Does "Le Morte D'Arthur" Epically Obey Aristotle???

In some ways "Le Morte D'Arthur" is very much the Aristotelian definition of an Epic but in others it is definitely it's own story. The best way for me to visualize this is in list form, so here goes:

Ways Yes:

• Covers an incredible length of time
• Can be classified as a Tragedy (for the most part)
• complete
• possesses magnitude
• can be divided into episodes
• can be narrated
• admirable
• effects katharsis (in my opinion anyway)
• However, it doesn't necessarily use pleasurable language but we'll come back to that.
• Has both simple and complex plots
• Merlin makes everything complicated (see Arthur's conception)
• When Arthur pulled the sword from the stone it was a pretty straightforward part of the story
• There is most DEFINITELY suffering
• Excellent description and detail allowing the reader (or listener as the case may be) to really visualize what is happening in the story
• Has plots AND subplots
• Written in third person

Ways No:

• Is not really written poetically but rather like someone chronicling the events around them
• There are definitely some inconsistencies within the story
• People "coming back from the dead" because the author apparently forgot he killed them off
• There could be an argument made that this book is not really a narration because it could, theoretically be acted out, however, I think that would result in something akin the Harry Potter movies with parts of the story being lost.
• There is no Chorus commenting on the events in the story
• In this story it almost feels like the author wants the reader to form their own opinions about the events rather than simply giving them one. Sir Thomas Malory is making it harder and better for us as the reading audience
• Not really constructed in a dramatic way
• Like I mentioned earlier it is more like a chronicle. 
• However, there are vignette-like sequences where there is a complication, a change of fortune, and a resolution, just as Aristotle described
• There is no one complication, change of fortune, and resolution for the whole story

In my opinion, I think that "Le Morte D'Arthur" is an Epic even if it doesn't conform to all of Aristotle's standards. As we discussed in class, these are the standards which Aristotle observed to have the most success in his time. In our time, there are certain aspects of the story that Aristotle would find "wrong" that would actually do pretty well in our time such as the lack of a chorus. Can you imagine The Avengers (a movie most people would consider "epic") being narrated with the addition of a group of characters whose sole function was fourth wall breaks to comment on the situation? No, you can't, because it would make no sense for us today. Here's another example, say there was a reading of the entire Harry Potter series, but it had been changed so that Dobby appeared in the first book and he commented on all the situations all the way through the 7th book (meaning he wouldn't die, yay!). How weird would that be?

In our time, I believe that what defines an Epic has changed somewhat so that, while "Le Morte D'Arthur" doesn't necessarily completely obey Aristotelian principles, it still touches us and sticks with us because it conforms to how WE see Epics today.

Jessie Jane Out!