[英语学习]英国文学和传说.ppt

A different story of how Arthur gets the sword. A famous King Arthur story is the Quest for the Holy Grail. Holy Grail is a cup from Jesus’ last supper, believed to have great spiritual powers, and so some of the Knights make a journey to search for it. Last Supper In some stories, Arthur is not happy when the men go to seek the Holy Grail, but he allows his most spiritual Knights to go (Percival, Bors, and Galahad). The Knights Percival Bors see the Grail, but cannot fully look at the grail because of their immaturity The Knight Galahad is able to fully witness the grail. He is believed to be the “Jesus-figure” in the Arthurian Legends Because only the most pure can see the grail. The Holy Grail is symbolic of spiritual enlightenment, and a Kingdom of Heaven. Often the Holy Grail represents the end of the great Kingdom of Camelot. In many King Arthur legends, the Knights break up, and then King Arthur usually dies in a battle against Mordred. Some of the famous stories told by the pilgrims on the way to Canterbury are King Arthur legends. The Wife of Bath is the most famous story from the Tales, and it is about a Knight from King Arthur’s court (亚瑟王朝廷) The Canterbury TalesThe Wife of Bath The story begins: One of King Arthur’s Knights rapes a girl The punishment is death, but the Queen gives him a chance to save himself. (The Wife of Bath) The Queen sends the Knight on a quest to discover what women want the most. He has one year to find the answer, and if he fails, he will be killed. after one year of searching he is unable to find the true answer, until… On the road, he meets an old hag, who says she will give him the answer if he will agree to any favor she asks him. The hag tells him that women want is to rule their husband. The Queen accepts his answer and the knight is allowed to live. Later, the old hag asks the Knight to marry her. They marry, but he is sad that she is so ugly and old. The hag tells her husband that he has a choice: s