City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations and Theses City College of New York 2014 Humor, Romance, Horror and Epic in Text and Film of Arthurian Legend Adaptations Khanh Le CUNY City College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/253 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Khanh Le MA Thesis Page 0 of 127 Humor, Romance, Horror and Epic in Text and Film of Arthurian Legend Adaptations Khanh Le MA Thesis Fall 2012 City College of New York Khanh Le MA Thesis Page 1 of 127 Humor, Romance, Horror and Epic in Text and Film of Arthurian Legend Adaptations Contents Abstract 2 Introduction: The Early Warrior Lore of Arthur 3 Dissatisfaction and Doubt: Humor in T.H. White’s The Once and Future King and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 9 Background and influences of White, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones 10 Humor in structure and tone 14 Merlyn and wizard representation are parodied 22 Time is transcended and every time period mocked 25 Chivalry, combat and knighthood are satirized 28 Imbalance of femininity and masculinity are comedic 38 Conclusion 44 Beauty and the Grotesque: Romance and Horror in Tennyson’s Idylls of the King and Disney’s The Sword in the Stone (1963) 46 Background and Influences of Tennyson and Disney 47 Romance in structure, language and tone 52 Arthur is destined to be King by higher forces 58 Arthur is elevated to Jesus Christ and a humanized to a Young Boy 67 Beauty and the Grotesque found in femininity 73 Conclusion 82 Mortal Behind the Legend: Epic in Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and Excalibur (1981) 83 Background and influences of Malory and Boorman 84 Epic in Structure, language and tone 94 Strange and different femininity disrupt epic society 104 Natural and Unnatural Gender Relationships disrupt epic society 114 Conclusion 121 Conclusion: The King lives on 122 Bibliography 124 Khanh Le MA Thesis Page 2 of 127 Abstract Early folklore, legend and history praised King Arthur as a great warlord, and linked him to superhuman feats. But these early texts only list Arthur’s accomplishments like in a history book. Later Arthurian texts weave a delicate and beautiful story of life, love and destruction. Though humor is not the only element, humor is a vastly important device in T.H. White’s 20th- century novel The Once and Future King and the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) to reveal dissatisfaction with tradition, authority and society. Parody, satire and caricature are used as social commentary to mock the Arthurian and contemporary society. Authority is questioned, chivalry and war are described as ridiculous and silly, and both fictions critique the Arthurian tradition and their contemporary society. In Tennyson’s 19th-century poems Idylls of the King and Disney’s film The Sword in the Stone (1963), there are romantic and horrific elements side by side to reflect the tension and change in their contemporary times. Romance manifests in idealization, fantasy and biblical, and horror manifests in grim, bleak and stark. Romance and horror are used in these fictions to reveal the desires and fears of the characters and the authors. Malory’s 15th-century prose Le Morte d’Arthur and the film Excalibur (1981) both have epic qualities such as a wide time span, heightened meaning and exaggerated circumstances. These epics show the significance, purpose and connection of even minor characters to Arthur and Britain, and also the importance of Camelot to modern societies. The human is the central focus of both fictions and every individual is important, connects to and affect King Arthur, Britain and the world. The myth of King Arthur and his knights live on in adaptations and continue to affect audiences from generation to generation. Khanh Le MA Thesis Page 3 of 127 Introduction: The Early Warrior Lore of Arthur The term Arthurian has been used to describe a vast amount of material from text to art, from before the medieval times to the 21st century. The themes of King Arthur, Camelot and the Round Table have been called legend, folklore and even historical. They have been written as prose, poetry, staged as plays, musicals, and interpreted into film and animation. The characters and themes of King Arthur and Camelot have fascinated and endured in so many different forms for centuries because of their adaptability and sympathetic themes. The characters are diverse and allow empathy to a wide range of audiences, and the themes are universal, relevant and still explored. Chapter one will explore how humor used in White’s 20th-century The Once and Future King