Satire and Tone in The Once and Future King Essay

There is a direct link in Book I and Book IV of the Once and Future King from the animation and adventure that Wart experiences to the fall of King Arthur’s reign. The shift is long and detailed but in the end everything ties together. Although at points the plot is grim, White throws in a little bit of satire throughout every book, for example in Book II when the Orkney environment is harsh but then it is contradicted by the behavior of Sir Pellinore, Sir Grummore, and Sir Palomides. In Book III, it is very descriptive and tedious with a darker tone, but then also is offset by Lancelot’s adventures. It is evident that the tone changes drastically from Book I to Book IV but what I noticed, is that the same themes and ideas are†¦show more content†¦Arthur is simple minded and optimistic and has hopes of things that are way out of his league to even expect to happen. He takes on the same traits when he was a young boy in Forest Sauvage, naà ¯ve and feeling strongly about justice. Although Arthur may have known about Jenny and Lancelot, he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want them to suffer so he acted completely oblivious to the entire situation. Because of Arthur’s childlike attitude, it affected all three of them tremendously and also Arthur’s form of government. Another theme that is in effect in both books is the importance of knighthood. The playfulness of this still appears in Book I and Book IV, for example, King Pellinore’s refusal to kill the Questing Beast is as pointless as the trials by combat that happen in the fourth book. The Once and Future King not only revolved around knighthood and chivalry, but it implied what was to happen in the future. It was easy to pick up on the foreshadowing in both of these books. In the first book for example, Merlyn can see the future so therefore he prepares the Wart for what is ahead of him. While Wart explores the animal kingdom he reali zes that â€Å"Might is Right† is unjust from what he saw from the ants, and Mr. P. While reading book one I knew that Arthur was going to be king because there were insinuations leading up to the point of his rein. 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