Literary Devices in Le Morte D'Arthur
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Marking TerritorySince Arthur is king of "all England," it's unsurprising that much of Le Morte D'Arthur takes place there. But it's also a really big deal that Arthur manages to defeat Lucius, the...
Narrator Point of View
Our narrator is absolutely all-knowing in the truest sense of the word. He sees and hears just about everything, and instead of narrating events from the point of view of just one two people, he op...
Genre
This book has it all: romance, death, harrowing journeys, miraculous feats. If you're not quite sure which genre best fits Le Morte D'Arthur, then the title, which means "The Death of Arthur," shou...
Tone
In "Narrator Point of View" we drew your never-wavering attention to the few moments in the story in which the narrator gives us a piece of his mind. What these moments tell us is that he views Le...
Writing Style
Our narrator's got a lot of ground to cover if he's going to get through the entire story of Arthur's rise and fall, including the full tales of many of his knights. Maybe for that reason, he doesn...
What's Up With the Title?
Well, we'll answer that question in a minute… But first, it's helpful to know that Sir Thomas Malory wrote Le Morte D'Arthur by hand, in manuscript form. It wasn't until about ten years later, wh...
What's Up With the Ending?
In the last book of Le Morte D'Arthur, the whole Round Table comes crashing down around Arthur's ears. Some of Arthur's knights, who also happen to be his blood relations, really have it in for Sir...
Tough-o-Meter
But don't let that scare you! Yes, it's written in Middle English. And yes, it's really, really long. But here's the deal with the Middle English of Le Morte D'Arthur. It's pronounced exactly the w...
Plot Analysis
Arthur RisesOkay, to be fair, there's a lot more to the story of the beginning of Arthur's reign than just getting crowned, getting married, and getting the world's largest table as a wedding gift....
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Anticipation StageA young, unknown boy named Arthur becomes King of England, and his noble parentage as the son of King Uther is revealed. He defeats an alliance of twelve northern kings who cont...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
King Uther conceives a son with Igrayne, a boy named Arthur – his boy goes on to pull the sword from the stone and claim the throne of England. Impressive, no? Arthur marries Gwenyvere and establ...
Trivia
Although the printed version of Le Morte D'Arthur appeared in 1485, all written manuscript versions were lost for hundreds of years. They weren't rediscovered until the Winchester manuscript was un...
Steaminess Rating
There's quite a lot of sex in Le Morte D'Arthur, and plenty of plots completely driven by sex. Just take Uther's whole obsession with going to bed with Igrayne, which causes him to go into disguise...