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was written by J. K. Rowling and is the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series. The book is about a seventeen-year-old wizard, named Harry Potter, who has to travel all over England to find things that will help him defeat the evil wizard, Lord Voldomort. The main theme/moral of the entire series is good will always triumphs over evil. In every book, even when it looks like evil is going to win, good always triumphs in the end.