Essays on Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Note on poetic meter: Gawain is typical of Middle English alliterative poems in that it is written in alliterative long lines, following the basic metrical principles of Old English verse. Each long line consists of two half-lines, each half with two stressed syllables and a …

This story is in the tradition of Arthurian stories about the Legendary King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. This is a alliterative poem belonging to the romantic genre of Arthurian legends. (more…)

The Theme of Games in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The theme of games plays a very important role in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In fact, much of the action that takes place in this story revolves around the playing of various …

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a fourteenth century Middle English romance story portraying the chivalrous character of Sir Gawain. It is a splendid but a difficult poem and the one that has naturally attracted a considerable body of critical commentary. The poem is …

Every group has its idols, those people who serve as the epitome of the group’s values. Cowboys look up to Lane Frost, basketball players look up to Michael Jordan, and Arthurian knights look up to King Arthur. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one …

During the course of the medieval poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is presented with a number of choices, and must, as a result of these options, make difficult decisions. In most instances, his choices trap his natural self-interest in preserving his own …

The color green represents many different things in general, but it is also specifically symbolic in the Pearl Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. First, the Green Knight is, literally, green. This makes him appear odd or even supernatural. At a deeper level, the …

In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and “Beowulf,” we encounter single heroic men, under a great king on an adventurous quest for recognition, and honor. Hard to imagine that though so much alike, they differ in category. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” contains …

In the medieval poem, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the poet, whose identity is unknown, speaks of the ideals of knighthood by describing chronicles of Sir Gawain, the noblest knight of King Arthur’s court. Gawain accepts a challenge from the Green Knight and therefore …

As with so many stories written in the Middle Ages Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is filled with wonders, magic and knightly pursuit of fame and nobility. It combines folklore and romance as does, according to The Norton Anthology, no other known work. The …