Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I Manuscript

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

I. Manuscript § Cotton Nero A. x. § 1375 -1400 § Also contains Pearl, Patience, and Purity

II. Poetic form and devices § Alliterative Revival § Bob and Wheel u Bob: one line of two or three syllables u Wheel: four three-stress lines u Entire structure rhymes ababa

III. The Structure of the Poem § Three Gawains: u Courteous and brave brother of Round Table u Flawless exemplar of Christian chivalry u Flawed everyman § ABA structure of first half § Fabliau-like parallels in Fitt Three § Concentric Ring Structure (Solomon 1963)

IV. Romance Genre § Set in a remote place and time § Incorporates the marvelous, miracles § Hero is “superior in degree to other men and to his environment” § May involve conventional testing plot u Tester is unrealistic and remote u Test is extreme u Hero follows higher of conflicting virtues u Tester relents and allows hero to fulfill lower virtue (example: God and Abraham)

IV. Departures from Romance § Calendar/cyclic time and some real places § Hero is one of us, not superior to us/environment § Tester is split: malicious magic Morgan and likeable, realistic Bercilak § Gawain fails the test because he is human/sinful § Realism may result from 13 th-14 th century “penance campaigns, ” new “moral psychology. ” § Mixture of romance and realism leaves the reader wondering what rules govern this world.

V. Fitt One: Characters § Arthur: poet’s qualified approval § Sir Gawain: representative, not elect § Green Knight: ambiguous nature u Green body: supernatural u Green and gold equipment: courtly youth u Holly bob: life, peace u Axe: war

V. Fitt One: The Game § § § § Gratuitous (thus romantic, not heroic) Governed by rules (romantic, not heroic) Seasonable (customary Christmas drama) Quasi-legal (rules are reiterated) Tests important knightly virtues Involves seemingly inevitable death Ernest/game ambiguity makes it possible for Gawain to treat the obligation lightly, but does not make it right for him to do so (Burrows 24).

VI. Fitt Two § Midwinter: Indoors/outdoors u Wine, feasting, celebration u Cold, sleet, rain § Arming of Gawain

VI. Fitt Two: The Pentangle § “Truth” u “Loyal to people, principles, or promises” u Possesses “faith in God” u “Without deceit, ” “sincere” u “Upright and virtuous” § The Fifth Five: Five Virtues u Generosity, companionableness, courtesy, pure mind, compassion u Secular and social u Interdependent

VI. Fitt Two: The Journey § Eight weeks: 11/2 -12/24 § Departs on All Souls’ Day § Four phases u Arthurian England u N. Wales (Winifred’s Well) u The Wirral u “Strange country” § Realistic and fantastic

VII. Fitt Two: Hautdesert § Parallels Camelot (A-B-A) § Provincial outlook – a “lopsided pentangle” – skewed expectations of G § Gawain’s behavior: confirms claims made for him in arming scene § Names: host knows Gawain’s name but Gawain doesn’t know host’s § Another contract – same qualities, ambiguity

VIII. Fitt Three § Fabliau: parallelism; sexual favors are commodities § Dalliance: compare lines 1010 -1015 to 1218 -1221 § Lady manoeuvres based on her misconception of Gawain – courtesy is all § Courtly ladies can pursue § Kisses are not adulterous

VIII. Fitt Three: Hunt and Bed § In both, day three represents a departure from the noble conduct of days one and two. u Deer/boar are noble; fox is ignoble § In both, the victim. . . u Flees an adversary (hounds/lady) u Retreats from prospect of another adversary (Bercilak/Green Knight) u Succumbs to original adversary (hounds/lady)

VIII. Fitt Three: The Girdle § Green and gold (should remind reader of Green Knight) § Not accepted for monetary value or beauty § Gawain acts differently after his fall: u Gawain goes to Confession, not Mass u Gawain awaits host, instead of host calling u Gawain goes first, not host u Gawain wears blue, color of faithfulness

IX. Fitt Four: Arming/Journey § Green girdle added to arming § Neither unqualified condemnation nor uncritical indulgence § Variation from departure from Camelot – Gawain does not hear Mass – odd for day of death § Qualities of Death ascribed to Green Knight u Indiscriminate/universal/inevitable u Must be faced alone (guide turns back)

IX. Fitt Four: Recognition § Green Knight is Bercilak de Hautdesert. § Morgan la Faye, Gawain’s aunt, orchestrated events to humiliate the Round Table. § The exchange game was the real test.

IX. Fitt Four: Confession § Replaces false confession at Hautdesert § Shame and mortification § Reparation: Gawain returns girdle (and it is given back to him) § Statement of sin: Gawain admits cowardice, covetousness, untruth § Request for penance (Bercilak refuses)

IX. Fitt Four: Judgement u u Condemnation – Gawain did sin Mercy – Sin was from love of life, not from lower passion or malice Contrasting responses show decorum t Bercilak shows comparatively more mercy, for Gawain is more prone to despair than to presumption t Gawain shows wounded pride, but is harsh on himself Problem of shifting blame to women – perhaps to make Gawain’s behavior realistic?

IX. Fitt Four: Return § Symbols u Gawain’s cut is healed. u Gawain wears the girdle. u Court adopts the girdle. § Contrasting responses again show decorum u Gawain is ashamed u The court downplays his sin § What does the court’s adoption of the girdle really mean?

X. Concluding Points § § § Openness and ambiguity pervade the text. Text strives to combine romance and realism. Text does not prove that courtly and Christian values inherently conflict, rather only that Gawain is human/sinful. § Gawain’s experience represents the “fundamental cycle of experience” – “social living, alienation, selfdiscovery, desolation, recovery and restoration” (Burrows 186). § Does Gawain take responsibility for his actions? Source: Burrows, J. A. A Reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1966.