Excalibur Movie Analysis Essay Example

Magic is something we all have heard of, yet not everyone believes it exists. Magic disguises itself in all sorts of different ways. It's everywhere. For example, magic could be found in a book series or a movie. In a live audience where we are all left wondering how does the girl in the box not get chopped in half when the man saws the box in half. Magic can contribute to power and fate in someone's life.  In the movie Excalibur a powerful magic called the Dragon’s Breath contributes to how a kingdom will function with a king of that power. The Dragon's Breath is destiny, magical incidents, and  the power of the sword.

The destiny in the movie Excalibur is shown throughout the movie. The destiny that is changed by the Dragon’s Breath will change the future of the kingdom. For example, when Uther uses the Dragon’s Breath to have a son named Arthur when he wasn’t originally supposed to be born and become King until a magical power changes the destiny. When Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone it shows he was destined to be King because of the power his father had from the Dragon’s Breath. After Arthur became King he met a young lady named Guinevere who he planned to marry and did. Soon after Arthur battled a man named Lancelot. After Guinevere met Lancelot they felt an undeniable connection like love at first set as it was destined for them to meet. Guinevere wanting to be loyal to her King she pushed Lancelot away, but fate will bring the two's attraction for each other stronger to the point neither of them could deny it anymore. Lancelot then left the kingdom to go live in the woods away from Guinevere but his own self-consciousness fights with him and he ends up stabbing himself trying to deny the fate he was meant to be with Guinevere. Lancelot will confess his feelings for Guinevere “ i will love you always, i will love you as my Queen, as the wife of my best friend, and while you live i will love no other ’’ this will cause complications in Arthur and Guinevere's marriage. Arthur will find Guinevere and Lancelot in the woods sleeping naked next to each other and will drive Excalibur into the ground between them to symbolize he knows that she has an attraction for Lancelot. This shows after all the people the two would have hurt from their secret they would still end up together because of destiny. 

 In the movie Excalibur a lot of magical incidents took place, mostly done by merlin. Merlin helped King Uther to have a child with Igraine, also known as Arthur. Merlin used the Dragon's Breath: “enchantments that allow a weapon to kill anything, including the undead and creatures otherwise immortal” to change Uther’s appearance into Igraine's husband so he can have a child with her that one day will be King. Excalibur was created by using some sort of magical force. Merlin uses his magic throughout the movie to help Arthur be the greatest King. Arthur meets a knight Sir Lancelot and calls on the magic of the Excalibur to win the fight against Lancelot. With Excaliburs magic Lancelot is knocked down but the sword ends up breaking into two pieces. Despairing, Arthur throws the two pieces of the sword into a nearby body of water and admits he used the magic wrongly. Then appears the Lady of the Lake and gives him back the sword and magically fixes it. This quote from the movie Excalibur “ Then may He give me the strength to unhorse you. And send you with one blow, back across the sea’’ shows Arthur used the Dragon’s magical powers to beat Lancelot. Morgana Arthur's half sister ends up using magic to change her appearance to look like Guinevere to have sex with Arthur to make her have a son Mordred that will be King. After using the Dragon Breaths magic for no good there is always a consequence. 

The power in the film Excalibur is the sword Excalibur: “symbol of divine kingship”. The sword brought extra power to King Uther when he wasn't very strong to begin with. The sword aided him in his battles and then later the power of the sword brought him his wishes of having a child with Igrane. With the sword first being Uther’s and then during his downfall he stuck the sword into the stone only later will his son Arthur be able to take the sword out of the stone and be named King. This quote from the movie Excalibur shows the power of the sword can only be used by Arthur “ He who pulls the sword from the stone shall be king”. Without Excalibur there was no real power or sense of togetherness around the land. After Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone no one thought a young boy could be King he proved it by getting knighted. This quote from the movie Excalibur shows the power of the dragon “ The Dragon. A beast of such power that if you were to see it whole and all complete in a single glance, it would burn you to cinders”. The power in the movie also known as the Dragon's Breath was so powerful when Merlin was tricked and then frozen, he was still able to use the power of the sword to become a dream and help Arthur win the battle against Mordred, his son. This quote from the movie Excalibur shows the power of the Dragon’s Breath “I once stood exposed to the Dragon's Breath so that a man could lie one night with a woman. It took me nine moons to recover”. The power of the sword Excalibur was also deemed to have magical qualities protecting the wearer from serious injury or from any blood loss if injured. 

In conclusion fate, enchanting requests, and the strength of the sword is all part of the dragon's breath. The dragon’s breath holds the power to change someone's life just like that. It is a very powerful magical creature to hold onto because the dragon’s breath can either ruin someone’s life or benefit the others. There is no good nor evil that comes from the sword Excalibur. The Dragon’s Breath can take so much power from Merlin to function causing him to suffer at someone else’s benefit. What would you do if you had the ability Arthur did with Excalibur and would you be able to handle the consequences that come from the use of the Dragon?