Le Morte d'Arthur

by Thomas Malory

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What conflicts lead to the tragic ending of Le Morte d'Arthur?

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The tragic ending of Le Morte d'Arthur is driven by conflicts including miscommunication, betrayal, and moral dilemmas. A pivotal miscommunication occurs when a knight draws his sword to kill a snake, prompting a deadly battle due to prior instructions to fight if a sword is drawn. Additionally, the love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot leads to betrayal. Lastly, Arthur's incestuous relationship with Morgan le Fay results in Mordred, who seeks to usurp Arthur's throne.

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One conflict arises from the simple miscommunication of action.  Both Mordred and Arthur, not trusting one another wholly, have instructed their men to fight to the death if any warrior on the opposing side should draw his sword.   They distrust one another being that Mordred is Arthur's illegitimate son by his sister, Morgan Le Fay.  Since Mordred is not claimed, he is unable to be the sole heir of Arthur's titles and lands.  There is much bad blood and conflict there.

Of course, a warrior pledged to Arthur draws his sword to kill a snake that has bitten him during the feast.  The miscommunication is that the sword is not drawn in malice, but simply for self-defense of the creature of nature.  Unfortunately, the snake has caused the death of many men, including the famed Arthur, although some argue that since he was last seen floating on a barge with many beautiful women...

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clad in black that he didn't die.  Therein lies some of the mystery of the "Once and Future King" and the grave Bedivere later comes across which is tended to by a hermit.

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Two "moral conflicts" help to bring down Camelot, and both deal with sexual immorality: adultery and incest.

One of the classic love stories of English literature is the triangle of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot.  Briefly, Lancelot betrays Arthur, they become enemies, and Arthur does not have his best knight when he needs him most.

Incest becomes an issue when Arthur's sister Morgan le Fey (or Morgause as some writers call her) deceives him into thinking he is sleeping with Guinevere. They have a son as a result. Mordred hates his father and fights to usurp his throne. Theirs is the final battle in the story.

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What conflicts between characters and value systems lead to the tragedy in Le Morte d'Arthur?

First there is a love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot.  Lancelot is one of the knights of the round table and first, his loyalty should be to the king and his duty; however, he cannot resist his love for Guinevere, who is Arthur's wife and queen, and he betrays Arthur to be with her.  Guinevere is torn between her love for Arthur (and sense of duty) and her love for Lancelot (and intense passion).  Arthur obviously feels betrayed by both his wife and Lancelot...he loves his wife dearly and trusted Lancelot as one of his knights.

Obviously, you have the "value system" of the knights of the round table.  Their code was one of honor and duty and allegiance to King Arthur.  They were the elite of all of the nights and were closest to King Arthur.  Because Lancelot was one of these knights, his betrayal is particularly disturbing for Arthur.  Also, you have individual value systems that are held by each person (Guinevere, Arthur, and Lancelot).  All 3 are torn between their senses of duty and the intense love they share for each other.

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