SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

1. Key Facts

2. General Points

3. The Linked-Plot

4. Three Final Comments

5. Links Section

Key Facts

The date of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (hereafter, SGGK) is c. 1375; location, as well as dialect, being northwest Midlands; the author is unknown.

The length is 2530 lines, divided into 4 sections (or fitts). The verse is " long alliterative line" (meaning that although alliteration is used consistently throughout, the lines are of varying feet), in combination with the "bob and wheel" technique. The poem is, thus, classified as a "metrical romance". The time period and style include it in the so-called Alliterative Revival.

SGGK is preceded by three other poems (Pearl, Patience, and Purity), which are of a more overtly religious nature, in a unique copy; the little book also contains some simple illustrations (see one above). All four poems are believed to be the work of a single author, who, in honor of his first creation, is sometimes called the Pearl Poet.

Two general points are noteworthy: 1) the French (or Anglo-Norman) influence on SGGK, and 2) the poem's distinctly Christian outlook.

French influence on SGGK is both technical and thematic: the bob-and-wheel device from Anglo-Norman rhyme, the (proposed) illicit affair from the courtly-love tradition. 

The Christian viewpoint of SGGK is notable in that it is pervasive, or consistent, throughout the work and yet the Pearl Poet renders an effect that is charming and in no way heavy handed or overtly didactic. For any writer to achieve this - and particularly a medieval one! - is certainly no small accomplishment.

The critical discussions on SGGK are voluminous. Analysis of Sir Gawain's character, significance of the symbols used, connection to other writings, and various other topics continued to be studied (for an introduction to these scholarly writings, see the link section below). Of all these, however, perhaps the most fundamental is the "linked-plot" of the poem.

By linked-plot is meant the close parallels between the three major scenes of the poem: 1) the beheading of the Green Knight at Camelot, 2) the hunting-bedroom scenes, and 3) the (near) beheading of Sir Gawain at the Green Chapel. Tying all three, and thus the work as a whole, together are a network of virtues, attitudes, and tests.

Regarding virtues, Sir Gawain is bound by two sets of ethics: the first being Christian, the other, knightly (with the former, at least in theory, being dominant). The connecting points between these two systems (I will avoid the complex question of contradictions!) are loyalty, honesty, and courage.

Now, in SGGK the Pearl Poet has personified each of these virtues, and its opposite, within a certain animal (a common medieval literary device). The deer, in its positive aspect, is thought to be noble, loyal, dignified; conversely, however, it is afraid, cowardly. The boar is known for his courage and relentless fighting spirit, but can also be wrongly aggressive and stubborn (i.e., pigheaded). Last is the wily fox whose deceptiveness can be put to either good or evil purposes (for example, the classical hero Odysseus is indeed crafty, but his motives are good).

The three primary scenes of the poem (already mentioned) will thus form three tests of three qualities (i.e., loyalty, honesty, and courage, respectively). A closer examination is now in order.

In the opening scene at King Arthur's court where the Green Knight challenges any man brave enough to behead him, and then receive like treatment at the Green Chapel in a year and a day, Sir Gawain, like all present, is simply too shocked or frightened to respond. Thus, he is like the deer. It is only when King Arthur, incited to action by the Green Knight's taunting, moves to accept this curious dare that Sir Gawain shows the courage and insistence of the boar by stepping in to replace him. Note that Sir Gawain's bravery is motivated by his sense of duty and loyalty, thus connecting these two virtues. Finally, when the Green Knight gallops away (head in hand!), and the New Year celebrations are resumed (and eccentric King Arthur at last sets to meat), Sir Gawain, although inwardly anxious about his fate, must outwardly carry on as before (knightly honor, decorum, etc.). By this deception - although again with proper motivation - he is like the fox.

Next, the first day Lady Bertilak visits Sir Gawain's bedroom he is shy (feigns sleep, allows kiss for fear of lacking courtesy) like a deer. Later, when her husband gives the knight the deer he has caught (in effect saying, "This is what you have been today."), Sir Gawain honors their exchange agreement and acknowledges the hunter correct by giving his gain: one kiss. The second day Lady Bertilak is far more persistent, and attempts to convince Sir Gawain that a love affair between them would not be improper; he, however, firmly resists these advances. When the lord of the house returns home and presents Sir Gawain with the symbol of the day's events, the boar, the knight declares it true by kissing the hunter twice. It is, of course, on the third day that Sir Gawain fails: not by taking the garter, but by promising, and keeping the promise, not to tell Lord Bertilak about the magical gift. When the Lady's husband gives Sir Gawain the fox (i.e., "You have been deceitful today.") , the knight does not own up to it, relinquishing but three kisses and keeping the magical garter.

Now, obviously, he has kept the green garter as he fears for his life on the morrow. This seems not only an understandable but rather forgivable deception ~ he is, after all, only trying to save his own life! However, according to both of the codes of ethics he lives by (i.e., Christian and knightly) he has committed a grievous sin: he has coveted his own life. As a Christian his life belongs to God, as a knight to the king and country.

And so, one sin (fear of death) has caused him to commit yet another (dishonesty). The lesson here seems to be that single, isolated sins do not exist: one evil inevitably leads you on to another.

It should be noted that I have omitted any discussion of the important, though difficult, significance of the red-gold ring which Lady Bertilak initially attempts to give to Sir Gawain.

Finally, in the penultimate scene, where Sir Gawain now bows his neck to the Green Knight's ax, at first he flinches out of fear (evidently doubting the green girdle's power), and is thus like the deer. After being chided by the Green Knight for this lack of courage, he becomes as steadfast and brave as the boar on the second, though feigned, stroke.

Now, it is here, at the third, final cut, where Sir Gawain must, to complete the structure, exhibit foxy behavior that I must depart from usual explanations given. Most critics of this poem somehow wish us to equate Sir Gawain's rapid recovery (e.g., jumps up, unsheathes his sword, etc.) after the third, glancing cut with the fox motif. Personally, however, I think this interpretation flat wrong. His recovery is simply a continuation of boar-behavior. Rather, it is the "misogynist speech" (as some scholars have termed it), where Sir Gawain gives Biblical examples of men fooled by women (starting with Adam, no less!) - the purpose which, of course, is to alleviate himself of guilt - that is crafty! The deceit here is self-deceit. Note how this deceit is the mirror image of the opening deceit, which was outward in nature.

Observe that the good Sir Gawain's resolve was, no doubt, considerably weakened by unexpected test of having to deal with Lady Bertilak's advances three days running! Here the Pearl Poet indicates something of the unpredictable character of life.

Second, when Sir Gawain returns to Camelot and relates his moral failure (which he indicates by wearing the green garter on his sleeve), the court not only laughs it off but actually honors him all the more for it! The Pearl Poet seems to be indicating the superficial quality of society, which often cannot or will not honestly confront moral dilemmas.

Last, though Sir Gawain has failed, the opening and closing lines of the poem (dealing with the fall of Troy, the rise of Rome, and Aeneas) strongly suggest that our hero, through the self-knowledge gained by failure, overcame these weaknesses and became a better man.

A good starting point for Arthurian studies is the Labyrinth Library: Middle English. They have a copy of SGGK in original ME, so take a look.

http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/me/me.html

To read a lovely modern prose translation of SGGK

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/sggk.htm

Robert T. Tuohey
jadedragon61@hotmail.com
http://jadedragon.250x.com/welcome.htm