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Situational Irony
Book 21
Explanation and Analysis:
The style of the book is anecdotal. The narrator speaks plainly in prose, rather than in the verse that many other Arthurian Romances use. The chapters are usually short tales or even fables that form the epic tale of Arthur's reign only when they are strung together. For example, Volume 1, Book 3, Chapter 7 describes how Gawaine accidentally beheads an innocent woman because he can't control his rage toward her lover for killing his hounds. Afterward, Sir Gaheris tells Gawaine that he will never wash away the moral stain the accident has left on him. This story stands on its own as a fable about revenge. In the broader narrative, it has an even greater role as an early moment that reveals Gawaine's fatal character flaw, a hot temper.
The fact that many of the episodes can stand on their own is not necessarily Malory's doing. Rather, it is because Le Morte d'Arthur strings together a huge number of stories about King Arthur and his knights. These stories already had a long history of entertaining and instructing people in short form. Malory's innovation is to turn them into a long epic.
As Malory puts the tales together, he sometimes interjects commentary to the reader. For example, in Volume 2, Book 21, Chapter 1, he comments on Mordred's manipulation to make people prefer him to Arthur:
Lo ye all Englishmen, see ye not what a mischief here was? For he that was the most king and knight of the world, and most loved the fellowship of noble knights, and by him they were all upholden, now might not these Englishmen hold them content with him. Lo thus was the old custom and usage of this land; and also men say that we of this land have not yet lost ne forgotten that custom and usage. Alas, this is a great default of us Englishmen, for there may nothing please us no term.
In moments like this, Malory speaks directly to his fellow "Englishmen" in the 15th century and encourages them to take lessons from the stories about Arthur. Whereas fables usually have a universal moral about being a good person, Malory is leveraging the fables and legends to convey more specific, patriotic morals about being a good "Englishman." By referring to "ye Englishmen" ("ye" being the informal plural version of "you" in middle and early modern English), Malory implies a kind of fellowship with his readers. Modern readers may find some of the language difficult, but "ye" is just one example of the language in the book that 15th century readers would have found inviting. Malory has the voice of a storyteller who wants to entertain his friends while imparting his thoughts on politics.
Related Themes:
