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Monty they use the holy hand grenade,

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a satirical film about King Arthur and his knight’s, who run into many erratic hardships while on the search for the Holy Grail. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, medieval culture and literature is mocked by the use of satire. Satire is a style of rhetoric that exposes vices and foolishness in society and is used in the movie as the knights of the round table search for the Holy Grail.

Three specific types of satirical strategies used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail to mock medieval culture and literature are anachronism, reversal, and parody. First, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, anachronism is used to mock medieval culture and literature. Anachronism is derived from the Greek word anachrous, which means “ against time” and is an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece. For example, in the beginning of the film, a modern historian is shown documenting events happening in front of a camera. However, it is the Medieval ages, and cameras were hundreds of years from being invented. Also, in the scene, a knight travels by and kills the historian for no apparent reason.

Then, his wife hurries frantically to his aid and she is wearing pearls, loafers, and a skirt. This is a notable example of anachronism because pearls, loafers, and skirts were not fabricated until hundreds of years later. Another example of anachronism is the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

When the Knights of the Round Table are trying to enter the cave, they use a grenade to kill the rabbit When they use the Holy Hand grenade, they must read the instructions on how to correctly operate the grenade ridiculing the knights’ incompetence. However, hand grenades were not invented in the 10th century and are completely out of place. Another instance of anachronism is in the ending scene of the movie when the policemen and cameraman suddenly appear as the knights are about to attack the Castle Aaargh. Then, as the army processes forward to attack, they are stopped by two police cars and a cameraman. The police blockade the men from attacking the castle and stop the cameraman from videoing. Then, Arthur and Bedever are arrested.

The police cars and cameraman are examples of anachronism because there were no cars, cameras, or policemen in the 10th century. Clearly, the modern historian, the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, and the policemen and cameraman are all examples of anachronism because they are in the wrong time period and are used to satirize Medieval culture and literature by mocking the incompetence of knights. Secondly, reversal is seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and is used to mock Medieval culture and literature. Reversal is Sir Galahad is an example of reversal because he is the knight who is called to be chaste and virtuous, yet he has to be rescued from the Castle of Anthrax and the temptations he encounters because of the women. Sir Galahad is used as reversal because his character represents the knights’ weak conscience and resistance to temptation. Whereas, knights are called to be strong-minded and fervent.

Another example of reversal is The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog guarding the cave. At first, the Knights of the Round Table do not believe that the little bunny could be so vicious and deadly. However, as they try to enter the cave the bunny becomes a rancorous creature who kills many of the knights, causing the others to back away and instead use the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog is an example of reversal because a common, “ cute” bunny is depicted as a killer beast, which satirizes the knights cowardliness to fight against the bunny. A final example of reversal is the “ damsel in distress” who is a man. In the classic damsel in distress story, the damsel is a girl; however, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail it is a man who is the damsel in need of being saved, from marriage in this instance.

The “ man in distress” again mocks the helplessness of men in the Medieval Ages. Overall, reversals are clearly depicted through the foolishness of the characters of Sir Galahad, The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, and the “ man in distress” because they each make one question: what is considered normal and what is not. Lastly, parody is used throughout the film to mock Medieval culture and literature.

Parody is imitating someone or something for comedic effect. For example, the “ trojan rabbit” is a parody. King Arthur and his knights use the rabbit to sneak into the castle where the grail is believed to be. This mocks the Trojan horse used in the Trojan war. However, as the doors are opened for the rabbit to enter, the audience is shown the knights who forget to access the inside of the rabbit, thereby exposing their incompetence once more. Another example of parody is the “ damsel in distress.” It mocks the classic damsel in distress fairytale story because the person in distress is a man instead of a damsel.

Ultimately, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail parodies are seen in the “ trojan rabbit” and the “ damsel in distress” taunting Medieval literature once more. Undoubtedly, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, anachronism, reversal, and parody are just three types of satire that are used throughout the film to mock medieval culture and literature. Not only are anachronism, reversal, and parody used in the movie, but many other types of satire are used, such as understatements, irony, and incongruity. Across many types of literature, satire is used to scrutinize the irrationality and preposterousness of the knights of the Middle Ages.

In short, Monty Python and the Holy Grail uses satire throughout the film to ridicule the foolishness and folly characters, mocking Medieval society and literature.

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