France
7
The Grail Unveiled
In Chretien de Troyes' The story of the Grail, from Perceval, a young man named Perceval has a hunger for adventure and wishes to become a knight like his father and both of his brothers. Before the excerpt that is being analyzed, Perceval defeated the Red Knight and was taught how to fight by Gornemant, who confers knighthood on Perceval. Also, Perceval was told by Gornemant to be merciful to knights and avoid asking too many questions. After he becomes a knight, Perceval worries of his mother and decides to return home to be with her. The excerpt begins with Perceval meeting the Fisher King on his way to find his mother and is invited as a guest to stay in his castle. At dinner, he sees young men and women carry various item, but he does not ask of the items because of his instructions from Gornemant. At the end of the excerpt, Perceval wakes to find everyone to have left him. When he leaves the palace, the drawbridge goes up as he is crossing and Perceval admits his regret about not asking about the grail. In Troyes' excerpt of The Grail, the theme, taking advantage of each moment in life and living it to the most satisfying way possible, is presented through the use of structural repetition and characterization.
Troyes uses structural repetition in the excerpt of The Grail to express the theme of making the most of each moment. Several times throughout the story the author told the audience that Perceval had not asked what was on his mind because he was told not to. The author hints at this by saying, “The young man thought his questions might / make people think him impolite, / and that's why he did not inquire”(Troyes 234-236). The author included this, because he wanted the reader to understand why Perceval did not speak his mind. Also, the author repeats that Perceval was biting is tongue by saying, “The young man saw the maids' procession / and did not dare to ask a question / about the grail or whom they served”(Troyes 268-270). The repetition of Perceval's hesitance brings attention to the fact that he has questions that he is to scared to ask. By the end of the selection, Perceval confesses, “There's something I would ask of you, some things I wanted to inquire, some information I desire.” This shows that Perceval is regretful of holding back his desire to speak and ask the questions he wished. He is regretful, because he realized that he missed his chance to ask his question and now, he may never know the answer to his questions. Since Perceval did not live to the maximum, he was regretful and will, hopefully, learn from his mistake and make every moment count. This is evidence that one should always make the most of every moment, because if Perceval had done so he would not have been so regretful at the end of the excerpt. In Consideration that Perceval was so regretful, one can learn from him that it is necessary that one take advantage of every moment in life, or it will most likely end with regret. Through the use of repetition, one can infer that the author wanted to make a point to emphasize that making the most of every moment is one of the most important things in life.