T H White’s The Once and Future King is a fascinating read. Anachronisms galore, and a modern point of view on the anti-romance of Guenever and Lance. She’s venal and a brunette, he’s quite ugly and an emotional wreck. The Sword in the Stone section (the book is in sections) is wonderful and witty. Besides, as Arthur is trained by Merlyn’s changing him into a variety of animals and birds, we see how Arthur learns what society and justice and killing are. By this unique upbringing, Arthur has a much greater scope than most men. So when the horrors of Morgause and her would-be gallant sons begin, we watch all of it from the distance Arthur had.
Lerner had a great task but ultimately caught the quasi-poetic as well as some of the ironic commentary on civilization itself. He caught the lightning.
If you saw it when you were in second grade, as I was, you never forgot the show’s magic, the striving for nobility, and the spectacular presence of the three leads. And the wondrous stories of how the creators went back and revised and rehearsed it til it really worked are themselves a kind of legend. Forgive me then, for seeing this pedestrianization of the work as a travesty. The Lerner estate was remiss. |
