Final Impression of Macbeth

Macbeth : Act V

What is your reaction to the death of Lady Macbeth? How has she changed since the beginning of the play?

The death of Lady Macbeth. I was kind of surprised! I was looking for more of a sickness and didn't really put two and two together with the whole insane sleep walking thing. Malcolm says that rumor has it she committed suicide. I can believe that. Knowing about all of those murders and feeling like you can't get your hands clean would make me want to commit suicide too! What I really couldn't believe was Macbeth's response to her death! "Oh, it was bound to happen sooner or later." , is pretty much what he said. No sympathy or mourning anywhere to be found! But, I guess when you are wishing death on yourself you can't really expect anything else from him!

Lady Macbeth was very hard hearted in the beginning of this play. It seemed she had the confidence that took Macbeth needed but took a long time to accomplish. In the end, she was just playing tough, holding it all in until she couldn't take it anymore. The doubt and worry in her sleep talk proved this. It finally got the best of her and she put an end to it by taking her life!

What does the speech, "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow..." mean to you?

I think this speech is cool. To me, it means that we just keep living our lives day by day, and each day we live brings us closer to your death. I did it funny that like in Once and a Future King, a candle is used as a representation of life. In this sense, some people have taller candles than others, some, have better wicks. In the end, unless you can stop time, each day we live brings us closer to the time of our death.

What was your reaction to the fulfillment of the witches prophecies? To Macbeth's death?

Who would ever think all of the witches prophecies would come true? Macbeth didn't, that's for sure! Banquo told him, "The agents of evil often tell us part of the truth in order to lead us to our destruction." Macbeth thought certain that the forest could not move and that everyone must be born from a woman.

In once sense I felt bad for Macbeth. He had finally got up the courage and confidence to take the kingdom he wanted and got it all taken away! On the other hand, I was glad when Macduff cut his head off. Macbeth was so cocky! and look at all the people he killed just to get the kingdom that he knew was going to Banquo's descendants! I feel Macbeth deserved to die!

Macbeth : Act IV

What additional information does Macbeth learn from the Witches?

The Witches give Macbeth much additional information. They tell him to beware of Macduff and the Thane of Fife. They also boost his self confidence tremendously. They tell him that no one born of a woman can hurt him and that he won't be defeated until the forest moves. When Macbeth asks if Banquo's descendants will really be kings he gets disturbed by the answer that they all will be!

Do you see any change in Macbeth in his murder of Lady Macduff?

Macbeth seems to be getting more careless with his murders. At first he was very cautious, second guessing all of his moves and having everything planned out. With Banquo he almost gave himself away when he saw Banquo's ghost. Now its like he kills everything in sight and has not explanation or motive besides the Witches who are just tricking him to get him into trouble.

What is your reaction or thoughts about the Witches cauldron scene?

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Macbeth : Act III

What changes do you see in the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are totally different people to me now. They have turned into a two headed killing machine! Macbeth will now kill anyone that he feels threatened by; having three murderers lined up to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Lady Macbeth has also changed. Although I think she has been pretty hard hearted since the killing of Kind Duncan, she realizes now that he is dead that she's not happy. The Witches really did a good job at getting Macbeth in trouble because the murder of Kind Duncan seems like ti was only the beginning to a big circle of murder!

What is your reaction to the death of Banquo and his appearance at the banquet?

I was really surprised when Macbeth had Banquo killed. I thought they were like best of buds! But, everything Macbeth had worked for was just going to go to Banquo's descendants so I can see why we would want him and his kid dead. The things people will do for power!

I enjoyed Banquo's appearance at the banquet. I once like Macbeth, but I don't anymore! I think it's funny how close Macbeth came to telling all of his guests tat he had Banquo killed. And then Lady Macbeth pretty much calling Macbeth crazy to cover their tail ends! It seems to me that there is to much information out, that somebody is going to figure all of these murders out and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are going to be in deep do-do!

Macbeth : Act II

What are your thoughts on the "bloody dagger" scene?

This Page Coming Soon!!

Why is Lady Macbeth unable to kill the king? Is this surprising, given what we have seen of her character?

Lady Macbeth is unable to kill the kind because he remided her of her father. This suprises me because she seems like a heartless woman!

What do you think Macbeth will do next?

Macbeth will go be crowned king. After that I think he will go soft again and say to much and someone will find out. Lady Macbeth will be pleading innocent and deffending them the whole time. {Even though the part about Lady Macbeth sounds pretty much like how it happened, I really did write this before I read on!}

Macbeth : Act I

What role do the Witches and Lady Macbeth play in Macbeth's decision to kill Malcolm?

