Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Once and Future King, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Chivalry, Satire & Medieval Life
Fate (Time)
Quest and The Holy Grail
Might vs. Right
War
Summary
Analysis
Lancelot will grow up to be the greatest knight King Arthur had. But, for now, he practices every day in the Armory. He will spend every day for three years in the same room—with a sullen, unspoken dedication. The other boys do not worry about practice, but the ugly one has to prepare himself for Arthur. He supports himself solely on dreams. He wants to be the best knight in the world so that Arthur will love him. He wants, moreover, through his purity and excellence, to one day perform something miraculous—like curing a blind man or some such thing.
One of the more peculiar things about White's Lancelot is his ugliness—White repeatedly describes Lancelot as being incredibly ugly, almost grotesque. Perhaps it is his deformities that give rise to his incredibly complex and denigrating sense of self.
Themes
