The Sword in the Stone

1
The Sword in the Stone

• and the Arthurian Tradition

2
Jumping ahead in time

• Not much change in tradition from Malory through
  Tennyson (1832 on)
• Victorians used Arthur as model for gentlemen
• Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artists and poets
  began to re-work and reshape the tradition
• Sidney Lanier, The Boys King Arthur (1880) (will
  inspire Twains Connecticut Yankee satire)

3
Post-WWI Britain

• Reeling after effectsof WWI (gas, carnage,
  PTSD, death tolls)
• Asking question What should Britain be? What
  should it stand for?
• Also the period of The Waste Land
• Political upheavalrise of fascism, Nazism,
  Edward VIIs abdication
• Led to a number of novels of utopia/ dystopia

4
This is the golden age of utopias dystopias
political commentary disguised as childrens books

• Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (1908)
• A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh (1926)
• Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932)
• P. L Travers, Mary Poppins (1934)
• J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (1937)
• T. H. White, The Sword in the Stone (1938-39)
• George Orwell, Animal Farm (1945)

5
T. H. White

• Born 1906 in Bombay
• Son of civil servant
• Educated at British public schools Cambridge
• Became schoolmaster
• Ardent pacifist

6
Whites Major Works

• England Have My Bones
• Burke's Steerage or, The Amateur Gentleman's
  Introduction to Noble Sports and Pastimes
  (1938-1939)
• The Sword in the Stone (1938-1939) published
  6/17/38
• The Queen of Air and Darkness (originally titled
  The Witch in the Wood, 1939)
• The Ill-Made Knight (1940)
• Mistress Masham's Repose (1946-1947)
• The Book of Beasts, A Translation of a Medieval
  Bestiary (1954-1955)
• The Candle in the Wind (1958)
• The Once and Future King (1958)
• The Book of Merlyn (1977)

7
Genre and Purpose

• White

• Malory

• Education novel
• Concern for the political development of a young
  leader
• Very formulaic plot
• Loss separates hero from family
• Hero undergoes maturation and education
• Hero leaves safe haven for real world

• Mirror for Magistrates
• Educate by inspiring discussion about proper
  roles for leaders

8
The Story

• The Sword in the Stone describes the education
  which makes the idealistic pursuits of Utopia
  possible. Merlyn educates the Wart in such a way
  that he can see the faults inherent in society
  (Adderly 66).
• What kind of education is the predominant
  storyline in The Sword in the Stone?
• Is Whites mirror for magistrates teaching the
  same lessons as Malorys?
• Do Malory and White want Arthur to be the same
  kind of king?
• Do Malory and White envision the same kind of
  Utopian Britain?

9
The Hero
The Wart is willing to learn, idealistic, and
receptive to the truth, though he does not accept
every word from Merlyn unquestioningly. Instead,
he carefully considers everything and weighs its
value(Adderly 60).

• How does Whites young Arthur resemble and
  differ from Malorys Arthur??

10
The Heros Quest

• He is left with Sir Ector to be raised
• He must be educated in preparation for his
  future
• He must prove his abilities through a series of
  tests challenges
• He must grow into leadership remember, he was
  a born follower.
• He fulfills his destiny when he pulls the sword
  from the stone and is acknowledged king
• How is this different from what Malory shows us
  of Arthurs preparation?

11
The Wise Guide

• Merlyn tells Wart that Education is experience,
  and the essence of experience is self-reliance
  (Chapter 5).
• How does Arthur gain self-reliance in Malory? In
  White?