ENGLISH LITERATURE - STDV
ARTHUR AND THE SWORD
REFERENCE TO CONTEXT
I.
“ When he died a dispute arose about who should be the king
next.”
Q1. Which lesson is the above line taken from?
Ans1. The above line is taken from the lesson “Arthur And The Sword” –
adapted from “The Legends Of Kung Arthur” by Padraic Colum.
Q2. What dispute arose after the death of King Uther Pendragon?
Ans2. A dispute arose soon after the death of King Uther Pendragon about
who should be the next king of England because the king had left no sons or
an heir to succeed him to the throne.
Q3. Who were the contenders to be the next king?
Ans3. All the different knights of the kingdom, who led a princely life were
the contenders to be the next king. All the knights wanted to claim the
throne.
II.
“Sir Kay found that he had left his sword behind.”
Q1. Who was Sir Kay?
Ans1. Sir Kay who had just been knighted, was the son of Sir Ector.
Q2. What problem did he face? Who helped him?
Ans2. When Sir Kay reached the grounds where the tournament was to be
held, he found out that he had left his sword behind in the castle where they
had stayed the night before. Arthur helped him to solve the problem.
Q3. How did Arthur help Sir Kay?
Ans3. Arthur loved his brother Sir Kay and wanted to please him. When Sir
Kay asked Arthur to fetch his sword that he had left behind, Arthur
Immediately rode towards the castle. He knocked hard on the door but no one
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opened it. Arthur did not want to fail his brother and so he thought of a way
out. He went to the churchyard where the strange sword lay unguarded. He
deftly drew out the sword from the anvil. He rode back and gave the strange
sword to his brother.
Q4. What was Sir Kay’s reaction when he saw the sword that Arthur
gave him?
Ans4. When Arthur gave the sword to Sir Kay, he grasped it and felt
satisfied. As he looked intently at the sword, his cheeks paled. It was none
other than the one in the churchyard with the strange writing on it.
III.
“Now I begin to think that you are of a higher destiny than I
thought.”
Q1. Who said the above words?
Ans1. Sir Ector said the above words.
Q2. Who is referred here as the one “of the higher destiny?”
Ans2. Arthur is referred here as the one “of the higher destiny.”
Q3. Why did he think that Arthur was of a higher destiny?
Ans3. Sir Ector remembered that it was King Uther’s desire that Arthur be
entrusted to him as a baby but nothing was ever revealed to him about
Arthur’s parentage. He could rightly guess that Arthur was the rightful king,
son of King Uther as he was the only one who could deftly pull out the
glistening sword from the anvil.
Question And Answers.
Q1. Who was Arthur? Who brought him up?
Ans1. Arthur was the son of King Uther Pendragon. When Arthur was still a
baby, he was secretly taken away by a wise old man named Merlin to save
him from the malice of the wicked knights. He was brought up in the family
of Sir Ector, a noble knight. Arthur thought that Sir Ector was his father.
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Q2. Why were the knights called to London?
Ans2. Since the knights and princes could not be kept in check any longer,
the Archbishop called all of them to London in order to attend a solemn
service at the cathedral where all the people would gather and pray to God to
give some sign and show them who was their rightful king.
Q3. What happened after the solemn service was over?
Ans3. After the solemn service was over a ‘strange stone’ appeared against
the high alter in the churchyard.
Q4. Describe the ‘strange stone’.
Ans4. The ‘strange stone’ was white like marble. It had something sunk in it
like a steel anvil, in which lay a great glistening sword. The sword had a
message written on it with golden letters, which read:“Whosoever pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightly king
born of all England!
Q5. How did the knights react when they saw the sword?
Ans5. When the knights saw the sword, they became very curious and with
the permission of the Archbishop tried to pull it out of the stone. None of
them could move it even a hair’s breadth.
Q6. What was arranged for the New Year’s Day to keep the common
people and the knights together?
Ans6. The Archbishop arranged for jousts, tournaments and other fine events
on New Year’s Day to keep the common people and the knights together till
the king could be revealed.
Q7. How did the knights and princes react when Arthur plucked out the
sword from the anvil at the first trial?
Ans7. When Arthur plucked the sword out, it slid from the stone like a
sunbeam across the wall. This made the knights and princes very furious that
a mere boy from nowhere in particular had beaten them. They refused to
accept Arthur as their king. They appointed another day for another trial.
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Q8. What happened on the day of the final trial?
Ans8. On the day of the final trial, at the feast of Pentecost, Arthur once
again pulled out the sword as easily as before. He did this in the presence of
all knights and common people. The people at once accepted him as their
king.
Q9. “Arthur shall be our king”, who said these words? Why?
Ans9. The people of England said these words. They were religious and God
fearing with strong faith in God. When Arthur skilfully pulled out the sword
from the stone, they believed that this incident had revealed the voice of
God, that Arthur was their rightful king. They cried in one voice, “Arthur
shall be their king.”
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