The witches give just enough information to confuse someone. They tell Macbeth that he is Than of Cawdor and future kind and then they vanish. Both the Thane of Cawdor and Kind Duncan are still alive; so how can he have those titles? When Macbeth does become the Thane of Cawdor his mind is set that he must be the future king and he gets thoughts of killing Kind Duncan!

At first I thought Lady Macbeth was a soft, sweet, "I won't let you do such a cruel thing" kind of wife. I was wrong! She doesn't think that Macbeth has what it takes to be king. He is to much of a softy and doesn't have a mean streak. But then she figures that both fate and witchcraft say that he is going to be kind so they must act upon this. She wants to know what is holding him back. Lady Macbeth makes plans of killing King Duncan and hints to Macbeth about her plans. When the time has come Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to commit the crime and has the plan all ready!

OFK: The Candle In The Wind

Plot Synopsis

• This book was very dramatic. It starts out with Mordred and Agravaine planning to overthrow King Arthur. They plan to use Lancelot and Guenever's affair to split Arthur and Lancelot apart. Mordred knows that Arthur is nothing without Lancelot there to defend him.
• Then we go back to Lancelot and Guenever. Lancelot wants to start things up again with Guenever but she is shy to the idea. While they were discussing it Arthur comes in to tell them a story.
• The story was of how he and Morgause came to have Mordred and how he dried to drown him in hopes of forgetting he was ever born. That plan worked against Arthur as Morgause found Mordred alive and raised him to despise his father.
• Mordred and Agravaine tell Arthur to his face about Lancelot and Guenever. They do no want a trial by combat because they know they would lose. Instead they want a trial by jury where they can prove the affair.
• Gareth warns Lancelot about Agravaine and Mordred but Lancelot blows him off. He had beated bigger and better men before why worry now, right?!? Agravaine, Mordred and some other knights came like Gareth had warned and Lancelot proceeded to kill all of them but Mordred.
• Guenever was proven guilty and was sentenced to be burned to death. King Arthur sad at the state of his wife did what he did in state of justice. How could he expect his people to follow justice if he couldn't?
• Just in the nick of time as Arthur had hoped Lancelot came and whisped Guenever off to the Joyous Gard castle. While rescuing Guenever, Lancelot had killed Gaheris and Gareth on accident, a move that would haunt him till his death.
• With Guenever feeling bad about the stir that she caused in Englad she applies to the Pope for a peace treaty. Arthur is allowed to take Guenever back and Lancelot is banished from England. Before he leaves Lancelot says that if Guenever is ever in trouble he will come back to rescue her.
• Gawaine was all Arthur had left and Lancelot had killed his brother so they set out to fight Lancelot. Arthur left Mordred in charge of Camelot while he was gone. Nobody really liked Mordred and Guenever was affraid of him. He threatened her and then told her of his plan to announce the kings death so that he could be the king of England and marry her.
• Guenever escapes and sends word to Arthur who gathers up his knights, including Lancelot to come back to England and fight against Mordred.
• Gawaine had been badly hurt from previous battles and from fighting with Lancelot. Before he died he wrote to Lancelot forgiving him for the death of his brothers and asking for his prayers.
• Arthur during the battle with Mordred relays all of his ideas onto a little page boy of 13 named Tom. He told Tom that he was counting on him to grown up and tell everyone of his plans in hopes someone would go and run with them again.
• Before Arthur died he thought back on his childhood when Merlyn had taught him through animals. He thought about when the round table would once again come about and the world would be at peace with no boundaries worth fighting for!

Reactions/Reflection

• I found this book very dramatic. There was alot of killing and betrayal. It kept my attention though and I liked that!
• One story that I had to find more information about was the Countess of Henneberg and her 365 children. I could not beleive that story when I read about it! 365 childred in 365 minutes. That is just insane!
• Throughout all four of these books I have learned that your actions effect everyone around you and down the road too. You start out with one man killing another for his wife and three or four generations down the road you still have people fighting about something that they don't even know happened. If you can hear me out on this one it is sort of a form of stereotyping. Because, for instance, you are a child of Lot's you must hate the Pellinore's beacause King Pellinore killed Lot accidentally in a tournament one time. Stuff like that, that could be forgiven and forgoten and that would be the end of it. But no! the grudge must go on.
• I have to wonder what happened in England? I know that Arthur died but what happened to Lancelot and Mordred and Guenever? Did Lancelot suceed in killing Mordred and saving Guenever once again?
• I liked how T.H. White named the chapters after something that you didn't get until the end of the book. I found myself constantly thinking what does the title have to do with anything. Then I would get it at the end of the book and it would make perfect sence.
• I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Once and Future King. There were some boring times when the changes in the table were being described and things of that sort but overall I found this a very interesting story and I may seek into reading the whole of Le Morte d' Arthur.

