Accents

My latest completed novel (read, not written) is Richard D. Blackmore's Lorna Doone, a romance set in Exmoor, England, during the late 1600's. I have long been aware of the variety of accents contained in Britain - think Henry Higgins - but I don't believe I have ever read a novel with such untranslatable written accents as Lorna Doone. Fortunately the main characters are not given accents, but for the lesser characters, Blackmore renders their ways of speaking phonetically; and when one of the good men of Exmoor relates a fairly important (and fairly lengthy) story about highwayman Tom Faggus, I could not understand one fourth of what he was saying.

But for all that, I found it to Blackmore's credit that he went to all that trouble to accurately portray the speech of country folk in the regions covered in Lorna Doone. While many people think that a British accent means dropping one's h's in Cockney style, in reality the whole of Britain is covered by different "dialects," which can vary even between two towns in the same county. Some are less noticeable than others, but the interesting thing about watching an excessive amount of British television is that, after awhile, you begin to notice different accents among the actors. These are often masked by voice training; for example, Colin Morgan, who plays Merlin in the BBC series 'Merlin', is Irish, but hides his accent in the series so that it only slips out on rare occasions.

Another book that uses British dialects, but less overwhelmingly, is Burnett's The Secret Garden. Taking place in Yorkshire, Burnett brings in the Broad Yorkshire speech of the working class, which has the two-pronged effect of grounding the reader in the location and portraying the different levels of society. These are even more clearly shown in the 2004 British TV serial "North & South," based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South. Whether it was intentional or not, I found it interesting that the change from the rural, slow-moving, peaceful South to the fast and industrial North is reflected in the different ways of speaking between the Hales (who have moved up from the South) and the Thorntons (a very Northern family). Daniela Denby-Ashe, who plays main character Margaret Hale, has a very soft and "round" voice, whereas Richard Armitage, who plays Mr. Thornton, speaks through his nose and with his jaw set, giving him a harsh tone. The series also differentiates between the workers and the masters of the cotton mills, for among the workers, the dialect of the region is much more pronounced than among the higher-class "masters."

Accents must be used with more caution in writing than in film, since phonetically-rendered speech can be cluttered and confusing, rendering the dialogue unintelligible. However, they are exceedingly useful and interesting when done well and deserve at least a passing acquaintance, as some knowledge of the dialects of different regions, whether British or not, bring depth and accuracy to writing.

Merlin and Arthur

The two main players in the BBC series Merlin are, naturally, the warlock Merlin and the crowned prince of Camelot, Arthur Pendragon. As they have done with most of the story, the writers of the show have put their own spin on both characters that is drastically different from the "original" stories, and pulled it off admirably, creating two dynamic foci around which the series revolves.

Merlin, far from being the bearded, backwards wizard that T.H. White's The Sword in the Stone portrays him to be, begins the series as a young warlock recently arrived in Camelot, where magic is banned on pain of death. His powers are innate, not learned, but at the start of Season 1 he has no experience and no guidance, and no idea of how he is to use his magic (which is where Gaius and the Great Dragon come in). He is kindhearted and brave, if clumsy and awkward, and wants only to use magic for good.

"Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion!" (The Dragon's Call, Season 1 - The Great Dragon to Merlin.)

Arthur, Uther's son, has been brought up to hate sorcery and to regard all who practice magic as corrupt. He is proud and stubborn and an arrogant pig, as Gwen calls him - traits which he no doubt inherited from his father and then skilfully developed on his own; but early on his character begins to grow, showing viewers that he is more than that. He is compassionate and has a deep love for the people of Camelot, and is not quite so bull-headed in his approach to magic as Uther.

"You're a prat, and a royal one." (Le Morte d'Arthur, Season 1 - Merlin to Arthur.)

"You're a better man than your father. Always were." (To Kill the King, Season 1 - Morgana to Arthur.)

The complete overhaul of Arthur's and Merlin's established characters is what makes them both three-dimensional and allows the series to stand out as something new. If Merlin's powers were all in place by Episode 1 - if he were the wise wizard he is generally made to be - there would be no development. If Arthur were the glorious King Arthur at the beginning of the series, rather than being the jerk throwing knives at a servant, he would be flat and stale and unable to grow episode by episode.

