"This beast went to the well and drank, and the noise was in the beast's belly like unto the questing of thirty couple hounds, but all the while the beast drank there was no noise in the beast's belly"
About this Quote
The simile does double work. Hounds evoke the aristocratic hunt, a noble ritual of pursuit, which turns the beast’s stomach into a courtly metaphor: the body as a kennel of relentless want. By choosing hounds instead of, say, thunder, Malory frames the beast not as alien but as a grotesque mirror of human systems - trained, numerous, and set loose to chase. Then he yanks the leash. Drinking mutes the pack. The scene implies that what we fear as “monstrous” often runs on the same mechanics as anyone else: craving, temporary relief, craving again.
Contextually, Malory’s Morte d’Arthur lives on tests: of knights, of bodies, of faith. Here the beast at the well reads like a moral instrument in romance clothing. The well offers a brief truce, not a cure. The quiet isn’t peace; it’s a pause that makes you anticipate the next eruption. Malory’s intent is suspense through physiology: the monster isn’t only out there in the forest. It’s in the stomach, waiting for the sound to come back.
Quote Details
| Topic | Nature |
|---|---|
| Source | Verified source: Morte Darthur (Thomas Malory, 1485)
Evidence: And with that the king saw coming toward him the strangest beast that ever he saw or heard of; so the beast went to the well and drank, and the noise was in the beast’s belly like unto the questing of thirty couple hounds; but all the while the beast drank there was no noise in the beast’s belly, and therewith the beast departed with a great noise, whereof the king had great marvel. And so he was in great thought, and therewith he fell on sleep. (Book I, Chapter XVIII (episode of the Questing Beast; in many modern printings this is near the early chapters on King Arthur and King Pellinore)). This passage is in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur (often titled Morte Darthur in editions), in the early Arthur material describing the Questing Beast. The earliest publication of Malory’s work is William Caxton’s first printed edition, dated 1485. The wording you supplied matches this Malory passage essentially verbatim (modernized punctuation/typography). The Project Gutenberg text reflects a later edited/standardized text, but the underlying primary source is Malory’s work as first printed by Caxton in 1485. Other candidates (1) Le Morte Darthur (Sir Thomas Malory, 1998) compilation99.5% ... this beast went to the well and drank , and the noise was in the beast's belly like unto the questing of thirty c... |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Malory, Thomas. (2026, February 23). This beast went to the well and drank, and the noise was in the beast's belly like unto the questing of thirty couple hounds, but all the while the beast drank there was no noise in the beast's belly. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/this-beast-went-to-the-well-and-drank-and-the-95403/
Chicago Style
Malory, Thomas. "This beast went to the well and drank, and the noise was in the beast's belly like unto the questing of thirty couple hounds, but all the while the beast drank there was no noise in the beast's belly." FixQuotes. February 23, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/this-beast-went-to-the-well-and-drank-and-the-95403/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"This beast went to the well and drank, and the noise was in the beast's belly like unto the questing of thirty couple hounds, but all the while the beast drank there was no noise in the beast's belly." FixQuotes, 23 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/this-beast-went-to-the-well-and-drank-and-the-95403/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
