Revenge is Futile: Le’ Morte d’ Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory

1097 Words3 Pages

Le’ Morte d’ Arthur is a medieval romaunce by Sir Thomas Malory about King Arthur, Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table, violence plays a very crucial part in the story. Many different kinds of violence occur in this set of stories, some of which are very ordered and fine, like jousting, and also disordered violence like war. The worst type of violence though is when people use violence to get vengeance, which is a major theme, because many of these knights are mad at others. While many of the knights in the book are concerned with getting revenge, these actions and the search for vengeance are often futile and almost always end badly.
One of the major early forms of vengeance presented in the book are blood feuds. Blood feuds are not only vengeance between two people, but in fact between the whole family and can often last for many generations. The example of this in the book is the blood feud started when King Pellinore attacked King Lot. “Then King Pellinore attacked King Lot and killed him, by first spearing his horse, and then splitting his helmet and skull with his sword.” (Page 36) This was a brutal way to kill and made Gawain, understandably mad. Gawain is too concerned however with revenge. He ends up killing Pellinore, which weakens Camelot and the knights of the round table. This also led to a needless death of a good man, Pellinore. An example of this in real history was the Percy-Neville blood feud in medieval England. This was a blood feud in the 1400s that started a civil war, the War of the Roses. This was started when a Percy was made Bishop of Carlisle, a very pointless reason to start a civil war. This, just like the Pellinore-Lot feud, caused needless deaths, albeit a lot more. The pope r...

... middle of paper ...

... Revenge led to the fall of the round table and to many other bad things and deaths throughout history. The most famous quote about revenge is by Gandhi. “An eye for an eye makes the world blind.” This quote especially rings true in this story since revenge led to the fall of Camelot. In this story and in medieval times revenge led to many deaths and strife for everyone. Without revenge everyone, especially the people in Le’ Morte D’ Arthur would be a lot better off than they are with it.

Works Cited

Aurelius, Marcus. The meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. New York: A.L. Burt, 189.
Malory, Thomas, and Keith Baines.Malory's Le morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the legends of the Round Table. 1962. Reprint, New York: New American Library, 2010.
Pollard, Anthony. "Percies, Nevilles, and the Wars of the Roses." History Today, September 1, 1993.

Show More
Related

  • The Chivarlric Code of Le Morte d'Arthur

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    Morte d'Arthur, a knight is injured mortally and dies. When the squire of the knight

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Hamlet And The Cask Of Amontillado

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Evil exists naturally in the world, and there are many acts that are considered evil. As a result, evil is often a theme in literature. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe each rely heavily on evil to portray a message. Out of all of the evil acts that exist, exacting revenge is the evilest act that a person can make, for a person’s rash decision to exact revenge will ruin their sense of morality. The characters of Hamlet and Laertes in “Hamlet” each commit terrible acts of revenge, as does Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado.”

    Read More

  • Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur and Monty Python and the Holy Grail

    2206 Words  | 5 Pages

    Malory, Thomas. King Arthur and His Knights: Selected Tales by Sir Thomas Malory, ed. Eugene Vinaver (London: Oxford UP, 1975) 124-25.

    Read More

  • Arthur's Unrealism: Monty Python, Gawain and the Green Knight, and the Destruction of

    4237 Words  | 9 Pages

    One of the most enduring myths in the Western world is that of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Regardless of the origins of the tales, the fact is that by the time they had been filtered through a French sensibility and re-exported to England, they were representations of not one but several ideals. Courtly love and chivalry and the various components thereof, such as martial prowess, chastity, bravery, courtesy, and so on, were presented as the chief virtues to aspire to, and the knights as role models. Arthur's eventual fall is precisely because of having failed at some level to fulfill these ideals in his life.

    Read More

  • Revenge in The Canterbury Tales

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    After kissing one’s arse; or being harassed for money; or having someone demoralize another’s occupation, according to “The Miller’s Tale”, “The Friar’s Tale”, and the tension between The Summoner and The Miller, one might have the motive to cause harm to those who hurt them. This shows the level of maturity in the characters, as well as demonstrating human feelings such as hurt, anger, and animosity. In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer illustrates the pilgrims and characters within their stories as strong, clever, and sometimes even childish. They are often quick to react with revenge to solve their problems, instead of thinking about their actions. However, even if revenge does work to their advantage, it’s not always the most morally correct way for them to fix their troubles.

    Read More

  • The Depiction of Morgan Le Fay in Various Accounts of The Arthurian Legend

    2188 Words  | 5 Pages

    Le Morte d'Arthur, a French version of the Arthurian legend, Mort Artu, written by an

    Read More

  • Arthurian Legends

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    When looking back at the medieval ages, one may realize that the knights had many extraordinary abilities- they were like superheroes. In different Arthurian Legends, like The Crowning of Arthur, Arthur Becomes King, and Sir Launcelot du Lake, many people admire the person who has these inhumane abilities. Arthur and Sir Launcelot are both characters that initially seem like ordinary people, but show their superior strength and power by the end of the story. Arthur releases a sword from a stone that not even the strongest man can pull out, while Sir Launcelot murders a knight who is known to be an undefeated fighter. Because of these actions, both characters grew to fame. Sir Thomas Malory and T. H. White use unique abilities to exhibit the theme that one should never underestimate who they are and their capabilities in doing something.

