The Once and Future King
|
|
The Once and Future King is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T.H. White. It was first published in 1958, mostly as a composite of earlier works. ISBN 0441627404
The title comes from the supposed inscription of the marker over King Arthur's grave: HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS — "Here lies Arthur, the once and future king."
| Contents |
Overview
The book, taking place on the isle of Gramarye, chronicles the raising and education of King Arthur and ends prior to his final battle against Mordred. Though its source material is admitted by the author as being derived from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), White creates his personal reinterpretation of the epic events and fills them with renewed meaning for a world enduring the Second World War.
The book is divided into four parts:
- The Sword in the Stone (1938)
- The Queen of Air and Darkness (1939)
- The Ill-Made Knight (1940)
- The Candle in the Wind (First published in the composite edition, 1958)
A final part called The Book of Merlyn was published separately (ISBN 029270769X) following White's death. It chronicles Arthur's final lessons before his death, although some parts of it were incorporated into the final editions of the previous books.
Despite the subject matter of the original story, White infuses his book with anti-nationalism and pacifist sentiment. There is a light smattering of symbolism throughout the book: e.g., Mordred's Thrashers are easily Nazis; King Uther Pendragon, as derived from his birth and death dates, symbolizes the monarchy before the Magna Carta. In fact, although the entire work can be read as a light and enjoyable comedy, it can also be interpreted as quite a serious political commentary.
One often quoted passage from the book is the badger's dissertation, re-telling the story of the Creation from Genesis.
Plot Summary
The Sword in the Stone chronicles Arthur's (called Wart) raising by his foster father Sir Ector, his foster brother Kay and his initial training by a wizard who lives through time backwards — Merlyn. Merlyn, knowing the boy's destiny, teaches Wart what it means to be a good king by turning him into various animals: fish, ant, birds. Most particularly, before he takes the throne Wart learns to challenge the concept of Might is Right.
In The Queen of Air and Darkness, White sets the stage for Arthur's demise by introducing the Orkney clan and detailing Arthur's seduction by his half-sister while the young king suppresses initial rebellions. Meanwhile, Merlyn leads Arthur to conceptualize the means of harnessing potentially destructive Might for the cause of Right: the Round Table.
The Ill-Made Knight switches to the story of forbidden love between Sir Launcelot and Queen Guenever and its effect on Elaine and King Arthur.
The Candle in the Wind tells the upshot of all of the preparation for Arthur's downfall and the downfall of the idealistic kingdom of Camelot.
The stories begin decidedly humorous mainly through Arthur's adventures, White's prose, and King Pellinore's interminable search for the Questing Beast. The tale gradually becomes darker until Ill-Made Knight loses much of the original humor and The Candle in the Wind is mirthless.
Interpretations
Perhaps what sticks out the most in White's work is his characterizations and how they differ from traditional views of these Arthurian characters, particularly in their motivations. For example:
Arthur is a well-intentioned king as trained by Merlyn, but it seems that his greatest flaw is his inability to adapt once Merlyn leaves him. As such, he comes off as something of a well-meaning bumbler.
Launcelot is no longer the handsome knight typical in the romantic legends but is instead portrayed as the ugliest of that lot and, in addition, cruel. He seeks to overcome his flaws through full devotion towards becoming Arthur's greatest knight.
Merlyn lives time backwards, making him a bumbling yet wise old man who is getting younger.
It is also interesting to note that White allows Thomas Malory to have a cameo appearance towards the end of the final book. Also of note is White's treatment of historical characters and kings as mythological within this world that he creates. In addition, due to his living backwards, Merlyn makes many anachronistic allusions to events in more recent times; of note are references to the Boer War and to " an Austrian who … plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos".
The book as a Political Commentary
Underscoring the story of Arthur's life, from his youth and education to the end of his reign, is a well thought out commentary on how mankind should govern itself, written in the context of the Second World War.
When Arthur first ascends to the throne, the country is ruled by what he calls Fort Main, or the rule through power. The barons and nobles ride around the countryside doing whatever they wish, and generally being unpleasant to the others. Despite the ongoing question of whether or not mankind is naturally evil (and there is a long, well laid out discussion in the last book, of where the evil and strife in the world comes from), the solution to the matter changes as Arthur's understanding evolves.
His first solution to the rule through power is to crush it with power. This he does, quelling the barons with his own armies. However, this is clearly not a permanent solution, but merely a continuation of the problem.
His next move is to channel the power into something worthy. He invents Chivalry, and forms the Round Table, making it a goal for his knights to rescue maidens and right wrongs. However, this solution does not last for too long. Once all the wrongs are righted, and England settles into a golden period of peace and lawfulness, the knights get bored, and things at court start to go badly. Pettiness and squabbling arise, and society stagnates. A better solution is needed.
Arthur's next move is to try to seek the solution from outside the world. He sends his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail — aiming their power towards God instead of towards worldly things. This, however, is a failure, too, because any knight who achieves the quest is perfect, and thus no longer suitable to live in the imperfect world. The other knights who fail are all positively affected by the quest (Launcelot in particular), but it does not take long for them to fall back into their old ways.
Arthur's final solution as king is to formalise the power: he invents Law. Instead of the power being wielded by the knights, it now belongs to the state. An example of this would be the replacing of trial-by-battle with trial by jury. This solution comes back to bite Arthur when the affair between Guinevere and Launcelot is exposed: his new Law means that he must punish his beloved wife and his best friend, although Launcelot rescues Guinevere and they escape to his castle together.
The book ends with Arthur, a weary old man, waiting for the final battle between Mordred's Thrashers and his knights. He wonders where he has gone wrong, and what the solution actually is.
This is where The Book of Merlyn slots in: Arthur is taken to Merlyn's cave, where he meets many of his old friends from The Sword in the Stone — animals with whom he has spent time. He then spends some time as an ant, and as a goose, experiencing the structure of their societies. The ant is a fiercely territorial animal, with a rigidly structured life. The goose, on the other hand, is free, without any boundaries or borders, flying where it wants. Arthur spends an idyllic few days as a goose, before he is dragged back to Merlyn's cave. He realises that boundaries, which don't actually exist, but are purely mental constructs in human's minds, are the real cause of the strife in the world, and that mankind should do away with them if he wants to achieve a successful society.
Adaptations
Walt Disney made a very loose adaptation of The Sword in the Stone in 1963. This movie reflects more the sense of humour of Disney's team of animators than White. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's 1960 musical Camelot (which was made into a movie in 1967) is also based on Once and Future King, and features White's idea of having Thomas Malory make a cameo appearance at the end.
External links
- The Once and Future King Study Guide at Wikibooks (http://wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Once_and_Future_King)