Hero's Journey of King Arthur in the Movie "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword"

Introduction

There have been several movies of the famous story of King Arthur in such as in the recent captivating movie titled “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” directed by Guy Ritchie. The reason for several movies based on the story of King Arthur is due to the story’s detailed fascinating journey of a poor mistreated boy raised by prostitutes in a brothel, who grows up to be the powerful and revered man represented in King Arthur. Arthur overcomes various obstacles and defeats a very powerful villain due to his strong ambition and love for fellow human beings as a result of finding his true identity.

The purpose of my reflection paper is to provide three stages present in the story of King Arthur as reflected in the movie, “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” and show why these steps are essential for understanding the hero’s journey to attaining her or his identity and becoming who she or he is meant to be in life.

Plot summary

In the movie King Arthur: Legend of the sword, Arthur (the hero) is born to the lovable and respected king of Camelot named Uther-Pendragon. However, Uther’s brother named Vortigern (the villain or antagonist) is very envious of the power wielded by Uther and wants to be king, even if he has to kill Uther. Vortigern executes a plan, which involves sacrificing his wife to moat hags, which allows him to transform into a powerful demonic soldier, who then kills both Uther and Uther’s wife Igraine. Arthur as the only survivor, manages to escape in the boat and ends up being found and raised by a group of prostitute women in a city called Londinium. Once Arthur finds out his true identity after encountering allies, he goes through important stages in the hero’s journey to eventually defeat Vortigern and become King Arthur.

I will describe three stages or steps of the hero’s journey which led to Arthur conquering Vortigern and his army, thereby becoming King Arthur. The three stages are “Allies and Enemies” (Arthur meets his allies), “Initial refusal of the call” (Arthur refuses to join with allies to defeat Vortigern and become king) and “Acceptance of the call” (Arthur joins with allies, accepts his destiny to defeat his uncle and become King Arthur).

Three stages of hero’s journey in the movie, King Arthur: The legend of the sword:

Allies and Enemies

Step 6 called “Allies and Enemies” of the hero’s journey is the stage where the hero enters an unfamiliar world. Arthur encounters allies right before he is being executed. This stage is initiated by Vortigern plotting a plan to force all men who are around Arthur’s age to pull out the magical sword, knowing only that the son of Uther would be able to do so. King Arthur having been arrested is forced to pull out the sword. He is able to pull out the magical sword out of the rock, but he passes out due to the immense power the sword contains. After Arthur wakes up, Vortigern informs him that he will kill Arthur and take the power that comes with the sword.

Before the execution of King Arthur, a mage called Astrid (ally) meets a general, Sir Bedivere (ally) and both plot a plan to save Arthur. Voltigern sets up Arthur’s execution, which represents the moment where Arthur finds out that Voltigern and his knights are his enemies. Sir Bedivere and his men set out to help Arthur and battle with Voltigern’s arm and Astrid uses her magical powers to help Arthur and the men escape. At that moment Arthur encounters his allies who want to protect and keep him safe, so Arthur can defeat Vortigern and Vortigern’s army to become the rightful king.

Initial Refusal of the Call

Step 3 called “Initial Refusal of the Call” represents the hero’s reluctance to take the magical sword and follow the steps to defeat the villain. After being saved by Sir Bedivere his men and mage, Arthur is taken to their hideout. Sir Bedivere tells Arthur that they are interested to see what he’s capable of doing with the sword and that he must help them in order to defeat king Voltigern. After Arthur strongly refuses to help stating that he isn’t who they think he is, Bediveres men doubt that Arthur can be the king.

Acceptance of the call following the Road of Trials/Challenges

Lastly King Arthur experiences step 5 of the hero’s journey, “Acceptance of the call” where he accepts his destiny. This follows step 7: “Road of Trials/Challenges”, the “Belly of the whale” substage. Bedevere, Astrid and Arthur sail to the dark lands so that Arthur can better understand how to use and control the sword. On Arthur’s journey he is faced with many obstacles such as dangerous creatures and tough climates. Ultimately Arthur accomplishes his task, as he placed the sword on the alter stone, he gets a past vision of his uncle Vortigern killing both his parents. Arthur then witnesses his father’s sacrifice. Understanding his past and seeing the sacrifice his father made, Arthur is determined to kill king Vortigern and become King Arthur.

In conclusion, enemies and allies met Arthur while he was unsure about his true identity. Arthur refuses their help, believing he isn’t who they think he is. After overcoming obstacles and receiving visions, he understands his past and is motivated to exact revenge on his uncle and become King Arthur. These 3 steps outline Arthur’s journey as the hero of the movie on King Arthur.