Anastasia Deriy

Period 1

Sir Gawin and the Green Knight

1. What challenge does the Green Knight make to King Arthur and his knights?
The Green Knight challenged King Arthur and his knights to strike him and he would give a
knight a nick on the neck with his green axe only if the knight would do the same to him under a
year’s time. Sir Gawain is the one who becomes the challenger as he quickly attacks the Green
Knight in hopes of protecting the King.
2. What happens when Sir Gawain meets the Green Knight on New Year’s Day?
Gawin shows his neck when he meets the Green Knight because it was part of their agreement.
When Sir Gawain receives a blow to his neck, the Green Knight reveals that he is the lord who
invited Gawin into his castle and his stay was a test.
3. At the end of the poem, what is the Green Knight’s opinion of Gawain?
Under many tests and trails, the Green Knight’s opinion of Gawain seems to be understanding
of his sins and believes he is a good knight.

4. In medieval romances, there is often a character whose identity is hidden or mistaken.

Explain how this characteristic affects the outcome of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
By hiding his identity behind the color of green, the Green Knight can truthfully test Sir Gawain
without bias and get better results as to what his fate should be.

5. Situational irony is a contrast between what is expected and what occurs. What is ironic
about Sir Gawain’s acceptance of the sash from the lady of the castle?
Sir Gawain’s acceptance of the sash is ironic because he thought it would protect his life that he
could use to avoid the blow of the Green Knight’s axe, but he still got cut by the axe in the end.

6. Why does Gawain decline the Green Knight’s invitation to celebrate the new year together at
the end of the poem?
Gawin’s motive behind his actions is to protect his ego as he feels ashamed of his betrayal to
the host of the party. He felt that he would be humiliated because he saved himself by being
disloyal as a knight.

7. Review the inference chart you created as you read. Which character shows greater courage,
Sir Gawain or the Green Knight? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Sir Gawin shows greater courage as a character because his development in his truths and
learning from his past mistakes as a human being show growth. He’s honorable when he
refuses gifts due to his agreement with the Green Knight. He also understands his weaknesses
and the chivalry he betrayed, so when he offers his neck to the Green Knight to sever, he shows
his courage.
 Anastasia Deriy
Period 1

8. Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” portray
knights who undergo a test. Compare the tone, or writer’s attitude toward a subject, in these
two selections. Identify words and details that help convey the tone in each poem.
In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the subject about chivalry is focused within the
writers structured attitude towards loyalty and his duty as a knight. Similarly, The Wife of Bath’s
Tale uses the same subject to display how the knights continue to follow the grand
expectations of chivalry while dealing with the temptations of giving into the hardships.
9. It is believed that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the late 1300s, as the age
of chivalry began to wane. Though legend has it that Gawain was one of Arthur’s finest and
most loyal knights, the Gawain Poet depicts him as flawed. Why might the Gawain poet have
portrayed Gawain this way?

I believe that the Gawain poet focuses on his journey of becoming a better person as he
progressively learns from his mistakes and the flaw of making more mistakes as time goes on.
He is undoubtfully human while the Green Knight is portrayed as a majestic being who doesn’t
die after his head is severed. Therefore, Sir Gawain takes a lot of effort to follow the code of
chivalry that limit his free will.