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The book, taking place on the isle of Gramarye , chronicles the raising and education of King Arthur and ends prior to his final battle against Mordred. Though its source material is admitted by the author as being derived from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), White creates his personal reinterpretation of the epic events and fills them with renewed meaning for a world enduring the Second World War.
The book is divided into four parts:
A final part called The Book of Merlyn was published separately (BooksEnthsiast.com) following White's death. It chronicles Arthur's final lessons before his death, although some parts of it were incorporated into the final editions of the previous books.
Despite the subject matter of the original story, White infuses his book with anti-nationalism and pacifist sentiment. There is a light smattering of symbolismFor an account of the late 19th-century movement in poetry and the arts, known as Symbolism see symbolism (arts). Symbolism is the systematic use of symbols to represent or allude to something. In the most literal sense, all language is symbolic. In a nar throughout the book (e.g., Mordred's Thrashers are easily Nazis; King Uther PendragonUther Pendragon pen-dragon "head of the dragons") is the legendary father of King Arthur in Arthurian legend. In French he is called Uterpendragon or Utependragon in Welsh Uthyr Pendragon and in Irish Iubhair''. His name is possibly derived from (or stemm, as derived from his birth and death dates, symbolizes the monarchyFor related meanings see also Monarch (disambiguation A monarchy (from the Greek monos archein , meaning "one ruler") is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. The distinguishing characteristic of monarchies is that the Head of State ho before the Magna Carta), but there is more of comedy.
One often quoted passage from the book is the badger's dissertation. It re-tells the story of the Creation from Genesis.
The Sword in the Stone chronicles Arthur's (called Wart) raising by his foster father Sir Ector, his foster brother Kay and his initial training by a wizard who lives through time backwards - Merlyn. Merlyn, knowing the boy's destiny, teaches Wart what it means to be a good king by turning him into various animals: fish, ant, birds. Most particularly, before he takes the throne Wart learns to challenge the concept of Might is Right.
In The Queen of Air and Darkness, White sets the stage for Arthur's demise by introducing the Orkney clan and detailing Arthur's seduction by his half-sister while the young king suppresses initial rebellions. Meanwhile, Merlyn leads Arthur to conceptualize the means of harnessing potentially destructive Might for the cause of Right: the Round Table.
The Ill-Made Knight switches to the story of forbidden love between Sir Launcelot and Queen Guenever and its effect on Elaine and King Arthur.
The Candle in the Wind tells the upshot of all of the preparation for Arthur's downfall and the downfall of the idealistic kingdom of Camelot.
The stories begin decidedly humorous mainly through Arthur's adventures, White's prose, and King Pellinore's interminable search for the Questing Beast . The tale gradually becomes darker until Ill-Made Knight loses much of the original humor and The Candle in the Wind is mirthless.