Vocabulary

Interesting Words

• Fylfot - device used to fill the lower part of a painted glass window.
• Rheumaticky - come to suffer from an illness.
• Acolytes - one who attends or assists.
• Crosier - a staff resembling a shepherd's crook carried by bishops and abbots as a symbol of office.
• Indefatigable - incapable of being fatigued.
• Inextricable - forming a maze or tangle from which it is impossible to get free.

Words I Did Not Understand Or Know

• Bourgeois - marked by a concern for material interests and respectability and a tendency toward mediocrity.
• Muscovite - a native or resident of the ancient principality of Moscow or of the city of Moscow.
• Elation - to fill with joy or pride.
• Trousseau - the personal possessions of a bride usually including clothes, accessories, and household linens and wares.

OFK: The Ill-Made Knight

Plot Synopsis

• Lancelot is the son of King Ban and Queen Elaine. Arthur notices him playing games one day and asks him if he would like to be a knight of the round table one day when he is older. Lancelot gets excited and starts his learning from Uncle Dap.
• When the time comes Lancelot and his squire Uncle Dap go to meet Arthur. On the way Lancelot meets a knight at a ford and has his first joust, which he wins. Turns out that knight was King Arthur. Lancelot and Uncle Dap went with Arthur back to Camelot where they were given a place to stay and a jerfalcon.
• After a short time Uncle Dap and Arthur realize that Lancelot and Queen Guenever are in love. Arthur decides to take Lancelot with him to the Roman war as to keep him away from Guenever for a while. After the war Lancelot goes on a quest, to set "might for right" as the knights of the round table are to do.
• He finds himself killing one of the best knights in the world Sir Cardos, and later kills his brother Sir Tarquin. Throughout his quest he had many captives who he brought home to his lover Guenever.
• Lancelot sets out on another quest to Corbin. Under the Corbin Castle there was a beautiful city with the need of the best knight in the world. Lancelot was the best knight in the world and was asked to rescue the cities dolorous lady from a pot of scalding water where she had been for many years. Lancelot rescues the lady who was Elaine daughter of King Pelles.
• Lancelot finds himself drunk and in bed with Elaine and later learns that they conceived a son on that night. Mad, because he was tricked by Elaine he returns to Guenever and their love affair starts. Once Elaine has the child and names him Galahad (Lancelot's first name) word gets out that it is Lancelot's son and Guenever gets mad.
• A big complicated love triangle starts between Lancelot, Elaine and Guenever ending with Lancelot running away supposedly being killed by a boar. Turns out Lancelot was not dead and he is found by Elaine and nursed back to health.
• King Pelles gives Lancelot and Elaine a castle to live in and Lancelot hides out for a while being known as Chevalier Mal Fet. Guenever missing her lover sends out messengers to find Lancelot. He was found by his brother and Uncle Dap came to fetch him with all of his armor.
• Lancelot returns to Camelot picking up where he left off with the title of "The best knight in the world". Over the years the table had gone down hill. Arthur had reached his goal of a good civilization but he still had all kinds of "might" and not place to use it for good. With both Arthur and Lancelot's brain together they came up with the quest for the holy grail.
• Galahad comes to Camelot and Lancelot goes with him leaving the table to fall apart again. As knights return from the quest Lancelot is suspected dead again until he returns to Camelot. Word gets around that Galahad, Percivale and Bors had found the holy grail.
• Lancelot feels defeated by his son. He was unable to find the holy grail and his son was called the best knight in the world right in front of his face. This was the turning point in Lancelot's life when he gave himself up to God.
• Guenever feels betrayed by Lancelot as he wants to set things right and end the relationship with her. Guenever being upset and angry asks Lancelot to leave. He respects her and returns back to Elaine.
• After Lancelot left thing changed in Camelot. The table went modern in its dress and lifestyle and Guenever went slightly mad and got herself into a whole mess of feuds and accused of treason.
• Elaine committed suicide as she had nothing to live for anymore. Her son was grown and Lancelot had returned as he promised but only to go back and save Guenever again.
• In conclusion, all of his life Sir Lancelot wanted to perform miracles. It seemed to him that his first miracle being Elaine would be his last as only virgins can perform miracles and Elaine had taken his virginity away from him. He thought his dream had ended and what was there to live for.
• When Sir Urre from Hungary came to be healed by the best knight in the world, Sir Lancelot knew he was being set up for humiliation. He was now a Godly man but the past was the past and you can't change it. He no longer considered himself the best knight in the world and did not think he could perform the healing. God is a wonderful man and he allowed Lancelot to perform the miracle of healing Sir Urre from Hungary.
• The story of Sir Lancelot proves to me that trusting in God is the only way to go!

