Ms. Basseas
ENGLISH IV
NAME:______________________________________________________________
DATE:____________/PERIOD:___________/SCORE:_____________/50 pts
EXCALIBUR (1981) – MENU OF QUOTATIONS
Chart can be used to help you identify evidence for written analysis.
Essential Questions: a. In the Dark Ages, what codes govern morality (i.e., concerning chivalry, marriage, adultery, etc.)
Why do we need these codes?
b. How does the code of chivalry set up impossible standards of behavior?
c. In this time period, what are challenges of living up to the code of chivalry?
SCENE
#1:
#2: Wedding Escort Scene
Excalibur: Important Quotations
Lancelot arrives at Guinevere’s home.
Her father introduces Lanncelot to Guinevere.
“Guinevere, here is Arthur’s greatest knight
come to escort you to the king.”
Guinevere: “The want me to ask you if there is any one
of them could win your heart.”
Lancelot: “I am a fighting man. I am sworn to the
quest.”
Guinevere: “Surely, there must be some lady
Somewhere in the world who inspires you. Who is she?
Go on. Tell me.”
Lancelot: “You.”
Lancelot: “I will love you always. I will love you as my
queen and the wife of my best friend. And
While you live, I will love no other.”
Print Version
Quotes from “The Poisoned Apple”
Chapter of King Arthur
#3: Queen is Accused
(Lancelot returns to Camelot but doesn’t attend the
meeting of the Round Table.
Guinevere is walking with Morgana when they see
Lancelot. Guinevere waves as Sir Lot, a knight, asks if
Lancelot is staying. “No. I cannot,’ says Lancelot, and he
rides away.)
At dinner, King Arthur says, “Lancelot doesn’t come once
more, but we must fill his cup to show our love for him.”
Morgana whispers to Sir Gawain: “Watch Guinevere.
Remember what I told you about them.”
She then starts sparring with Merlin.
Merlin: “Perhaps you lust for what you cannot have.”
Morgana: “Cannot have. You promised to show me all
your secrets.”
#4: King Arthur cannot champion the
queen
Arthur asks Merlin: “Where hides evil in my kingdom?”
Merlin replies: “Where you least expect it. Always.”
Sir Gawain declares: “I know where.”
Arthur: “Where, Sir Gawain?”
Gawain: “I cannot say.”
Arthur: “You must speak your heart You sit at the
Round Table.
Sir Gawain: He’s our best and our bravest. Why then is
he never here? Without Lancelot this table is nothing.
Is there anyone here who doesn’t think him a god? Now
to be driven from us by a woman’s desire.”
Guinevere: Now I see that gossip has spread its own
evil. I will forgive your hasty words. Drink from
Lancelot’s cup and partake of his goodness.
-------------------------------------------------------Guinevere sands up and declares: “I protest my
innocence.”
Arthur: “I cannot. I’m your king and I must be your
judge. Lancelot must told it. He also stands accused.”
Arthur: :For by law of God, no knight who is false can
win in combat against one who is true.
Arthur to Guinevere: “My laws must bind everyone or
they are not laws at all.
“Sir Lancelot began to keep company once more
with the queen…He had indeed fixed his mind
upon the queen even as he pursued the Holy Grail,
and as a result he had failed of his purpose. Now
that he had returned to Camelot, the two of them
were more ardent than ever before. They were
lovers again, and the whole court spoke of their
affair.”
p.227)
“Lancelot sought the company of other ladies to
avoid suspicion; he became their champion, and
once more he renewed his commitment t Christ.
He tried to avoid the presence of the queen, so he
might quell the scandal.”(p.227)
“Many men of this court speak of our love. Sir
Agravain & Sir Mordred…are waiting for our fall
from grace. I fear them more for your sake than
for mine. (p.228)
“If only Lancelot were at court,” Arthur
said. “He would do battle on your
behalf.”
“I do not know where he has gone,”
Guinevere replied. “But his kinsmen say
that he has ridden out of this realm.”
(p.231)
“Then we have lost our most loyal
knight, I advise you, therefore, to
approach Sir Bors and ask him to be
your champion in the place of Lancelot.
He cannot refuse. I know well enough
that the other knights who attended
your dinner will not fight for you.” (p.
231)
#5: Lancelot has won against Sir
Gawain.
The scene below is after this
tournament when the queen is
declared innocent.
Arthur: Welcome, welcome back. Take
your place, Lancelot: “They miss the
battlefield. I think we do, too.
Lancelot: “We have lost our way.”
Arthur: “It is not easy for them without the
hard teaching of war and quest.”
Arthur: “It is only your example, Lancelot
that binds us all.”
What is the greatest quality of knighthood?
Courage. Passion. Loyalty. Humility. What
do you say, Merlin?
Merlin: “Well, they blend like the metals we
use to make a good sword.
Arthur; No poetry. Just a straight answer.
Merlin: “All right then. Truth. When a man
lies, he murders some part of the world.”
Lancelot: “I must take my rest in the forest.
“You should not leave this court,” Sir
Bors told him. “You are one of the
noblest knights in the world, and you
will perform many more great deeds.
Women, in any case, are fickle and
inconstant. The Queen will repent her
words. Wait and see.”
(p. 228)