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T.H. White uses humor to make his story more personable and make otherwise dull and dark situations light and funny. White also had characters have a humorous attitude using the m as comic relief. By using humor White also furthers his story and introduces new characters. In such a case as Wart’s encounter with King Pellinore while in the scary woods late at night. At first Wart sees the King and is wary to approach unsure if he may be a dark night or a ghost but soon after getting a closer look at the King, Wart finds him to be awkward and clumsy. Thus making Wart not frightened of being in the woods alone anymore. T.H.’s use of humor in these scenes make the story more likeable and easy to read by making it more personal and modern. It distracts the reader from the story for just a bit to take the edge off of such a serious story. Yes, I believe humor is welcome in literature if the author is able to properly fit it into the story without overtaking the true meaning of the story behind it. Who is the most comical character of The Once and Future King?
@dchin I think the first book was more humorous and light-hearted because it was the age of Wart’s innocence when he had not yet known about the true troubles surrounding the kingdom. It was the peak of his ignorance of looking at life as none other than a game. It was also when Wart had all of his childish adventures.
T.H. White uses humor because humor has a place in literature by how it adds comical relief to the sometimes intense story line. From Book 1, when Wart meets King Pellinore in the forest, he seems like a very intense person, but when you talk to the King, he seems very quirky and weird. Sometimes comic relief levitates tension in a story. Besides relieving tension, what can humor be used for?
@serrato1 The most comical character, I think, is King Pellinore. Everybody thinks his quest, finding the questing beast, is a fools errand. But, the King finds the beast, and finishes his mission.
@kadenheadington I do not think its disrespectful, because there is a difference between mocking humor and literary humor. T.H. White is not using humor in a mocking way, but is instead using it to make a point and or further the plot.
OKay so for humor i fell like Merlyn carries out a lot of the humor in the book because he just kind of a funny and wise character mix. When Wart first met Merlyn and entered his house and sitting to eat breakfast, Merlyn asked if Wart had ever drawn through a looking glass and a vanity glass appeared in his hand and he said, “Not that kind, you fool,’ “I want one big enough to shave in” ( White 28). I just thought of an old man saying that to himself or to his house and it was just kind of a you-have-to-smile-at-that kind of thing. I do think humor should be in classic literature because humor, suspense,tragedy, and action are key elements in keeping a story going and makes reading fun. I also think that the humor goes well with the story because one: I watched the BBC show Merlyn and that had humor in it and was based off of this story and it was a very great show. and two: for a story so like harsh is kind of eases the blows a little.
@dmcluckey humor can be used for fun moments or awkward moment because writing can get awkward and humor just sort of relieves the awkward vibes or it can just be plain out used for fun because it eases such harsh and depressed parts in a story.
@serrato1 I think Merlyn is the most comical because most old guys who happen to be magicians and live alone are pretty funny, I guess, I don’t really know because I’ve never met one in real life, but he seems like a humorous character.
White uses humor throughout the story within people and events that occur. He does this so the story would be more entertaining instead it being just one tone. Some examples are the three knights in which they dressed up as the Questing Beast to cheer up the King in Chapter 9 of Book II. These three were like the jokesters of the book and did things that made the book more interesting. White uses this humor to take away from the seriousness because it makes it more enjoyable. Humor is in many other stories and even poems so it is something that has been around for a while to help many different things more entertaining. If humor was not in this story it would not be as interesting because it would be a serious story with conflicts and events. Humor affects a lot in this due to the fact that it changed the way you would read it if it were written more seriously. do you think this story would be better with just one tone?
@ashleyfabella I think that White did not put too much humor in this story because he put it in little parts throughout the story so that there would not just be the serious part and the humorous part of the book.
@angelicacastenada I believe that White wrote the story to change from humorous to serious in different parts is because he did not want to make it just one tone.