Reactions/Reflection

• I enjoyed this book probably the most out of the three so far. I really liked Sir Lancelot's character. I learned many lessons from him. Not only that trusting in God is the only way to go but also a lesson about people. The people that you think have it all usually don't. Yes Lancelot was the best knight in the world but he had always hated himself. I think you'll find this common in people today. With all of the teasing and cliches that there are it's hard to be content with who you are and to love yourself for who you are and not who you think you should be.
• I found Guenever's little passage on knowledge of the world very interesting. It was one of those things that I read but didn't quite understand. I think it is like when your parents say you'll understand when you're older or with age comes wisdom. You have to be there to understand.
• There really is no relation between Galahad and Arthur but I took note that they both were unable to know who there true fathers were for a part of their life. Both reasons also being that either the father or the son were trying to hide something. Lancelot was trying to hide from Arthur's court and Uther was trying to hide that he had a son.
• I was happy to know that the revenge between the Orkney's and the Pellinore's had been sought. There was so much unnecessary killing that took place there, all for good reasons but still unnecessary.
• Guenever was not one of my favorite characters. It seemed to me that she was never happy and she was always trying to stir something up. After Elaine came into the picture she was never really happy with Lancelot. She always seemed jealous of either Elaine or God. She also was unfaithful to her husband, granted it wasn't all her fault because Arthur's best friend was not loyal to him either! But still she was unfaithful, and despised Lancelot when he wanted to tell Arthur.
• It seems that no matter who you were if you were involved in this story your life was like a roller coaster; great one minute and depressed the next. This was really shown to me when Arthur summed up the life of the table. "There had been the first feeling, a companionship of youth under which Arthur had launched his grand crusade--the second, of chivalrous rivalry growing staler every year in the greatest court of Europe, until it had nearly turned to feud and empty competition. Then the enthusiasm of the Grail had burned the bad gasses of the air into a short-lived beauty. Now the maturest of the saddest phase had come, in which enthusiasms had been used up for good, and only our famous seventh sense was left to be practised". I believe this could sum up the life of a person.
• I like how T.H. White always compares things to today's world. With the language being the way it is and the plot it is sometimes hard to understand what is going on. Bringing today's world into the story makes it much easier to follow along with what is going on.
• I was almost shocked when Arthur went up against Lancelot in a joust at the end. It made me wonder why? I like the suggestions that White has, maybe it was because Arthur was tired of the struggle of just plain life. In that point in time nothing did seem to be going very well. I find it hard to believe that Lancelot and Arthur stayed friends through everything. There was nothing to hold them together anymore. Guenever was cheating on him, the table was practically in two, Lancelot was insane one day and fine the next. Was this spurt of anger that Arthur had be coming up from all of these years of confusion and hardship?
• I predict that something will happen to Guenever. I don't know what but I think something will happen maybe even between her and Arthur.
• I'm not sure how I feel about the table. Arthur says he has a new idea but will it be a grand success or stumble like this one did?
  

Vocabulary

Interesting Words

• Fforbeshynge
• Perfidy - the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal.
• Unscrupulousness - not acting in strict regard for what is considered right or proper.
• Stultificaiton - to cause to appear or be stupid, foolish, or absurdly illogical.
• Pathos - an emotion of sympathetic pity.
• Ingratiating - to gain favor or favorable acceptance for by deliberate effort.
• Quandary - a state of perplexity or doubt.
• Escutcheon - a defined area on which armorial bearings are displayed and which usually consists of a shield.
• Subterfuge - a deceptive device or stratagem.
• Fort Mayne - a term for the use of force by the strong against the weak.

Words I Did Not Understand Or Know

• Morion - a high-crested helmet with no visor.
• Dovecote - a small compartmented raised house or box for domestic pigeons.
• Hauriant - a heraldic posture used to describe fish.
• Vergescu - the white shield carried by unfledged knights.
• Panache - an ornamental tuft (as of feathers) especially on a helmet.
• Buffet - a blow especially with the hand.
• Prognostications - to foretell from signs or symptoms.
• Sanguine - having the bodily conformation and temperament held characteristic of such predominance and marked by sturdiness, high color, and cheerfulness.

