SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

The many stories of King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table date far back into medieval tradition. They
are complex tales rising out of the Code of Chivalry (Código de Caballería) and stressed the importance of
bravery, honesty and respect for women.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance. It is one of the
better-known Arthurian stories known as the "beheading game". Written in stanzas, it emerges from Welsh, Irish
and English tradition and highlights the importance of honour and chivalry. It is an important poem in the romance
genre, which typically involves a hero who goes on a quest (búsqueda) that tests his courage.

Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur´s Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious "Green Knight" who
has arrived uninvited at Arthur´s New Year´s party and wants to play a game. The game involves using an ax to
administer a blow to the Green Knight´s neck and then finding the Green Knight the following year so that he can
use the ax on Gawain. In round one, the Green Knight´s head falls off, but miraculously continues to speak. The
following year Gawain is welcomed into a strange castle. For three mornings in a row, the lord of the castle rides
off, leaving him alone with the lord´s wife. She is rather seductive, but he resists her, except for 3 kisses, which he
dutifully reports to his host.

However, he doesn´t report that on the third morning the wife gave him a green scarf. Later, Gawain rides off to
continue his search for the the Green Knight. The Green Knight and the castle host turn out to be the same
person.

The ambiguity of the poem's ending makes it more complex than most. Complex in plot and rich in language. A
game inside a game (Christmas game and Lady Bertilak’s game).

Symbolism (Significance of the colour green)

Its meaning in the poem remains ambiguous. In English folklore and literature, green was traditionally used to
symbolise nature and its attributes: fertility and rebirth. Stories of the medieval period also used it to allude to
love. Because of its connection with faeries and spirits in early English folklore, green also signified witchcraft and
evil. When combined with gold, as with the Green Knight and the girdle, green was often seen as representing
youth's passing. The green girdle, originally worn for protection, became a symbol of shame and cowardice; it is
finally adopted as a symbol of honour by the knights of Camelot, meaning a transformation from good to evil and
back again.

Interpretations
Many critics argue that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight should be viewed as a romance. Medieval romances
typically recount the fantastic adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight, often of super-human ability, who acts in
accordance with chivalry's strict codes of honour. He embarks upon a quest, defeats monsters and wins the
favour of a lady. Thus, medieval romances focus not on love and feelings (as the term "romance" implies today),
but on adventure.

ANALYSIS OF THE POEM

Author: anonymous
Genre: alliterative romance
- 2,530 lines and 101 stanzas (estrofas)
- A pair of stressed syllables at the beginning of the line and at the end. Each line always includes a pause
(caesura) after the first two stresses, dividing it into two half-lines.

Themes: a challenge; temptation and testing. To test the code of chivalry, the knights´ code of honour

Symbolism: green means __________________________

Setting: - time: ______________ (season), New Year´s Eve and Day

- place: ____________________
Plot : (write your summary here)

3 days- 3 kisses: a deer = 1 kiss 3 blows: 1st blow = Gawain flinches slightly
A boar = 2 kisses 2nd blow = blow is withheld
A fox = 3 kisses 3rd blow = slight wound on his neck

Structure: (complete the information)

- Introduction: King Arthur having _____________ on New Year´s _________ with his __________
- Complication: Green Knight challenging the knights. Sir Gawain takes his challenge and after a year he
looks for him. The lord of the castle plays a game.
- Climax: discovery of Morgan le Fay, a wizard, to test King Arthur´s ____________
- Resolution: going back to Camelot and telling of the story

Characters: (describe them)

King Arthur and Queen Guinevere: __________________

Knights of the Round Table: ______________________

Gawain – Arthur´s nephew: ________________________

Green Knight (description: no armour, an ax and a holly bough, a horse; both dressed in green)

Morgan Le Fay – Arthurs´s sister; ___________________________________________

Point of view:

Literary devices: