Who is agravaine in the once and future king

The pain itself was so much a matter of course that it had vanished out of the picture, as if by a process of cancellation. White's novel is intense and rich. The first volume, which tells the story of Arthur's education he is transformed into several animals and birds , is a treasury of English natural history and increasingly obscure forms of sport, such as falconry and boar hunting.

The same is true in the third volume, which tells how Lancelot became the greatest knight. White writes: "Uncle Dap was the only one in the family who took Lancelot seriously, and Lancelot was the only one who was serious about Uncle Dap.

It was easy not to be serious about the old fellow, for he was that peculiar creation which ignorant people laugh at a - genuine maestro. His branch of learning was chivalry. White uses the inherent flexibility of prose to deliver a lot of information, not only background information that makes it easy for the modern reader to picture 12th- and 13th- century England, but also good analogues to modern society - jousting as a form of cricket, for example - that work not only to clarify what might be confusing, but also to show the continuity of English life from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

The Once and Future King is about male society, but White is not a misogynist. His portrait of Guenever is sympathetic and rich.

Of particular note is the moment when Lancelot and Guenever first fall in love. They are out hawking, and Guenever makes a mistake in her task of helping Lancelot with his hawk. He rebukes her, and then, when her feelings are hurt, he suddenly recognises that "she had been giving kindness, and he had returned it with unkindness.

But the main thing was that she was a real person". The recognition of common humanity is the source of their inconvenient and passionate love. Gawaine's old rage explodes and he pulls his own sword It is at this moment, with Agravaine held at the floor with Gawaine's sword, Gaheris holding back Gawaine's arm and Gareth holding Book 4, Chapter 5.

The brothers are arguing—Gareth, Gawaine and Gaheris want to be no part of the treason Agravaine and Mordred are plotting. Arthur enters the room quietly, but they all see him. He asks if they are ready to prove that accusation under the law. Agravaine asks that they use the new laws to prove the pair guilty, with a jury Book 4, Chapter 6. He explains that Agravaine and Mordred hate Lancelot and that they are going to do something to trap him Book 4, Chapter 7.

The handle falls back and there is a loud, iron knocking on the door. Agravaine's voice cries: "Open the door, in the King's name. They lift the visor once he is dead; it is Agravaine. Quickly Guenever dresses Lancelot in Agravaine's armor. The lovers exchange rings and Lancelot promises he Cite This Page. He wants to be perfect, but fails to be so, and is thus never satisfied with who he is or what he accomplishes. Since Lancelot has no friends at Court, Queen Guinever befriends the awkward, ugly young knight.

They fall in love and begin an affair that is an open secret. Lancelot is such a potent fighter that nobody openly dares to challenge him; however, Agravaine and Mordred despise him.

In fact, the whole Orkney faction dislikes the influence he has over Arthur and believe that they, as relatives, should have more influence over the king.

What Lancelot, a religious man, wants more than anything else is to perform a genuine miracle. He believes that he can only do this if he is perfect in every way, but since he falls short of perfection all that happens is that he hates himself even more. He has a short fling with a woman named Elaine and begets a knight named Galahad, who is apparently perfect.

Arthur's illegitimate son by Morgause is considered by many to be the rightful heir to Arthur's throne. Since he is raised in the Orkney Isles and not by Arthur, he fails to absorb Arthur's moral code.

Father and son end up in a fight to the death that is in many ways predestined. Mordred hates Arthur for several reasons, chiefly because Arthur tried to have him killed in the belief that a child of incest must necessarily be evil.

Mordred does indeed do some evil things, often as reactions to the evil that is done to him. He can be considered an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. A bumbling older man of impeccable pedigree, King Pellinore provides comic relief throughout much of the book. He starts out on a mission to find and kill the Questing Beast, but turns aside from it to get married.

This violates Arthur's law-and-order concept, but since the Orkney knights are technically relatives he is not in a position to easily restrain them. Gawaine is the eldest of the five sons of Morgause, and is one of Arthur's bravest and best knights aside from Lancelot. He is technically Arthur's nephew. However, he has a sense of blood loyalty to his brothers and also possesses the famous Orkney temper. Come on: his name sounds like "aggro" and "vain" smashed together.

He's dishonest and scared of pain, but he's also cleverer than his bros, and he uses his imagination. Because of this he has a couple moments of uncanny insight, like when he seems to understand the solution to ending feuds. He tells Mordred:. The major irony here, though, is that he doesn't care.

He wants to cause problems out of sheer "malice at random" C. He doesn't hate Arthur, but he does hate Lancelot, which is his driving motivation. This guy is way bloodthirsty, and this started from a young age. As a child, he is particularly interested in having St.