and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) reflect the author and directors’ dissatisfaction with their contemporary world. The fictions mock, critique and undermine traditions. Chapter two will discuss the binary of romance and horror utilized in Tennyson’s 19th- century Idylls of the King and Disney’s The Sword in the Stone (1963). The author and director imagine the human world as both a utopia and an apocalypse. The last chapter will examine Malory’s 15th-century Le Morte d’Arthur and Excalibur (1981). These epic fictions show the author and director’s understanding of the human world as intensely connected, meaningful and emotional. Early Arthurian stories were passed on in a variety of ways from oral traditions that idolize Arthur as a historical figure to folklore of a mystical Arthur possible of superhuman feats, to written texts that lists Arthur’s accomplishments in war. Later artists use the Arthurian legend to share their sentiments about their contemporary time. They adapt the Arthurian legend with new structure, tone and themes from the genre comedy, romance, horror and epic. Khanh Le MA Thesis Page 4 of 127 Early folklore, legend and history praised King Arthur as a great warlord, and linked him to superhuman feats. But these early texts only list Arthur’s accomplishments like in a history book. Later Arthurian texts weave a delicate and beautiful story of life, love and destruction. Arthur’s earliest mention may be in the Scottish poem the Gododdin. The poem is a funeral lament for warriors from the tribe of Gododdin and “a warrior named Gwawrddur is praised for his prowess and is said to have ‘fed black ravens on the rampart of a fortress| Though he was no Arthur’” (Lupack 13). The ravens feed on enemies killed by Gwawrddur, and though Arthur’s mention is small, Arthur is elevated to a high-status warrior. He has defeated even more enemies than the best warrior of the tribe. The Gododdin praised warriors killed in a battle in 600AD, and the poem was written down in the 9th century and survives in a 13th-century manuscript (Lupack 13). The Welsh Nennius wrote around 800 the Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons). In the history, Arthur is the battle leader of the British and defeated the Saxon invaders in 12 battles. The last battle at Mountain Badon is when “Arthur alone kills 960 of his enemy” (Lupack 15). Arthur is again only admired for his military skill, and perhaps superhuman strength because he single-handedly killed many enemies. He may be a leader of warriors in these texts, but he is not described as a king yet. Arthur’s individual tactical abilities are what gain the victory for the Britons, not teamwork or his leadership skills as in later stories of the Round Table. Nennius mentions a child born without a father who solves the riddle of underground dwelling dragons. He is Ambrosius, son of a Roman consul, and this character is early development of Merlin (Lupack 15). But in this early text, Ambrosius has no connection to Arthur and Ambrosius is far from the powerful and helpful wizard Merlin of later literature. Arthur is also linked to mystery, wonder and magic in Nennius’ work because Arthur’s dog Cafal. The dog’s footprint on a stone always reappears on top of a stone pile no matter where the footprint is taken. The mysterious Khanh Le MA Thesis Page 5 of 127 tomb of Arthur’s son Amr always magically fluctuates in length when it is measured as well (Lupack 15). Nennius wanted his work to be taken as accurate and historical, and claimed himself as a first-hand witness to the footprint and tomb. But he never had any real sources or credibility. Culhwch and Olwen is a Welsh tale dating to 1100 that described Arthur as a supernatural helper. This tale is the start of the Knights of the Round Table, of Arthur as a divine savior and prince. Arthur and a list of “all of those who serve Arthur” help Culhwch win his bride Olwen (Lupack 16). Arthur became linked with success against impossible odds and has unique warriors ready to serve him. This folktale is the beginning of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur’s characterization beyond a warlord, but a divine helper in times of need. Culhwch was Arthur’s cousin, and some of Arthur’s servants are Cei, Bedwyr and Taliesin who are later known as the knights Kay, Bedivere and Taliesin. Olwen’s father Ysbadadden tells Culhwch he should thank Arthur because only with Arthur’s assistance could Culhwch marry Olwen. Alan Lupack, author of The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend, believes that Culhwch is only confident and successful because he had Arthur and his “band of superheroes” and “extraordinary warriors” (Lupack 17).