Talk:The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

Cover image

We need to find a good scan of the cover from as close to a first edition as possible. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe · Join WP Japan! 05:54, 25 June 2015 (UTC)

I was able to scan a first edition cover, and it has been added now. ···日本穣^? · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe · Join WP Japan! 04:22, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Honestly, I would argue to use a later one, because some of them had one of his fantastic illustration on the cover. Showing the first ed.'s generic cover doesn't really help the reader better understand the subject matter.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  23:22, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

New Edits

Hello, I'm starting edits on this article, and I've noticed it needs a lot of work. If anyone has any information about the novel's background, story summaries, character explanations, or any other useful information, please feel free to ping me! I would appreciate any help that you have to offer. Jesse R Long (talk) 01:10, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

I read these (at the intended age range I would think) when I was in junior high (middle) school, around 1981 or so. I think it would be of interest to cover where Pyle's stories diverge from the traditional narrative (i.e., Mallory's).

And also to cover his use of language. It's mentioned that someone did some modern sociological analysis of it, and we've summarized the bare gist of it. But just from a literary perspective it's worth some times, and I would think someone somewhere was written of it (probably in literary reviews of the era). We describe his Arthurian works as an American retelling, but this potentially misleading, since the language was like this (a direct quote I memorized, and which had a major impact on my ethics throughout life): "For it needs not that a man shall wear armor to be a true knight, but only that he shall do his best endeavor, with all patience and humility, as it hath been ordained for him to do." I forget which volume it's from.

That said, I do not at all disagree with the "Bourgeois Boys" article's take; the material was intensely gender-role reinforcing, and grounded in the same kind of elitism as most Western "fairytale"-style narratives (like Star Wars, which is basically just a Pelléas and Mélisande-like pseudo-Arthurian opera with special effects). It took a good decade or two to shake all of that stuff off. >;-)  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  23:37, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

More Background

While working on this article, I've noticed that the lead section lacks information on the books background (i.e., publication info, more information about the author, information regarding the reception of the novel, etc.) I did create a new section for Pyle's other works, but I do not know much about each of them. Would any one know any potential sources to look at for this info? I think it would help move the article forward in terms of available information. Jesse R Long (talk) 18:05, 6 October 2020 (UTC)

Illustrations

Although Howard Pyle is famous for his writing, he is better known for his illustration. In The Story of King Arthur and His Knights and Pyle's other novels, the illustrations play a large role in the significance of the novels and their presence in the genre of children's literature. I think it would be beneficial to add an illustrations section to the article to highlight the illustrations influence on the novel and its reception. Jesse R Long (talk) 23:17, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

Yes. I would strongly argue that this and the related articles would benefit from some material from arts journals, art books, etc. on the art. His work on these in particular was very well-received and highly influential. Most coverage of fantasy/romantic/fantastical art of the late 19th to early 20th centuries includes Pyle's Arthurian work. Sadly, I had to liquidate my 5000+ volume book collection last year to downsize my "life footprint" from filling a huge converted warehouse to fitting into a small apartment.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  23:25, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

American Literature

This book was one of the first (if not the first) pieces of Arthurian literature written in the United States. The article could benefit from supplemental information about the reception of the stories in America and how Pyle adapted the stories to American values. Jeanne Fox-Friedman's article "Howard Pyle and the Chivalric Order in America: King Arthur for Children" could have some information about this. Jesse R Long (talk) 23:26, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

The addition of any information on the publication history and development of the novel would also be beneficial as it is included in the format for wiki articles over novels. Jesse R Long (talk) 19:15, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

Themes

Many Wikipedia articles about novels include a themes section, and this article would benefit from the addition of one, specifically in relation to the ideas mentioned in the lead section (i.e., bravery, romance, battle, and knighthood.) It might also be beneficial to reference these themes in relation to the literary criticism on the novel. Does anyone have know of sources for this information?Jesse R Long (talk) 18:43, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

Character Section

I created the basis of a character section, and it may be helpful to the completeness of the article to include relevant information about the reception of these central characters or sources regarding their influence in Pyle's novel. The wiki article on A Christmas Carol is a good reference for the format of the information as well as a general idea of the types of sources to include.Jesse R Long (talk) 19:11, 17 October 2020 (UTC)