Sunday, November 11, 2007
Perronik the Innocent: Yet Another Perceval Story?
I don't know about you, but I've just about had enough of myself. Is this story just another one about me or is it of a different folkloric tradition? For Tennyson, Hawker, and Lowell, I was a tangential character at best, so why have I been resurrected? Or maybe I'm mistaken? I'll just go back to my self-loathing, I guess.
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Well Peredur I'll have to get back to you on whether I think Perronik is simply another version of yourself once i read Perronik the Innocent. But as far as Lowell's poem "The vision of Sir Launfal" many things are clear. First, the author obviously has a vast interest in nature based on the two preludes in the poem which to me didn't have much to do with the poem itself. Also, Lowell seems to be bringing up a few traditional grail and christian based aspects. First, he brings up the importance of charity when he states how the Leper is not satisfied with the simple piece of gold he recieves when truly it is help that the Leper needs, not valuable items. The leper says "That is no true alms which the hand can hold; he gives nothing but worthless gold." because to him the gold is not of any value to him because he seeks charity. Also, the Catholic traditions come into play when the moldy crust of coarse brown bread and water out of a wooden bowl(the grail in this text) turn to fine wheaten bread and red wine for the leper. This is a clear representation of the communion tradition representing the body and blood of Jesus Christ who is in fact the leper in this poem.
Perronik the innocent does indeed seem it another perceval story. However, in this story it seems Perronik must go on a much more demanding journey in order to achieve what he is looking for. In order to find the Golden Basin and Diamond Lance Perronik had to outsmart a lion, put a dragon to sleep, escape scaly monsters and sirens, then finally poison Rogear the giant in order to search through his castle for the basin and Lance. This story is also different from the other Perceval stories because in the end, after succeeding in his quest, Perronik seems to get greedy, something that none of the other Perceval-like characters ever did. His rule over one land was never enough for Perronik, he always wanted to rule more land because he was the holder of the Golden Basin and Diamond Lance. Perhaps this is why he dissappeared at the end of the story and the Basin and Lance were yet again hidden within the castle of Kerglas.
This is my post for T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland. I have not really caught the part of this story that is supposed to fit in with Grail literature. I understand that the Wasteland is representative of the land that was turned to waste when the King's were injured in grail text, that was returned to normal when a knight achieved the grail, but other then that this is not really a grail text. It seems the author took the idea of the "Wasteland" from grail texts, but seperated his story from the grail legends. This is an okay story, centered on an aspect of grail literature, but I do not believe it was intended to be a grail work.
King Pellum,
I agree with your ideas concerning Perroniks story seeming like another Perceval story. In fact, I think that at the core of the Perronik story is the Perceval story, however, once you leave that core the story gets distorted. Like Perceval, Perronik starts as an "innocent", and one who is chaste, which of course forewarns of his achieval of the grail. Like Perceval, Perronik starts unexperienced and niave in the sense that he is not a knight and cares more of stories than the grail. Once he sets his goal on achieving the grail, Perronik must go on a quest. However unlike Perceval, the tasks which Perronik must endure to achieve the grail do not concern a procession or the posing of a question. They are instead dangerous challenges in which Perronik must think differently to survive.
When Perronik does achieve the grail, he becomes greedy, and perhaps this is to show that even a good "innocent" like Perronik is susceptible to human vices. If such a character is so corruptible, then imagine the susceptiblity of a knight such as Perceval or any other of Arthurs Knights.
Finally I'd like to add that there are some major defining grail notions that are left out in the Peronik story, one of which I've already brought up is the grail procession. Also there is no character who is need of being healed by another character, and there is no wasteland.
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