Saturday, April 11, 2020
Just Throw the Sword Bedivere
I'd love to know what's going on inside Sir Bedivere's mind right about now. His fellow knights are all but extinguished and his king is wounded so much so that he can't walk by himself. So, naturally, he brings his king to cover away from the fight, which is fine. These actions all make it seem like Bedivere truly does care for his king, however, when Arthur asks one request Bedivere he seems to blatantly disobey his king. I would like to know why. Was it because he actually despised his king and the possibility of the other knights of the round table dying was just too much? Or was is the sword talking to him telling him to keep it? Tennyson writes that "He gazed so long That both his eyes were dazzled as he stood, This way and that dividing the swift mind, In act to throw: but at the last it seemed Better to leave Excalibur concealed" (Tennyson 58). Eventually Bedivere ends up completing the task (3rd try) however I still want to know he directly went against his king's dying wishes.
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Scenario: you have had a priceless, beautiful, magical sword put into your hands. The world as you know it is ending. The man you have pledged your loyalty to, and who has supported you, is going to die at any moment. You have no idea what you will do with yourself next, or what is going to happen tomorrow. You really wouldn't be tempted to hold onto it? I think I would be! ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut in all seriousness, this is the question we should ALL be asking. Is this truly proof that "the true old times are dead" as B says? Is he the proof of his own statement? Must the future bring with it new virtues, new ways of thinking, now that Camelot is gone?
I was also confused when Bedivere did not toss the sword like Arthur has asked him too. I do not think he despised the king at all, because like you explained, he took him to safety. If he despised him Bedivere would've just left him out in the open, yanno.
ReplyDeleteI liked Dr. MB's comment of putting yourself in the scenario. To me, Bedivere saw that under the current circumstance there couldn't possibly be any consequences to disobeying King Arthur. We could turn this into a whole ethical argument about how humans are inherently narcissistic and in the end only do what will benefit themselves. Bedivere's best interest was to keep the "priceless, beautiful, magical" sword at the time being.
ReplyDeleteI was on the same page as Eleana because I didn't think that he had any hate for King. However when he didn't release the sword it made me second guess that. However reading Dr. MB's post I think that I would have held the sword as well because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring.
ReplyDeleteI think its pretty easy to sit back and agree that you would do as your king orders, but to piggy back off what Dr. MB, Jacob, and Brandon are saying it would definitely be harder to throw if you were in the situation. This sword is something you've never seen before and the consequences are still unknown. Easier said than done I guess I'd say.
ReplyDeleteThis conversation makes me think that we've all got the point of what Tennyson is trying to do; as we think about it and try to puzzle through how we feel and what we would do, we think about what it means to be human.
ReplyDeletei feel like the fact that the sword is priceless and beautiful should be all the more reason Bedivere should have listened. We don't want knights who can be so easily tempted by material objects!
ReplyDeleteI understand where you are coming from here, but knights are humans too. Imagine having one of the worlds most prized possessions right in front of you, and you are being told to get rid of it.
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