    Read More

  • Arthurian Legend

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    Le Morte d’Arthur has several different themes working within in for Hollywood to choose from. An easy one for moviemakers is the glorification of the hero. In Malory’s work it appears that he is glorifying Arthur but really his work is being very critical. Arthur is an interesting man, and Malory constructs his character to stand out. But he also gives Arthur flaws that inevitably bring about his demise.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Marcus Aurelius Meditations

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marcus Aurelius’ literary work, Mediations, has been seen throughout history as one of the most important literary works. It is similar to a journal, written by Aurelius during his life, about his life. Aurelius was a man who was unlike other emperors. While most other emperors disgraced themselves, he was an exception. There was no particular reason why he acted this way, and no external forces caused him to act this way. He was a man who could get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and yet he didn’t use his power for his own benefit. He was afraid of doing what was wrong, and intended to live a life where he wouldn’t feel guilty about anything. He never wanted the things he wrote to be published; however they have given advice to many people over the years. Aurelius lived a lonely life, because there was no one as his equal, and anyone who talked to him was looking for something. Throughout the passages in Meditations, Aurelius makes a lot of really good observations.

    Read More

  • Nature of Revenge

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    Revenge is a motif we see repeatedly throughout the play. Different characters use revenge differently according to their situation. Revenge leads Hamlet and Laertes to their deaths while it makes Fortinbras gain back the land of Denmark. As you can see, the quote by Phaedrus encompasses the entire concept of revenge in Hamlet. The swordfight at the end of the play allowed the characters to complete their revenge, and probably without this, the different reprisals probably wouldn’t have been carried out. All in all, throughout the play, Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all had a tragic death of a family member which caused their decision for revenge.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Revenge Essay

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    Revenge almost always has the makings of an intriguing and tragic story. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a perfect example of how revenge unfolds and what it unveils. The play tells the story of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark. Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, marries his mother soon after his father’s death. Hamlet greatly disapproves of the hasty marriage and suspects foul play. His suspicions are confirmed when the ghost of his father appears and tells him that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet’s father asks him to take revenge upon Claudius, and soon everything takes a drastic change. The courses of revenge throughout Hamlet surround each character with corruption, obsession, and fatality.

    Read More

  • Betrayal in Malory's Le Morte D’Arthur

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malory's Le Morte D’Arthur isn't known to be classic just because of Arthur-but rather the themes of family, love, revenge, identity, loyalty and betrayal. As King, Arthur is put in many situations that test the people he surrounds himself with. Therefore, betrayal has become a reoccurring theme. Throughout the novel, people are seen betraying each other. Betrayal has become familiar in a way to the members of the round table, ultimately leading to it's demise. The acts of betrayal occur in various forms, whether it be through adultery or just going behind the other person's back. Regardless of how it happens it brings about serious disorder for all involved.

    Read More

  • Theme of Revenge in Literature and Movies

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Revenge is such an enormous part of a being human. It is something that no matter how much you try to avoid part of you will persistently lust for it. When you are hurt in any way your natural instinct will always tell you to make the one who hurt you feel just as bad if not worse as how you felt. It is such a natural and powerful feeling, that when revenge is incorporated into a story it makes it so much stronger. Revenge will make you see so many more sides of characters and make them seem much more complex. Revenge can give fictional characters a more human quality. That is why so many writers use it as their theme.

    Read More

  • The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marcus Aurelius was a famous philosopher in 121 through 180 C.E. He lived a hard life and even though he was surrounded by crowds he was considered a recluse. He was known for his kindness and mercy. The last years of his life were spent on a military campaign. It is said that these years were the hardest and loneliest. However, instead of becoming bitter and angry Aurelius wrote The Meditations. This was a diary or journal of his personal thoughts. He believed that by writing this it was his duty to his soul. The Meditations, is a popular piece of stoic literature. In this paper I will be describing how Aurelius used stoicism in book two of The Meditations and what I liked and did not like about what he said.

    Read More

  • The Death of the Legendary King Arthur

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    The legend of King Arthur has intrigued generations for over a thousand years. Over these years, this tapestry has been handed down through the hands of many gifted storytellers. Bits and pieces were taken out and replaced by new strands woven in to fabricate a slight variation of the original that’s suitable for the audience or perhaps the storyteller himself. These modifications are evident in the 1981 film of Excalibur and Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur” published in 1485. The film incorporates magical acts while religious allusions are portrayed in the text. There are several characters that appeared in one but not the other. The two versions have the same essential elements, but with some alterations. The main changes in the story plot are the events leading to the battle and the battle itself. The two versions have the same essential elements, but with some alterations.

    Read More

More about Revenge is Futile: Le’ Morte d’ Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory

Open Document