Anything You Can Do: Gawain, Lancelot, and Failure in Malory's Le Morte Darthur

This article argues that Malory utilizes both positive and negative characterizations of Gawain to directly contrast with Lancelot. Through this comparison, Malory heightens Lancelot's successes and mitigates his failures. Because of this, Lancelot can be both a flawed knight and still one of the best knights of the realm. (DT)