Le Morte d’Arthur
Responding to Literature Questions - Period 6
Recall Section
First, he had a dream where he fell among the serpents and wild beasts attacked him.
Second, King Arthur had a dream that his nephew, Sir Gawain, told him that if he
fights Sir Mordred, he will die.
The battle was started when a Knight was bit on the foot by a snake. He then drew his
sword to kill the snake but instead he triggered the fight.
The battle lasted all day. Everyone died except for King Arthur, two of Arthur's men
and Sir Mordred. A hundred thousand people died.
He asked Bedivere to throw the sword (Excalibur) into the water.
The last time Bedivere sees Arthur is when he was leaving the shore on the boat/ship.
Interpret
6. The chair and the serpents represent sin and temptation. The chair symbolizes a choice King arthur had but eventually
falls into temptation. The chair might also symbolize his reign: the king’s reign comes to an end. The serpent represent what
leads to the end of his reign.
7. If Arthur and his men see Sir Modred’s men’s swords drawn, then they should draw their swords and attack. Sir Mordred
told his men the same. Sir Mordred is King Arthur’s illegitimate son—so there is even more distrust in their relationship.
8. Violent “Traitor now has thy death day come” King Arthur smote Sir Mordred. King Arthur is brave for not backing away
from a fight. He may also be considered unwise for not heeding the warning.
9. Sir Bedivere’s actions towards the excalibur reveal that he didn’t want to waste King Arthurs sword by throwing it into the
water because his sword was valuable and Sir Bedivere cared about the money and how important the sword was to King
arthur. His hesitance furthers the plot because it cause King Arthur to call him a traitor and it takes King Arthur longer to get
to the boat which causes his injuries to became worse.
10. The epitaph on Arthurs tomb adds to the legend surrounding Arthur because it states “Here lies Arthur the once and
future kings.” It makes people wonder whether Arthur will come back to become the future king, and if he really died at sea or
if he continued to live somewhere else after getting off the boat.
Evaluate and Connect Aidan, Vitor, Kai, Valeria
11. I did not know that King Arthur was killed by a sword that wounded his head and I did not know Sir Mordred was his
enemy. Sir Mordred is the king’s illegitimate son.
12. The mood of this selection is described as an atmosphere of death and mourning. It changes the destiny of the
characters. Malory uses scary and worrisome moods. Malory achieves this mood by King Arthur’s nightmare
foreshadowing that he would be murdered.
13. Arthur is motivated to fight Mordred to the death because he does not want to hurt his pride. There may have been
some family tension between the two of them as well as distrust. I do not thinks his decision was very wise because he was
not in his right mind when he made the decision.
14. Malory’s use of dialogue shows the reader that the king and Sir Mordred do not trust each other. This develops the
characters as men who have motivation to fight and furthers the plot by foreshadowing the battle.
15. This selection does not make us want to read more about the legend of King Arthur because we feel there is not more
needed to learn about King Arthur. We do not think he is very important and his stories are very unrealistic.
Period: 6
Literary Elements
1. King Arthur was brave during the fight with Sir Mordred. King Arthur stabbed Sir Mordred even though
he himself was going to to die as foretold in the dream he had dreamed. King Arthur was brave for risking
his own life in the battle.
2. Courage, honor, and loyalty were some important to the British people at the time. King Arthur’s knights
pledge loyally to serve in his name and they sacrificed their lives for the people.
3. The legend of King Arthur endured because in the early 500’s people couldn’t write their stories so they
used oral literature. This picked up items from myth, folklore, and history as it grew. Also in literature of
Medieval Europe he came to represent the ideal chivalry.
A Flawed Hero
Yes, King Arthur's character in the story needs flaws
because the story would not build up and King Arthur
would not have the same character development that
makes him a good king like in Le Morte d'Arthur.