Lancelot Compare And Contrast

These two stories written about Lancelot have many similarities and differences that are a result of the time period in which they were written. The two are similar in the way that they portray Lancelot as a tremendous character as apart of the Arthurian legend and a great knight of the Round Table. They differ in the way that they describe Lancelot’s relationship with women and more directly his relationship with Guinevere and Elaine of Astolat. In “Lancelot” the writer focuses less on Lancelot’s heroic status and more on the fact that Lancelot had an extramarital affair with Queen Guinevere. Robinson focuses more on the romantic part of the story because the period in which he wrote the poem, the 1920s, is famous for love stories. The “roaring
twenties” influenced Robinson to focus more on the relationship than on the heroic acts that Lancelot achieved. This is contrary to how Lancelot is described in Le Morte d’Arthur in the fact that Thomas Malory focuses mainly on Lancelot’s achievements as a knight and less on the story of Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere. A major reason that Malory focuses on Lancelot’s ability as a knight is because during the 15th century people were much more interested in stories of great heros of their past. Malory defended Lancelot’s adulterous actions because during that time period it was more expected for royalty and especially knights to have immoral relationships. The time period in which the two were written greatly affect the fashion in which the story of Lancelot is told.