"He had fair hair and a stupid face, or at any rate there was a lack of cunning in it" (221)
- LOL. Reminds me of the Camelot episode we watched; that Arthur definitely meets these descriptions
"It is nothing. I am due to fall in love with a girl named Nimue in a short time, and then she learns my spells and locks me in a cave for several centuries. It is one of those things which are going to happen" (224)
- This quote seems so self-aware at the arbitrary nature events that happen in these stories and I LOVE it.
"Then we must have a round table, with no top" (265)
- I love to see the origins of such iconic aspects of the Arthur's story developed in a comical, almost again arbitrary way; it makes the story more relatable in the sense? and makes me feel closer to Arthur actually. I enjoyed this whole conversation about the logistics of the round table.
"Remind me to warn you about Guinevere another time" (266)
-Oof
"There is a thing about time and space which the philosopher Einstein is going to find out" (286)
-This right here is pretty funny. White took advantage of the fact that he is writing about Merlyn a while in the 'future', so he can actually make Merlin refer to things that will happen.
"This idea was in the hearts of the young men who knelt before the God-distributing bishops-- knowing that the odds were three to one, and that their own warm bodies might be cold at sunset" (298)
-It is this type of writing that really makes this story so much more enjoyable for me; slightly poetic, referring back to the beginning of the chapter with the bishops, contemplating real-life worries, thus humbling the story itself.. Good job White. This is good stuff.
I really enjoyed this reading, so my question is, did you (the class) also
enjoy it more? Why or why not? I am very curious about how every one else felt about it compared to the others we have read.
I actually loved reading this and I think it was because it felt like an actual story again. Some of the other readings we have had were hard for me to get into because it wasn't written how modern stories are written, but this one I was able to quickly get through. I also thought the Einsten part was really comical because of Merlyn's powers. However, it did throw me off for a hot second because all of Merlyn's other predictions pertained to the story of King Arthur and this felt like an anachronism.
ReplyDeleteFor sure I want to read the whole novel during my free time! (It's been on my radar for a few years.) I agree that it's a familiar writing style and has a storytelling flow that we're accustomed to when compared with other readings. It's a little funny too, like some of the quotes you've shared, which is refreshing after all the drama and tension of other stories.
ReplyDeleteI definitely enjoyed reading this, but for me, at some parts, a little bit of the magic and mysticism that I usually get from Arthur escaped me. In part I believe that it was due to the language that was used, because it took me out of the medieval time-period at some parts (especially the Einstein one!).
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed this reading. I think that by having it written in a narrative form and omitting the amount of detail that is included helped the flow of the story. In the other readings we have had there were always long lists of names or places, this would always confuse me and I would end up skipping over it. This story did not have those details which made it more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteFirst, your post cracked me up, it summarised a lot of my thoughts during this reading, Second, I did actually really enjoy this reading. I liked how Merlin was actually an advisor and teacher to Arthur in this, and the modern day references made me laugh. I think I was more comfortable with this depiction of Merlin because in my head I tend to associate him with being a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI agree in that I also really appreciated the more modern style that came into play with this reading. It reads a lot easier which made it much more easy to be invested. I think its similar to the STARZ show in that the story is simple enough to get invested even if the quality is not god tier story telling. There is much more funnier lines as a result of the more modern writing style (may have existed in past readings without me realizing). The lines really remind me of Lord of the Rings as well due to the poetic nature that you mentioned. Its often inspiring and poignant in many respects.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first King Arthur text I read. I read the first two books for summer reading before 8th grade and then the second two books once we started school. (I still have my 8th grade copy, all marked up in purple and pink ballpoint pens, because yes I was an 8th grade girl for sure). Is it what made me want to be a medievalist? Nope, but I did fall in love with the legends of King Arthur and have never really moved away from that, I guess. It's amazing to me to see the way that TH White (and the other modern writers whose works we'll be reading excerpts from in the weeks to come) have taken those medieval stories and really run with them, made these old legends really speak to their own historical moment. It's the nature of legends to change, to develop, to grow, and to take on a bit of every moment they pass through.
ReplyDeleteI have sometimes thought about starting this class with a more modern Arthur and working backwards from there (like Merlyn) .. but I'm not sure if that would work. What do y'all think?
Honestly, I want to say yes because I loved this text so much compared to the others, but I think I loved it more because I had read the others first. I think the order you teach it in now is probably ideal
DeleteI agree as well. The reading was really good and interesting. The writing flowed better than past texts. It made the story feel familiar and relatable.
ReplyDelete