The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone

What do the details show about the value this culture places on size and strength?

Why is it so important to the boys of this era?

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Last updated by jill d #170087
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What Wart calls "might and right" is what the author viewed as strength and justice, and the symbiotic relationship between the two. Arthurian England was a place where people believed that strength and justice were essentially the same thing, therefore any grandiose show of strength was right. White disagreed profoundly with this stance and this is evident on the rather jokey and satirical portrayal of strength (the silly "joust" between two aristocratic Knights) who each declare themselves right because they are socially mighty. Through experiencing life as an ant, a goose, a badger and a pike, Wart discovers that there are many different ways to be mighty and that strength can be an internal thing rather than a show of brute might. The theme of might and right attempts to postulate that there are alternatives to justice dictated by force.

Source(s)

The Sword in the Stone, GradeSaver