OFK: The Queen of Air and Darkness

Plot Synopsis

• So Arthur is a king now. He learns of his father's arbitrary deeds to Igraine the wife of the Earl of Cornwall and so the grudge between the two groups (Gaels and Galls) lives forever.
• The Earl and Igraine had three daughters: Morgan le Fay, Elaine and Morgause. Arthur's father Uther Pendragon fell in love with Igraine. He sent for her to be his wife, but she was faithfull to her husband and they ran away to the castles Tintagil and Terrabil. Uther Pendragon found them and proceeded to kill the Earl and take Igraine prisoner.
• The night that Uther took Igraine prisoner they "made" Arthur. Becuase Igraine was not out of mourning for the Earl, Uther could not naturally marry her and therefore Arthur came too soon. This is the reason for Arthur being sent away to Sir Ector as a child.
• Now Queen Morgause was Igraine's child from the Earl, therefore her and Arthur were half brother and sister.
• Queen Morgause had four children with the Earl, Gawaine, Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth. Morgause paid them no attention so one day the boys go hunt and kill a unicorn in hopes of pleasing their mother and gaining her attention. This makes Morgause irate, but finally one day she wakes up and realizes that she loves her boys very much and she wants to pay them all the attention in the world.
• In the end Morgause uses her spancel to make Arthur fall in love with her. (Keep in mind that they are half brother and sister.) They conceive a child, Mordred.
• Before the Arthur/Morgause/Mordred incident, Morgause was married to Lot. King Arthur was preparing for battle with Lot. Merlyn was still around but he was trying to get Arthur to think and act like a king. Arthur didn't like the fact that Merlyn would not always be around and that he would have to think on his own. King Arthur won the battle and returns home for the wedding of his dear friend King Pellinore.
• This brings us to King Pellinore's troubles with love. He fell in love with the Queen of Flander's daughter. He had to leave her to go on an adventure because no knight refuses an adventure. This made him miserable becuase he could not find the love of his life.
• Sir Grummore and Sir Palomides deside to dress up as the "questing beast" (That King Pellinore has been searching for his whole life) to get King Pellinore's mind off of the Queen's daughter. After a heck of a time with the costume and then getting King Pellinore to agree to go hunt for her they all end up out of the mountain side in the pouring rain.
• While King Pellinore is waiting for the questing beast Grummore and Palomides find her and she falls in love with them (the dressed up beast). She gets them stuck between a rock and a hard place (literally!) and King Pellinore comes to the rescuse wondering what in the world is going on. Declining Grummore and Palomide's request to kill the questing beast King Pellinore sets her free, even though he has been questing her all his life with the intentions to kill her.
• King Pellinore agrees to hold back the questing beast while Grummore and Palomides escape. Meanwhile in the mountains the Queen of Flander's daughter is looking for King Pellinore. She finds him and they have an amazing wedding at Carlion.

Reactions/Reflection

• To be honest, I was out in left field with this one until I read one of my friends summaries. It was that initial story that Queen Morgause's kids were telling that threw me for a loop. Once I had read the whole thing and put the different parts together, it was like duh!
• The velvet robe that Arthur was wearing of his fathers was interesting. "Trimmed with the beards of fourteen kings who had been vanquished in the olden days...The moustaches were stuck on round the buttons". I guess that would be something like todays showing off. Wearing something to show just how great you are. It still seems kind of sketchy to me.
• Throughout The Once and Future King I have enjoyed Merlyn's character. He spoke a quote to Arthur that really caught my attention and made me laugh! "The destiny of Man is to unite, not to devide. If you keep on dividing you end up as a collection of monkeys throwing nuts at each other out of seperate trees". I had to stop and laugh for a minute but then I thought this is really true and it totally applies to life today. There is division everywhere: school, race, religion ect. I have yet to find an incident where good has come from it.
• Here I go with another quote from Merlyn that applies to todays world. This time about war. "There is no excuse for war, non whatever, and watever wrong which your nation might be doing to mine---short of war---my nation would be in the wrong if it started a war so as to redress it. A murderer, for instance, is not allowed to plead that his victim was rich and opressing him--so why should a nation be allowed to? Wrongs have to be redressed by reason, not by force". I look at Merlyn as more of a narratore. He always is explaining something out to Arthur in a "apples and oranges" manner.
• I noticed that Grummore, Palomides and King Pellinore's adventures seem to always be about love. Grummore and Palomides dressed up as the questing beast in love of their friend King Pellinore's troubled heart and King Pellinore went hunting for the questing beast because his friends Grummore and Palomides insisted that he go; knowing and trusting that they must have a ryme to their reason.
• I really enjoyed the story of why Arthur was sent away to Sir Ector at birth. While reading The Sword in the Stone I never gave a second thought to why he was sent away. Reading about Arthur and his family I am constantly caught off guard with all of these weird and interesting occurances like this one.
• My family and I are hunters so I'm not necesarily a wild animal lover, but we have pets and I love them to pieces. While reading about Morgause's boys on the unicorn hunt I was shoked when I read about Agravaine running out and stabbing the unicorn to death. The way T.H. White described the beauty of the unicorn sucks you in and you feel like awww...and then BAMB! it's dead! Agravaine sort of ruined the moment.
• There were a couple of things that I still couldn't figure out. What was the deal with the Galls and the Gaels? I could not figure out who was on whose side. The other thing was, why was Queen Morgause called "the queen of air and darkness"? She was only refered to that once on the last page and it didn't seem clear to me why.

