Le Morte d’Arthur: Pathos 1 key example

Launcelot is leaving Arthur's kingdom because of the civil war that has broken out. Not only has Arthur found out about Launcelot's affair with Guenever, but also Gawaine is enraged that Launcelot has (accidentally) killed his brothers. Launcelot has offered penance to right this wrong. Gawaine has rejected this offer, so Launcelot is now leaving the realm as a last resort. His weeping emphasizes the grief he feels at leaving this "most noble Christian realm, whom I have loved above all other realms." Launcelot's love for Arthur's kingdom is tied up in his devotion to Christianity; there is a way in which leaving means forsaking his religion, at least in the way he has practiced it up until now. Malory's entire book is about Arthur's death, and the profound cultural loss he claims the world has felt with the passing of this imagined historical era. Christianity, morality, and love, the book suggests, are no longer as "pure" as they once were, and politics are no longer directed by these "pure" principles. Launcelot's tears help the reader, too, feel an acute sense of loss, as though the reader is losing just as much as Launcelot in this moment.

In some cases, knights cry out of happiness, relief, or other positive emotions. In Volume 2, Book 19, Chapter 12, the Hungarian knight Sir Urré needs the best knight in the world to tend his wounds, or they will never heal. Everyone fails the test until Launcelot rises to the task:

Then King Arthur and all the kings and knights kneeled down and gave thankings and lovings unto God and to his blessed mother. And ever Sir Launcelot wept as he had been a child that had been beaten.

Cite this Quote

Launcelot's weeping here is strange. He seems to be profoundly relieved that he was able to heal Sir Urré because he was previously worried about the shame he would feel if he failed. After all, Galahad has recently surpassed his father to achieve the Sangreal. Launcelot, once the uncontested best knight in the world, has been coming to terms with the idea that his time has passed. At the same time, the simile (he "wept as he had been a child that had been beaten") sounds as though he is far more dejected. Some scholars have suggested that the simile means Launcelot is feeling as though he has properly submitted himself to God, and this is why God granted him the ability to heal Sir Urré's wounds. In any case, the intense pathos of this moment marks out the significance of Lancelot's success as the best knight in the world and as a representative of Arthur's knights. On the brink of the civil war, it emphasizes just how tragic the breakup of the knights is.

Launcelot is leaving Arthur's kingdom because of the civil war that has broken out. Not only has Arthur found out about Launcelot's affair with Guenever, but also Gawaine is enraged that Launcelot has (accidentally) killed his brothers. Launcelot has offered penance to right this wrong. Gawaine has rejected this offer, so Launcelot is now leaving the realm as a last resort. His weeping emphasizes the grief he feels at leaving this "most noble Christian realm, whom I have loved above all other realms." Launcelot's love for Arthur's kingdom is tied up in his devotion to Christianity; there is a way in which leaving means forsaking his religion, at least in the way he has practiced it up until now. Malory's entire book is about Arthur's death, and the profound cultural loss he claims the world has felt with the passing of this imagined historical era. Christianity, morality, and love, the book suggests, are no longer as "pure" as they once were, and politics are no longer directed by these "pure" principles. Launcelot's tears help the reader, too, feel an acute sense of loss, as though the reader is losing just as much as Launcelot in this moment.

In some cases, knights cry out of happiness, relief, or other positive emotions. In Volume 2, Book 19, Chapter 12, the Hungarian knight Sir Urré needs the best knight in the world to tend his wounds, or they will never heal. Everyone fails the test until Launcelot rises to the task:

Then King Arthur and all the kings and knights kneeled down and gave thankings and lovings unto God and to his blessed mother. And ever Sir Launcelot wept as he had been a child that had been beaten.

Cite this Quote

Launcelot's weeping here is strange. He seems to be profoundly relieved that he was able to heal Sir Urré because he was previously worried about the shame he would feel if he failed. After all, Galahad has recently surpassed his father to achieve the Sangreal. Launcelot, once the uncontested best knight in the world, has been coming to terms with the idea that his time has passed. At the same time, the simile (he "wept as he had been a child that had been beaten") sounds as though he is far more dejected. Some scholars have suggested that the simile means Launcelot is feeling as though he has properly submitted himself to God, and this is why God granted him the ability to heal Sir Urré's wounds. In any case, the intense pathos of this moment marks out the significance of Lancelot's success as the best knight in the world and as a representative of Arthur's knights. On the brink of the civil war, it emphasizes just how tragic the breakup of the knights is.