As it is, the distinct flaws in each leave plenty of room for development: Merlin must learn to listen to his head and not always follow his instincts, and Arthur must lay aside his inbred fear of magic and his arrogance. Little by little both characters are growing, moving, hopefully, toward the crisis - when Arthur at last learns about Merlin's magic. Every episode edges a little nearer to that time, increasing the tension as Merlin is torn between keeping his powers a secret and revealing who he really is, and as Arthur begins to question his father's attitude toward magic.

An interesting facet of Merlin is the skill with which the characters play off each other, and that is most apparent in Arthur and Merlin - perhaps due as much to the actors as to the screenwriters. Like Morgana and Gwen's friendship, which is set more in the background, that of Merlin and Arthur is one between opposites, both in nature and position. By starting them on a footing of mutual disgust in the first episode, the screenwriters are then able to build up from the ground, letting the episodes add to the respect and friendship piece by piece. Arthur progresses from beating Merlin up with a broomstick to drinking poison for him; Merlin goes from insisting that if anyone wanted to kill Arthur, he would lend them a hand, to sacrificing his life to save the young Pendragon's. This will also (again, hopefully) set the stage for Arthur to realize that Merlin is not an idiot, and that he has powers far beyond what Arthur would have previously imagined.

It also gives the series a taste of humor and irony, at least in these episodes before Merlin's powers are revealed, as Arthur prides himself on his own skill and Merlin allows him to do so. An interesting episode in Season 2 put Arthur in Merlin's shoes for a time as he watches another man get the glory for his own actions - in exactly the same manner that Merlin has to let others take the credit for winning battles and saving Arthur's life. Hopefully the screenwriters will not stretch this too thin over episode after episode of Merlin disguising his magic, for, just as with a story in which a single point is worn to shreds by being carried too far, it will weaken the story if the truth does not soon come out.

"You cannot do this alone! You are but one side of a coin, and Arthur is the other." (The Mark of Nimueh, Season 1 - The Great Dragon to Merlin.)

Merlin and Character Studies

A little while ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the BBC show Merlin. That is to say, she introduced me to the bloopers first and I laughed so hard that I figured I might as well see if the actual show was any good. I was hooked after the first one. Perhaps the second. Anyhow, I was hooked, for a variety of reasons: the cleanness, the humor, the excellent foreshadowing, and the characters. Every major player has depth that unfolds over the course of the thirteen-episode-long first season, from Merlin himself to the sorceress Nimueh, and each individual intrigued me as a viewer and as a writer. For those of you who have not seen any of the show and might want to, I have endeavored to keep this post as spoiler-free as possible.

Gaius, the court physician who takes Merlin in when the young warlock arrives in Camelot, is a fairly stoic character from the beginning and provides the father-figure that Merlin does not have. He has the caution that Merlin lacks and can come across as unfeeling in his attempts to stop the young man from rushing headlong into good-intentioned scrapes, but the screenwriters did not make him an idiot. In several instances where Merlin's plan of action is at odds with Gaius', Gaius is eventually shown to be the wiser one as Merlin, ignoring advice and blundering on, creates more trouble rather than fixing the problem.

"You have taught me so much: taught me who I am, taught me the purpose for my skills, taught me that magic should only be used for great deeds. But most of all, you have always taught me to do what is right." (Le Morte D'Arthur, Season 1 - Merlin to Gaius.)

Uther, King of Camelot, is one of the most interesting character studies of all the Merlin cast. He is not an out-and-out villain, but he certainly is not a hero, nor even a good guy; he has suffered at the hands of sorcery (yet has also benefited by it) and lives in fear of all kinds of magic, swearing that Camelot will never fall to sorcery while he is king. His fear controls him, and any mention of sorcery drives all reason right out of his head. His acts are often condemnable and either fear- or self-driven, and he shows neither mercy nor understanding.

At the same time, he is not written (or played) as a wholly black-hearted ogre with no background or emotions. While I don't believe that a person's past in any way condones evil in their present actions, or that men and women are "basically good," yet in a story it is often more believable to give an antagonist an understandable history, rather than to say, "He's simply evil. So there." The writers of Merlin pulled this off with Uther by revealing some of his past encounters with sorcery and showing both the good and the evil that came of it.

As for Uther's emotions, several episodes reveal his deep love for his son, Arthur, and for his ward, Morgana, and his willingness to do anything to protect them. While these feelings also lead to wrong choices quite often, they have the effect of softening his character somewhat so that viewers can have some sympathy for him, while still wanting Arthur to take the throne.

