Comparative Analysis Of Romeo and Juliet and “Guinevere and Lancelot”

The story of “Guinevere and Lancelot” is a heartbreaking novel often compared to

Romeo and Juliet. Although the two stories have a few differences in the text, both the story of

Romeo and Juliet and the story of "Guinevere and Lancelot" focus on the power of death, fate,

and unwaning love; these elements combine to unify the two tragic tales.

Both stories include elements of unwaning love which is significant in both stories

because of the amount of power that love has on the characters. For example, Guinevere and

Lancelot knew that their affair was very risky, especially if Guinivere’s husband (the king) found

out. The same thing happened in Romeo and Juliet because they knew that their families could

find out about their affair if just a whisper about it got out. The unwaning love is shown in both

stories, firstly, in “Guinevere and Lancelot”, it states, “Lancelot fighting Meliagaunt to win back

both his and his queen’s honor.” (Shanna). This shows the unwaning love of the couple, they

would do anything for each other, and Lancelot saves Guinevere from execution because of it.

Secondly, in Romeo and Juliet, Romeo kills Paris, Juliet’s other lover, just so he can see Juliet

one more time (Shakespeare 1992). The fact that Romeo would kill someone just to see Juliet

shows their undying love, which continues throughout the whole of the story. Both couples

would do anything to keep their love alive, and love is their only link.

Guinevere and Juliet both knew that if they got into a relationship with Lancelot or

Romeo, they would have to be cautious for the rest of their lives, but fate didn’t let them get out

easy, and they eventually ended up in undying relationships. With Guinevere, this is stated in the

story, “She knows the risk of this attraction right away, and in an attempt to stay faithful to

Arthur, does her best to avoid and ignore the handsome knight.” (Shanna). This shows that
Guinevere really did try to ignore Lancelot, but fate did them over, and she couldn’t hold back

her love of him. With Juliet, this is shown in the Ballroom Scene, “My only love sprung from my

only hate, / Too early seen unknown, and known too late! / Prodigious birth of love it is to me /

That I must love a loathèd enemy.” (Shakespeare 1.5. 137-140). This shows that Juliet knows the

risks of being with Romeo, and knows that their two families have been feuding for centuries,

but she still says he is her only love, and eventually she gives in to Romeo. Fate played a huge

role in the plot of both stories, and made the couples never be able to ignore each other again.

The troubles that came upon Romeo and Juliet and Guinevere and Lancelot were never

ending, but because of their unwaning love, they always got through the troubles. Sometimes,

though, death was involved, and in both stories the couples killed at least one person so they

could see their relationship last longer, and each death made them increasingly closer to each

other. In the fourth act of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet fakes her death, just so she has a slim chance

of being with Romeo for the rest of her life (Shakespeare 1992). Although her “death” didn’t go

as planned, this shows she would still do anything to even have a chance of seeing Romeo again.

Likewise, in “Guinevere and Lancelot”, Lancelot kills a fellow knight just to save their

relationship, “resulting in Lancelot fighting Meliagaunt to win back both his and his queen’s

honor. Lancelot it successful and kills his accuser” (Shanna). This shows that even death could

not stop their relationship from advancing, and they would kill someone to keep it alive. Death

was a major factor in the lasting relationships in Romeo and Juliet as well as “Guinevere and

Lancelot”, and plays into the plots of both stories.

Although there are many spin offs of Romeo and Juliet, the heartbreaking story of

“Guinevere and Lancelot” ties into Romeo and Juliet’s plot in many ways, including the power

of death, fate, and unwaning love that are shown in both stories. The two stories continue to
show what can happen when you risk everything for the love of your life, and that nothing can

stop you if your love is great enough.

 Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, et al. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Simon & Schuster paperback

edition, Updated edition. ed.

Shanna. "The Tragic Affair of Guinevere and Lancelot." Luminous Lore, 22 Apr. 2021,

www.luminous-lore.com/the-tragic-affair-of-guinevere-and-lancelot/. Accessed 19 Jan.

2023.