Pattern and Structure in Malory: a Study of the Literary and Stylistic Development of the Morte D'Arthur

Abstract

This study considers the literary style and development of the Morte D'Arthur and its effect in relation to the question of unity. It is suggested that Malory's style throughout mirrors the development of the Round Table and thus provides a unifying factor within the diversity of the eight tales. Chapter One discusses Malory's use of the episode in Tale One, and its effect as a basic narrative element in the Morte D'Arthur as a whole. The tale is seen as presenting an analogous development to the complete work, and sets up a pattern of private versus public interest which will dominate the final books. Chapter Two considers the effect of Malory's use of the alliterative Morte Arthure as a source for his second tale. The epic elements of the source lead to a tale characterised by both innocence and violence, reflecting the state of the Round Table before the consolidation of chivalric ideals. In addition this chapter considers the changes made by Malory to his original and the effect of these changes upon the work as a whole. Chapter Three analyses Malory's use of a new literary form, Romance, which involves a series of adventures linked to the person of a titular hero. The adventures of Lancelot demonstrate the growth of chivalry, particularly through an extensive use by the author of parallelism. A basic structural feature of Malory's work, the parallels enable the author to examine different facets of the same situation, and to bind together the separate episodes of the Morte D'Arthur in the absence of a more formal structure. Chapter Four discusses the perfecting of Romance in 'The Tale of Sir Gareth'. The Round Table reaches the highest point of its development, as reflected by Malory's greatest artistic achievement. However by the end of the tale a degree of decadence is already in evidence, suggesting the limitations of the episodic form. Chapter Five continues the analysis of the Romance form as used in 'The Tale of Sir Tristram', where the episodic narrative is gradually replaced by a plotted structure. Artistic weaknesses in the tale indicate the point of transition for the Round Table from greatness to decline, a fact underlined by the dominance of repeated motifs and situations. Chapter Six considers a new literary form, Allegory. Allegory reflects the Round Table's turning to the spiritual world of the Grail quest in Tale Six, but it is suggested that Malory failed to understand the medium in which he was working. This failure mirrors the failure of the Round Table to comprehend the mysteries of the Grail, and points to the decline of Arthur's society in the two final books. Chapter Seven examines the last and most ambitious of the author's episodic tales, 'The Tale of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinivere'. The author establishes a pattern of quarrel and restoration which brings the Round Table at the end of each episode closer to destruction. This is reflected in the series of parallels which portray the love affair. At the same time the author reexamines the values of love and chivalry upon which the Round Table was founded and which in a debased form threaten its survival. Chapter Eight, which examines the final tale, concentrates upon the author's use of Chronicle. The analysis suggests that the use of this medium in itself marks the end of the Round Table, as the author portrays the transition of the knights from a reliance on action to a reliance on the written word. At the same time Malory himself draws upon the written authority to establish the story of Arthur as an exemplum for his own time. In this way Malory's work can be regarded as Allegory in its widest sense. The author unites in his person elements of the poet, historian and seer, giving to the work a breadth of application which encompasses all time. The work therefore draws its unity from the literary style and from the underlying concept of universality which Malory developed.