Vocabulary

Interesting Words

• Nigromancer
• Piseog
• Machicolation - an opening between the corbels of a projecting parapet or in the floor of a gallery or roof of a portal for discharging missiles upon assailants below.
• Uffizzi
• Mafeking Night - May 18, 1900. "Maffick": verb, to celebrate boisterously. During the Boer War.
• Dexterous - skillful and competent with the hands.
• Gallowglass - an armed Irish foot soldier.

Words I Did Not Understand Or Know

• Wroth - intensely angry.
• Halidome - something held sacred.
• Pacifist - strongly and actively opposed to conflict and especially war.
• Nunc Dimittis - the prayer of Simeon in Luke 2:29–32.
• Shillelagh - town in Ireland.
• Gralloch - to remove the offal from an animal.
• Usquebaugh - whiskey.
• Habergeon - a medieval jacket of mail shorter than a hauberk.

OFK: The Sword in the Stone

Plot Synopsis

• The Wart is Sir Ector's adopted son. Kay is Sir Ector's real son. The boys go hawking and lose the hawk. Kay loses his patients and goes home. Wart stays with the hawk hoping to bring him home. While on his hawk finding journey he meets King Pellinore who is after the questing beast. It is King Pellinore's family tradition to quest after this beast. After a short conversation Wart is off on his way trying to find himself home again when he meets a magician by a water well named Merlyn.
• Merlyn is a very strange fellow as is his owl Archimedes. Merlyn lives backwards in time; as he gets younger every day. Merlyn comes home with Wart and becomes his tutor. Because of his magician ways Merlyn teaches Wart through life experiences. These life experiences are seen through the eyes of various types of animals, fish, hawk, goose, badger, ant, and many more.
• Kay being the older brother gets very jealous of his brother and his adventures. Merlyn sends them on an adventure, with the boys not knowing where they will end up. On their journey through the wood they meet Robin Wood (Hood) and their adventure begins.
• Robin Wood uses the boys to save their friends and family from the fairies. The fairies go by the names of animals and can be summoned up if you do not point with your finger when saying the name of an animal while in the forest. If they are summoned up they will take you away and you will simply vanish. There is no telling what they will do to you once you are in their castle so it is important to go and rescue the people. The problem is only innocent people (boys and girls) can enter their castle. But! there is good news. The fairies can't stand iron.
• The Wart and Kay go up to the castle with Robin Wood and his crew and rescue the people safely. On the way back Kay kills his first griffin and is very proud of it. The boys return home; Kay with his griffin head which will be mounted and hung on the wall.
• All is good with Sir Ector until one day he receives a letter from King Uther saying that he is sending his huntsman William Twyti to Sir Ectors land to boar hunt. This upsets Sir Ector because it is his land and he should be able to say who can hunt on it and who can't. I guess that's the government (or whatever it would have been back then) for ya. William Twyti makes a long and exciting boxing day out of the event.
• King Uther dies because of health issues and a tournament is being held to see who the new king of England will be. During this time Kay has become a knight and want to go to the tournament. After traveling the long distance to the tournament Kay discovers that he has left his sword at home and sends Wart to go and fetch it.
• Wart hurries home only to discover that there is no way of getting in to get Kay's sword. He goes back to a stone and anvil that he had passed on his way home remembering that there was a sword stuck in it. He takes the sword and returns to the tournament. Kay realizes the significance of this sword and tells his father that he had pulled it out of the stone and anvil.
• The significance is that engraved in the stone is this: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise King born of all England". Wart was the only one capable of pulling the sword out of the stone and anvil. Many people challenged him asking him to thrust it back into the stone; other people would try and pull it out unsuccessfully and Wart would succeed.
• Once he had proven his ability Sir Ector and Kay bowed down to him knowing the truth about his noble blood. Wart now known as Arthur or King Arthur was somewhat shocked and amazed as he was told the story of his birth and noble heritage.
  

