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Book 1, Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Once and Future King, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Chivalry, Satire & Medieval Life
Fate (Time)
Quest and The Holy Grail
Might vs. Right
War
Summary
Analysis
Wart and Kay venture out to the patch of barley and continue walking into the forest. They come across an old, peculiar looking man sitting next to a newly felled tree who doesn't respond to their questions. They continue on to find a seven-foot man asleep with a dog on his head. As the two approach, the man rises, laughing, and introduces himself as Little John. Wart is delighted—a man from Robin Hood's band!
In this adventure, Wart & Kay will meet Robin Wood (his name, we learn, is Robin Wood not Robin Hood but has become confused over time). This interaction seems somewhat out of place because Robin Hood is from a different myth than the Arthurian legend.
Themes
The giant corrects Wart: it is not Robin Hood, but rather Robin Wood. Little John leads them to a giant lime tree, at the bottom of which lies Robin Wood with his head in Marion's lap, singing. Robin is tall, sinewy, sunburned and gnarled from weather. Robin and Marion finish singing a song and greet the boys. Robin asks to see the boys' shooting skills; the two perform well and Robin explains that they need the boys' help to battle Morgan Le Fay.
Robin Hood and Maid Marion are idealized figures in British history—they engaged in violence and war, but only to help the poor and equalize society. They represent a use of violence that can be justified because it serves a greater good.
Themes
Morgan Le Fay is a bad fairy—and Queen of the Fairies—who lives in a castle to the north of the forest. She has taken prisoner Tuck, one of Robin's men, and also Dog Boy from the Castle Sauvage. Wart & Kay, enraged, decide to help Robin and Marion free the prisoners.
This is Wart's first meeting with Morgan Le Fay—an evil fairy (and his own half-sister, as will be revealed) who will reappear throughout the book.
Themes
