• Tells of a challenge to the pride and integrity of Arthur’s entire court, especially Sir Gawain, the most famous of all Arthur’s knights for piety and courtesy
• Gawain is made to acknowledge the limitations and imperfections of his knightly virtues
Medieval Romance 1. Opens at a feast
2. Involves a challenge
3. Tells of the adventures of a young hero
4. Involves supernatural elements
5. Teaches a moral lesson – Gawain is tested in two ways:
A. A frightful physical challengeB. A challenge of comfort
• He is tested in adversity and prosperity
6. Includes a woman as temptation
7. Shows the cyclical qualities of nature
Setting• Chaotic wilderness – symbolizes Gawain’s
courage • bleak winter (shows Gawain’s hopelessness in pursuing his task)
Symbols• Green Chapel – the entrance to the fairy world
(Celtic) This image is associated with hell
• Pentangle- the star represents truth – this is Gawain’s symbol
Creates irony as he has trouble telling the truth
• Green girdle – at first represents dishonesty and then later his repentance
Style
• Strophes: each strophe ends with a bob, a short line of one, two, or three syllables, followed by a wheel, or four rhymed lines