WebQuest

The Arthurian Tradition

Task

sword-in-stone_1.jpg

"This is extraordinary," said the Wart. "I feel strange when I have hold of this sword, and I notice everything much more clearly. Look at the beautiful gargoyles of the church, and of the monastery which it belongs to. See how splendidly all the famous banners in the aisle are waving. How nobly that yew holds up the red flakes of its timbers to worship God. How clean the snow is. I can smell something like fetherfew and sweet briar - and is it music that I hear?" - T.H. White, The Once and Future King, 1958 



Your task is to choose a piece of Arthuriana - that is, a poem, book, movie, painting, song, statue, or other piece of art - and make a group presentation on the piece in front of class. The presentation should include:

1) a description of the piece,

2) a discussion of the context in which the piece was made, such as when it was made, where it was made, and who made it,

3) a discussion of how the piece follows the Arthurian tradition, and

4) a discussion of how the piece departs from the Arthurian tradition, and why the piece's creator has made this departure

Explanation of the Task Components


1) A description of the piece: In this part of the presentation, you will describe the piece to the class. In doing so, try to answer some of the following questions:

a) What is the medium and genre? If it is a poem, what type of poem is it? If it is a movie, what type of movie is it? If it is a painting, what does it look like? You can use visual aids such as screenshots of a movie or a printout of a painting to aid in your description.

b) Is it telling a story? If so, what is the story it is telling? For example, if it is a painting, is it depicting a particular event from the Arthurian tradition? If it is a movie, what part of the Arthurian tradition is it telling? Is it focusing on certain characters and events more than others? Where is it set in terms of place and time?


2) A discussion of the context in which the piece was made: In this part of the presentation, you will describe the origin of the piece. In doing so, try to answer some of the following questions:

a) Who created it? If it is a poem, who is the poet? If it is a movie, who directed it and who starred in it? What can you tell us about the person who created it? Have they created similar pieces? Are they famous for other works?

b) Where was it created? What is the nationality, language, and cultural background of the creator, the location (if it was filmed), and the primary audience?

c) When was it created? What century, year(s)? What was going on in the world or in the place where it was created during this time period?


3) How does the piece follow the Arthurian tradition? Which characters, places, events or themes found in other Arthurian works are in this piece? In answering this question, learn a little about an earlier Arthurian piece (Sir Thomas Malory's influential Le Morte d'Arthur is great for comparison).  


4) How does the piece depart from the Arthurian tradition? In answering this question, think about three things:

a) What are the characteristics of the piece that are unlike most other examples of Arthuriana? For example, are the characters different? If so, in what way? 

b) Why did the creator of the piece make them different? In answering this, think about the questions you answered in section 2) above. What cultural, chronological or biographical factors may have influenced the changes that were made to the piece? 

c) What do you think about these changes, and the piece as a whole? Do you think that the piece overall is faithful to the tradition or not very faithful? Do you like the changes? Do you like piece overall? If so, why? If not, why not?


Image: Scene from The Sword in the Stone by Walt Disney, 1963
 

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