Reactions/Reflection

• My first reaction to this book was, "Wow! They summed all of this up in that one little packet." I couldn't believe how many little details and adventures and people there were compared to the Le Morte d' Arthur Packet.
• I had to laugh when I read the part about King Uther sending his huntsman to come boar hunt on Sir Ector's land. If I was Sir Ector I would be mad to! I can understand his point of anger because it is his land and he should be able to say who can and cannot hunt on it. I think this relates to our government now because well, take state troopers for example. We all know that the speed limits that are posted are a law and that you can get a ticket if you pass that speed limit. State troopers know the same exact thing and they enforce those laws on regular citizens, but when it comes to themselves and the speed limits its like they are exempt from the law. These incidents say to me, "Because we are the government or the higher power we can do whatever we want!". I see this with Sir Ector and King Uther. Because King Uther is the higher power he takes advantage of people like Sir Ector and hunts on their property for his leisure.
• On a nicer note, I was amazed at how Merlyn taught the Wart. It reminds me of the old saying "Walk a mile in their shoes". What better way to learn something than to actually experience it! One of my favorite animals that Wart portrayed was the ant. I found the ants lifestyle very simple but yet confusing. The language and the songs baffled me. The fact that they take so few words and answered so many questions with them. I particularly liked the "Done" and "Not Done". Plus the fact that they were so organized. Almost like a big city. Where there were the different blocks and they all had their own numbers (kind of like our social security numbers!).
• The geese amused me with the whole fighting incident. The thought that, to Wart having humans fight against other humans was perfectly normal although not good, but to Lyo-lyok fighting against others of your own blood with intent of murder was just absurd. She couldn't think of any creature that "could be so low!".
• The Le Morte d' Arthur packet is definitely playing in. I have noticed that Sir Kay has been arrogant since he was a child. He plays the role of "I am the older and blood son of Sir Ector therefore you must be my squire and so on...". He was always bragging about how good of a knight he was just like in the packet, when the reality is he's not that great at all!
• I am glad that we had the packet to read because to me it was kind of like, okay so here is the outline of what is going to happen. Then as you read this book it's like you fill in the blanks. You get the inside scoop! To me it is kind of hard to predict anything because from reading the packet you really already know what is going to happen.

Vocabulary

Interesting Words

• Villein - a free peasant of a feudal class higher in rank than a cotter.
• Wattle - a fabrication of poles interwoven with slender branches, withes, or reeds and used especially formerly in building.
• Portcullis - a grating of iron hung over the gateway of a fortified place and lowered between grooves to prevent passage.
• Taciturn - temperamentally disinclined to talk.
• Sciatica - pain in the lower back, buttocks, hips, or adjacent parts.
• Toadstool - mushroom.

Words I Did Not Understand Or Know

• Amo, Amas - if this is latin then I know that Amo is love but I'm not sure what Amas is.
• Malevolent - having, showing, or arising from intense often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred. I think it is kind of ironic that this word starts with MALE.
• Scombre - of a dismal or depressing character.
• Fiord - a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes.
• Gusto - enthusiastic and vigorous enjoyment or appreciation.
• Joie De Vivre - joy of living.
• Chirurgeon - surgeon.

Le Morte d' Arthur

Plot Synopsis

• Arthur is the son of King Uther. He is raised by Sir Ector. When King Uther died of sickness, Arthur took over. There was only one person who could pull the sword out of the stone and anvil and that person was by birth right the king of all of Britain. Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone and anvil, proving him the king of all Britain.
• King Arthur's first task was to re-establish the nobles who had lost their land in the troubled years after king Uther's death. He then settle at Camelot and gathered the knights of the round table. Out of these knights Sir Lancelot was the most supreme.
• Sir Lancelot and Sir Lyonel set out for adventure. While they were sleeping under a tree Sir Lyonel was taken away prisoner by Sir Tarquin. While still sleeping Sir Lancelot was taken prisoner by four women wanted him to marry them. While imprisoned Sir Lancelot is rescued by king Bagdemagus's daughter.
• Sir Lancelot once again sets out for adventure and is directed towards Sir Tarquin's castle. Sir Lancelot defeated Sir Tarquin who in previous times had taken many knights of the round table prisoner. Wandering through the woods Sir Lancelot defeats the two giants who guard the Tintagil Castle (King Arthur's Castle). Sir Lancelot became the most famous knight at king Arthur's court because of his success at battle.
• While king Arthur was absent from Britain Sir Modred announced Arthur's death and proceeded to overtake the throne. With king Arthur returning to Britain Sir Modred put together an army of 100 thousand to defeat king Arthur. King Arthur won, and with a smaller army!
  One night while Arthur was sleeping Sir Gawain came to him in his dreams and told him no to go to battle with Sir Modred again or surely he and his men would die.
• The battle was started by one of the knights drawing his sword to kill a snake who had bit his ankle. Arthur struck Sir Modred under the shield and then Sir Modred caught Arthur in the skull striking him almost dead.
• Before Arthur died he asked Sir Bedivere to take his sword and throw it into the water. Arthur was taken to the lake where many ladies sat in a barge. The ladies took Arthur and sailed away to Avalon.
  

