The Sword in the Stone by the venerated T.H. White is a standard in any Arthurian enthusiast’s book collection. As part one of the Once and Future King trilogy, The Sword in the Stone is a good place to begin when looking at somewhat contemporary Arthurian literature. The Once and Future King provides a glimpse into the what people wanted from their leaders during the 30s and 40s, their views on morality and what kind of world they were hoping for.
The Sword in the Stone was published in 1938, which was a year of many important events that changed the world. Hitler began a series of events that would culminate in World War II and tensions between countries were running high. The publishing of The Sword in the Stone happened in the midst of these tensions and inevitably bleeds over into the story. The other two books of the series deal more with politics and worldviews than the first, but trouble always seem to loom over the story.
In this story, Arthur is a young ward of Sir Ector and is raised alongside a young, not yet-knighted Sir Kay. Merlin comes along to teach the two (primarily Arthur) and ensure that Arthur is ready to become king. Uther, Arthur’s true father, is still alive during the majority of the book, but serves merely as a vague symbol of the monarchy. Once Uther dies, the leaders are vague, well-intentioned, but ineffectual. The country falls into a state of barely controlled panic and anxiety as they scramble for a new High King. Arthur appears with all the traits that T. H. White, living in a world on the brink of war, would have wanted in a leader.
Despite the importance of Arthur becoming King, the plot primarily focuses on small episodes where Merlin turns Arthur into an animal to learn something about the nature of authority, life, or the natural order. Ants are used to illustrate the dangers of de-humanization and the “Us vs. Them” mentality. Hunting Birds are used for the nature of military relations and how they should be handled, Fish are used for a discussion on strength. The Fish episode is arguably the most important, as the King of the Moat, a rather large fish, says:
“Love is a trick played on us by the forces of evolution. Pleasure is the bait laid down by the same. There is only power. Power is of the individual mind, but the mind’s power is not enough. Power of the body decides everything in the end, and only Might is Right.”( Pg 53)
White, T.H. (1987) The Once and Future King, New York, NY: Ace Fantasy
Other episodes don’t involve Arthur becoming and animal, such as the recurring instances of King Pellinore’s ridiculous quest that calls the sanity of living the Code of Chivalry literally into question. During these episodes, T.H. White is careful to spell out exactly what Arthur has learned. Nothing is left vague so there is no question what lessons T. H. White views as most important. It’s possible that each animal was meant to symbolize a particular country, and is a clever political commentary, but for the purposes of simplicity, I will focus on them as lesson devices.
The Sword in the Stone makes a compelling story through the lens of an idyllic version of Britain. Everything from the people and the feudal system to the weather are seen as worlds better than anything we have in our modern world. The people are well-intentioned, despite their poor judgements and questionable actions. The Sword in the Stone gives us an Arthur that is arguably the most human installment of the character that we’ve seen up to this point. The character of Kay is the most well-rounded ever written, and serves as a beautiful example of both characterization and the type of people T. H. White wanted to surround Arthur.
“(Kay) was not at all an unpleasant person really, but clever, quick, proud, passionate, and ambitious. He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it.” (Pg 40)
Write, T. H. (1987) The Once and Future King, New York, NY: Ace Fantasy
The first installment of The Once and Future King features an Arthur that is hopeful, bright eyed and excited for life. The traditional foundations of Arthurian Legend come into play for T. H. White’s adaptation to give the readers of its time something to escape into. A familiar playground for their imaginations, with the promise of a bright future to draw them out of the brewing war and chaos of the 1940s.
Madness and Arthuriana 