"...He's a broken man consumed by fear. His hatred of magic has driven goodness from his heart." (The Nightmare Begins, Season 2 - Aglain to Morgana.)

Nimueh, the arch-nemesis of Season 1, is the opposite of Uther and yet also very similar. She is a powerful sorceress whose mission is revenge for the lives of her fellow sorcerers whom Uther has killed, so she represents all that the king has sworn to destroy. At the same time, though, her past and Uther's are linked, and the writers employed the same tactic they used for Uther in giving Nimueh a history to make her an understandable - though not a sympathetic - evil. She is not thrown into the role of villain with a mere, "I hate everyone just because." She has purpose, and that makes her even more evil - and thus a better antagonist.

"I have watched so many people I love die at your hands, Uther Pendragon. Now it is your turn." (Excalibur, Season 1 - Nimueh to Uther.)

The Great Dragon whom Uther imprisoned years ago beneath the castle is the narrator of the series and something of an enigma. He is the one who shows Merlin that his purpose is to protect Arthur at all costs and to get him to the throne of Camelot, but the Dragon's motives become increasingly suspect as the first season progresses. The question of whether or not he can be trusted adds a further element of suspense to the storyline, as he is often the only character strong enough or wise enough to help Merlin. It also makes him three-dimensional and allows for a contrast between himself and Merlin, between the Dragon's self-serving mindset and Merlin's self-sacrificing spirit. Had the screenwriters made the Dragon a purely good character, it would have had the double effect of making him flat and taking out a large portion of Merlin's moral struggles.

"Your destiny is to protect the young Pendragon until he claims his crown and, when he does, magic can be returned to the realm. Only then will I be free." (Le Morte d'Arthur, Season 1 - The Great Dragon to Merlin.)

Morgana, niece and ward of Uther Pendragon, is another difficult character whose true colors have yet to be revealed. Throughout the episodes she has had dreams in which she has glimpsed the future, making Gaius, who prescribes medicine for her nightmares, wonder whether she may have the same sort of magic that Merlin does. Though she is usually a sweet and goodhearted young woman, she has a darker side - fierce loves and hates, a quick and passionate temper, and a lack of guidance. She is unpredictable and has the capacity to turn into sorceress like Nimueh, and as her character and powers are slowly revealed, they give more force to the question of her future.

"I am never going back. These are my people. They are like me. I don't feel so alone here." (The Nightmare Begins, Season 2 - Morgana to Merlin.)

Guinevere, or Gwen, is Morgana's maidservant and friend and represents her polar opposite. Where Morgana is fiery, Gwen is subdued; where Morgana is sarcastic, Gwen is sweet; where Morgana flies into a passion at the hint of injustice, Gwen accepts her lot with resignation. She is loving and full of blessings for almost everyone; but like Morgana, Gwen has convictions and frequently voices them, though she generally regrets it afterward.

An interesting point that is brought out by the second season is that, though Morgana is the king's ward and the prettier of the two women, still it is Gwen's sweetness that attracts the men and makes her the subject of the age-old question in fiction, "Who is she going to marry?" Her natural openness and affection has torn her between two men, and I have yet to find out how the screenwriters will resolve it.

"Gwen is the most kind, loyal person you would ever meet and she's been more than a friend to all of us." (Lancelot and Guinevere, Season 2 - Morgana to Arthur.)

Lancelot, probably the third most well-known character of the Legend of King Arthur, is portrayed in the BBC series as a great swordsman, but not a nobleman and thus not eligible to serve as one of the Knights of Camelot. Unlike in most of the King Arthur tales, he is a humble man whose one goal is to serve the king of Camelot, and whose character is far nobler than any real nobleman's. He has actually only appeared in two episodes so far (once in Season 1 and then again in Season 2), but the screenwriters have established him so well in those that he is not "out of sight, out of mind"; he is a critical player, but exactly what part he will eventually play remains to be seen.

"For all my words, for all that I believed, I've come to nothing." (Lancelot and Guinevere, Season 2 - Lancelot to Guinevere.)

And this is the part where you wonder where Arthur and Merlin himself have gotten to in this list. However, they deserve a compare-and-contrast post of their own, as Dr. Watson did, so their character studies will come later.