When I first started reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I had to go back a few times and read the same lines over and over again until I finally understood what the author was saying. This poem was the hardest one to read for me, because this is the only text we have read so far that I had to go back and read the same thing a few times. With that being said, I am so grateful for Sparknotes !
I love the detailed descriptions of everything in the poem, because it helped me visualize the scenes such as the feast and when the Green Knight stormed in. This was one of my favorite scenes just because it was so unexpected and random. I had no idea that one of the main characters of the poem would be introduced by storming in and challenging the king. Anyways, who just storms in, interrupts a party and without much explanation asks to play a game? This reminded me of a typical SAW movie where Billy the Puppet pops up on the screen and whispers “ I want to play a game.” Not only was this scene random, but did anybody catch how awesome this knight is? He gets his head chopped off, and without any show of pain or hurt, reaches down and somehow finds his head, that is still talking by the way, and then rides off on his horse headless. I don’t know about you, but I think that is awesome!
I would say that Gawain is a hero. He came out of nowhere and decided to take on the Green Knight’s challenge instead of the King, and then he still kept his part of the deal and a year later went to look for the Green Knight. Once he returned home, even though he fulfilled his part of the deal, he didn’t feel like a hero but instead felt ashamed for lying and being a sinner, which is a true hero to me. This makes me wonder, what would have happened if Gawain did not go looking for the Green Knight? Would the Green Knight come and look for Gawain? However, if that was the case, the poem would have a completely different storyline, because by Gawain going out to search for the Green Castle, he stopped at a castle on the way and was welcomed by a host, who later turned out to be the Green Knight. Therefore, I think if Gawain never went looking for the Green Knight, the poem wouldn’t be as interesting.
I loved the twist in poem when Gawain realizes that the Green Knight is the king who welcomed him into his castle, let him stay and play a game with him. What was the point the Green Knight wanted to make? Since Gawain was struck just once for lying about the gift he got from the host’s wife, did the Green Knight want to teach him a lesson about lying? In that case, what would have happened if Gawain did not lie? Another thing that is still bothering me is how did the Green Knight get his head back on?
Overall, I had somewhat of a hard time understanding some parts, but at the end of the poem I wished that it went on for a little longer because it was an interesting and an unpredictable read.
I really wish I would have read the second part of the story before I read your blog. Now you have spoiled the ending for me. My fault.
ReplyDeleteVesna, as John threw out there, you may want to post a spoiler alert if you're going to cover the whole story in your posts. It's a fine thing to do, but giving your readers a heads-up might be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteBy all means, use sparknotes as an aid to understanding the text.
Part of what makes Gawain a hero is that he did go out and look for the Green Knights. If he hadn't he would have been branded a coward, or had to have minstrels twist the songs like they did for Brave Sir Robin of Monty Python fame.
It's a good question to ask: What should we be getting from the Green Knight's turn with the axe? We'll have to talk about that on Tuesday.
Since Gawain is a knight of the round table, his story focuses on the themes of courage and patience. He had no choice but to pursue the green knight after a year and a day because had he lolligagged and hid from the green knight, he would have been seen as a coward and so would arthur which is a no no. courage in the face of death is a great theme, one that Gawain somewhat failed to uphold by flinching but later held steadfast which granted him his life back. I would agree with you though that the Green Knight is awesome and he could probably singlehandedly bring down the knights of the round table if he wanted to.
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