Humor is an important aspect of society. Imagine if we were born without a sense of humor, then the world would be a much duller place. T. H. White had a great sense of humor when writing this book. He turned an otherwise dark legend into a more light-hearted one. For example, in Chapter XXI of Book I, Merlyn turns Arthur into a badger and Arthur meets one of Merlyn’s best friends, the Badger. Arthur meets with the Badger so that he can learn something new. The Badger has written a treatise that represents the dominion and responsibility of man and he recites it to Arthur. The Badger says that we all started off as embryos and then God said that we can each ask for three different specializations to our phenotypical characteristics. Many of the other embryos changed, but there was one embryo who said that he wanted to stay the same, the way that God had created him to be, and that was Man. This is a type of humor because we are seeing the species differentiation from an animal’s point of view. We also see some humor in Chapter X of Book II when Sir Grummore and Palomides dress up as the Questing Beast in order to try and help their depressed friend, King Pellinore. The plan ends up backfiring on them because the real Questing Beast has come and falls in love with the artificial Questing Beast. These are the humorous moments that help lighten up the story. White uses humor to help us from not getting too bored and to help us digest the downfall of King Arthur better. Without humor being a part of this story, it would be hard to pick up the book and continue reading. Humor will forever have a place in classic literature. Do you think the type of humor we have today would make any sense back in King Arthur’s era?
@kantakato1 I believe that the story would be very dull if it were written in just one tone, but that is only my point of view. T. H. White was very smart in adding a good amount of humor in good spots during the story.
@ashleyfabella Yes, I believe that there is such a thing as too much humor, but not in the case of The Once and Future King. In my opinion, there might be too little humor, but what T. H. White has is enough to my liking
White’s humor in the book goes as far as jousting matches to Sir Grummore and Sir Palamedies dressing up like the questing beast to cheer King Pellinore up. In fact, in book one, when Arthur pulls the sword out of the anvil and the stone, he believes it is merely a war memorial he is going to borrow to let Kay use in a jousting match, which is quite the joke in itself. Also in book one, Sir Grummore challenges King Pellinore to jousting match where they pathetically fumble around in their armor and run into trees shouting silly names at each other. I believe White decided to use humor in such a serious story to lighten the mood and atmosphere. An excessive amount of seriousness and complete lack of humor can cause a story to drone on and become uninteresting. Overall I have always loved the story of Arthur and I think the humor in the story is well placed and quite tasteful. I believe humor will always have a place in classic literature and is essential in every story to really show the writers feelings and taste in jokes. Is there ever a time where humor could be used wrongly or misplaced in a story in others opinions?
@kantakato1 I believe a story written in only one tone will become a drag and lose its charm quite quickly.
@serrato1 I believe the most comical characters out of the story are Sir Grummore, King Pellinore, and Sir Palamedies. King Pellinore is by far probably the most comical because of his silly quest and questing beast in the first book, but in the second I believe Sir Grummore and Sir Palamedies take the cake with dressing up as the questing beast and having the real questing beast fall in love with them and besiege the entire town.
Humor is one of the main aspects that we look for in books. Especially in depressing stories, humor adds more of an uplifting spirit. In the Once and Future King, T.H. White combines humor to create a fun and captivating read. For instance, Sir Palomides and Sir Grummore create a costume that enables them to lure the Questing Beast. Unexpectedly, the Questing Beast becomes infatuated with the costume. The men escape but are continually chased by the beast. This anecdote lightens the mood during one of the most depressing chapters of the novel. Another example would be when Sir Grummore challenged King Pellinore to a joust. First, they comically slander each other. Then, they entirely miss their opponent and crash into the trees. This “battle” also added humor to the childhood of Arthur. T.H. White utilized humor to create a more enjoyable and pleasant book. Do you think this story could have used more humor? If so, why?
@kirarobbins Humor can be applied incorrectly in many areas of novels. Certain novels concerning death or other hard subjects may want to keep the atmosphere dreary and depressing. Humor would be very misplaced in these types of novels.
@kantakato1 In any type of novel, I believe more than one tone is necessary. If any novel was monotone, the book would be very boring and mundane to read.
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