Reactions/Reflection

• I liked this reading. I think it appealed to me more because i just recently had watched the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail and it was nice to know a little bit more about what was going on with the characters and so on.
• I thought it was funny after Sir Lancelot takes Sir Kay's armor and rides away with it and then Sir Gawtere says "Why there rides Sir Kay, the most overbearing King of all, in spite of his many defeats. I think I will challenge him and see if I cannot shake his pride a little." It reminds me of teenage boys who always are trying to look tough.
• I also found it funny that Sir Lancelot had to be saved by a little noblewoman. Here you have this big knight who can defeat Sir Tarquin, but yet he is imprisoned by four women who all want him to marry them!
• I believe that Arthur would have made a pretty good king. He seemed to have respect for the people that helped him, and he wanted to do good for others. For example, his first task as king was to re-establish the nobles who had lost their land during the troubled time after king Uther's death.
  Arthur was also a good battle commander. He defeated Sir Modred in their first battle and Arthur had fewer men!
• I think Arthur's weakness would have been listening to other people/advice. Although, for instance, Sir Gawain had come to Arthur in his dreams and told him not to go to battle again or he and his finest men would surely die. Arthur did go to battle but I think it was because of his hatred for Sir Modred because of what he had done to Arthur. In Arthur's own words, "My lords, I care nothing of my life now! And while Sir Modred is at large I must kill him: there may not be another chance."
• One character that puzzled me was Sir Tarquin. He was "the adventure", the "big tough guy". He had his special tree dedicated to the shields of the knights he held imprisoned, and he was afraid of nothing. He hated one knight and was determined to kill him. Yet, when that one knight came (Sir Lancelot), Sir Tarquin was defeated. It kind of portrays the message that no one is invincible (except God of course) and that you should never get to cocky or over confident because you never know whats coming!
• It amazed me how everything was settle by fighting or challenging. Allot of the time it was just for fun too! Like when Sir Gawtere challenged "Sir Kay" just to see if he could shake his pride a little! But i suppose it was just their was of living and they were used to it.

Vocabulary

Interesting Words

• Excalibur - the magic sword that Arthur uses. Is there any reference to like today's roller coasters?
• Medieval Romance - that it was a forerunner for modern fiction.
• Ninescore - 180. What origin or language is that?
• Pentecost - a Christian feast on the seventh Sunday after Easter commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. Was Christianity a practiced faith of the kingdom or was it just a religion that the king practiced?
• Threescore - being three times twenty : sixty. I'm wondering if the formula is that score equals like twenty and then you multiply your first number by twenty.
• Usurp - to seize and hold. This was one of our vocabulary words this past year!
• Alarums - a call to arms. Is this where we got alarms?
• Dauntless - fearless. This was also one of our vocabulary words this past year!
• Sweet Jesu, give him succor! - sweet Jesus, give him something that furnishes relief! King Arthur was a man of faith!
• HIC LACET ARTHURUS, REX QUONDAM REXQUE FUTURUS - Here lies Arthur, the once and future king. Latin is the "mother" of all languages.

Words I Did Not Understand Or Know

• Vehemently - bitterly, antagonistic.
• Lord Jesu - Lord Jesus. Why do they not say Lord Jesus? If that is what it means (I'm assuming).
• Hitherto - up to this or that time.
• Glade - an open space surrounded by woods.
• Christendom - the part of the world in which Christianity prevails. I got that definition from Merriam Webster but it does not make sense in the sentence: Was not King Arthur, the noblest sovereign Christendom had seen, ......
• Fickle - marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability.
• Vouchsafed - to grant or furnish often in a gracious or condescending manner.
• Barge - any of various boats.