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Themes In Monty Python The Quest For The Holy Grail

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In the tale Monty Python The Quest For The Holy Grail there are many themes found that are commonly known in medieval literature. Though in this tale you will find these themes to be a bit different from that of what you would expect. Here you will find common knightly behavior to be mocked and used to bring about comedy in the tale. You will find the role of women to also be mocked in that they are being used to please men among their sexual desires and not just of servant use. The characteristics of a noble quest will be found mocked along with the role of religion. A knight is someone who is looked upon to be brave, mature and wise in his understandings. He should be strong in his courage when it comes time to defeat the enemy, as in the tale Beowulf. Beowulf looks to be brave and strong when he goes in to fight Grendel and after he has defeated him and his mother. That outlook on who a knight is to be is twisted in the tale Monty Python. The knights in Monty Python ride on imaginary horses and argue over pointless things and seem as if they are just spilling out the first thing that pops to their minds. Sometimes the argument will start off on one thing and be something entirely different by the end. Women during this time are looked upon to …show more content…

It was believed that God could change your life at any time like the “wheel of fortune.” An example of this act would be at the Bridge of Death scene when the knights had to answer the 3 questions in order to pass or be killed. It was also found that they believed God took sides in this tale which wasn’t found to be agreed with in most medieval literature. Many things could be agreed with and argued against in the tale Monty Python And The Holy Grail. The main point of this being was to make it humorous and enjoyable for those who wouldn’t take it too

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Monty Python is a great comedic film filled with hilarious satire mocking medieval literature. It features parodies of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight using sarcasm, irony, and ridicule. It may be humorous or include dark comedy. This was usually the case when they were making fun of the films different themes such as chivalry, religion, the knightly code, and the noble quest. Monty Python portrays similar themes when comparing the film to the medieval stories Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

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The British comedy Monty Python and The Holy Grail is the story about a man, King Arthur, and his knights on a mission to find the Holy Grail. On their quest they endure the many tough obstacles of the Middle Ages. Some of these obstacles being realistic and others on the more impractical side. The movie’s filmmakers were aiming to satirize every branch of the Middle Ages such as the medieval Catholic Church, learning and education, the knight’s code of chivalry, and feudalism. One example would be the use of coconuts to imitate the sound of the horses’ hooves hitting the ground.

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The movie opens with King Arthur “riding” into town, not really riding but having his servant beat coconuts together behind him so it sounds like a horse’s hooves. Even from the beginning of the movie the satire that made the movie what it is today is clearly visible. Arthur goes into town to find his Knights of the Round Table: “Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Galahad the Pure, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot, and the aptly named Sir Not-appearing-in-this-film”(Monty Python and the Holy Grail). The movie is based on the knight’s many adventures on their way to find the Holy Grail. On their way to finding the Grail they face a varying array of horror, including a persistent Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a group of shrubbery-challenged knights, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen.

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