Arthurian Legends: Carriers Of Ideological Transformation

The Arthurian legends have always been one of the three main sources for the English and American literature along with the Bible and the Greek and Roman mythology. The stories of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are well-deserved treasure of medieval European literature, and are very popular and widespread in the West. Their influence on English and American literature has lasted for centuries. They have attracted great attention. But, regrettably, systematic analysis and in-depth study on the Arthurian legends at home and abroad are inadequate, and research on the evolution of the Arthurian legends is far scarce.This paper has selected the three representative works of the medieval era, the Victorian period and the modern times(Le Morte D'arthur by Malory, Idylls of the King by Tennyson, and The Once and Future King by White) as the target texts of analysis on the three major themes (love, faith, and might) in the works. This paper believes that human values have been continuously corrupted, from idealism in the medieval era to utilitarianism in the Victorian period, down to total disillusionment in modern times.This paper is composed of six parts.Part 1 gives a brief introduction to the basic plots and the rewriting of the Arthurian legends. Meanwhile, it discusses the relationship between literature and social reality, and gives the structure of this paper.Part 2 discusses the idealism in Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'arthur. Malory portrayed the knights as idealists. They embraced courtly love, which was kept on a spiritual plane and motivated them; they subjected themselves absolutely to the women they ioved, with no thought of their own welfares. They held unyielding faith in God, which was embodied in their firm belief in the Holy Grail and their determination in its quest. They wielded might for right, to protect their country and overturn evil, whether they were doomed or not.Part 3 deals with the utilitarianism in Tennyson's Idylls of the King. The knights harbored a utilitarianistic perspective upon everything. Not satisfied with spiritual love any more, they aspired for physical affection. Their doubtful faith in God was exposed through the doubt about the Holy Grail, which seemed more a hallucination than a real entity. Moreover, the knights were no longer capable of finding a right course for their might. They vacillated in the use of their might between might for right and might for killing.Part 4 discusses the disillusionment in White's The Once and Future King. Love, which was supposed to perfect, turned out a torture. Lancelot, with a twisted nature, fell in homosexual love with King Arthur, and then in the morbid heterosexual relations with Guinevere and Elaine. His love turned out to be sick. And faith in God thoroughly vanished; the quest for the Holy Grail was no longer out of the faith in God, but only a channel for the knights to display their might. During the quest they continuously fought and killed for enjoyment, an indication of total disillusionment.Part 5 analyses the relationship between social reality and human values in conjunction with social background and believes that social reality possesses a significant influence upon literature. The poverty and chaos caused by war in the medieval era gave rise to the idealism in Le Morte D'arthur; the development of mechanization in the Victorian period led to the utilitarianism in the Idylls of the King; and the advanced industrialization in modern times produced the disillusionment in The Once and Future King.Through the analysis of the rewriting of the Arthurian legends by different writers we are able to perceive the true psychosis and values of people in different times. It can be concluded that human values have been corrupted, from idealism to utilitarianism, down to total disillusionment, in response to the advancement of modern civilization.