Don’t Make a Scene: The Representation of the Arthurian Love Triangle in the ‘English Tradition’ of Text and Film

The Arthurian legend has been part of history through different mediums ranging from art to film. Though no one text can be identified as the origin of the Arthurian legend, several texts have come to the forefront of the Arthurian canon. The “English tradition” consists of texts Britain and America recognize as versions of the Arthurian legend: Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Lord Alfred Tennyson’s The Idylls of the King, and T.H. White’s The Once and Future King. All three texts have caused different subsequent adaptations of the Arthurian legend as each portrays the Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot love triangle differently. As film became introduced to popular culture, Arthurian legends have been frequently presented on the silver screen. Three films in particular, Richard Thorpe’s Knights of the Round Table (1953), Joshua Logan’s Camelot (1967), and John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981), have not only presented the Arthurian legend differently based on the interpretations of the director, but also focused on the love triangle in varying ways. By analyzing these select texts and films, an understanding of how, why, and to what purpose the Arthurian love triangle has been presented to audiences since the fifteenth century can be gained.