HL102 lecture outline for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I. Characteristics of romance A.

Concerned with love, but also with the chivalric codean extension of the Anglo- axon heroic code but with a new e!"hasis on courtl# behavior or courtes# $courtoisie%. &. 'o!ances tend to have ha""# endings $comic structure%. A (uestion about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight $henceforth ))*% is whether it is co!ic in this usual, ro!ance sense. C. 'o!ances are usuall# !ore concerned with the individual hero than e"ics, which focus instead on the societ# that the e"ic hero re"resents. +. ee slideshow $,-"ic and 'o!ance Contrasted.% for other significant differences. II. Historical background to SGGK: timeline A. 'o!ance and its associated ideolog# of chivalry e!erge out of an atte!"t to curtail the "roble! of feudal violencethe constant state of warfare that e!erged in -uro"e after the de facto colla"se of the Hol# 'o!an -!"ire c. 1000. &# 11/0 or so, chivalric romance (or medieval romance) is well-established as the do!inant for! of secular literar# culture on the Continent. &. &ecause of the orman Con!uest $1000%, events in 1rance have an i!!ediate i!"act on -nglish culture, but it is not until the rebirth of -nglish $instead of 2or!an 1rench% as a literar# language in c. 122/ that 3iddle -nglish ro!ances li4e ))* begin to be written. C. 5he lateness of -nglish ro!ances ex"lains so!e of their distinctive features. ))* in "articular see!s to (uestion the ideals of ro!ance $including chivalr#%, which b# then !ight have been seen as so!e b# out!oded or unrealistica theor# that !a# hel" to account for the "oe!6s consistent tone of iron#. III. "asic facts about SGGK A. Co!"osed 1780s, !a4ing the "oe! cote!"oraneous with the wor4s of Chaucer. &. Author was "robabl# clerical, and !an# suggest religious readings of ))* on this basis. C. Language is 3iddle -nglish, with traces of 9ld -nglish $e.g., the alliteration and so!e vocabular#%. 5he long, alliterative stan:as are ca""ed b# a series of rh#!ing lines called the bob and #heel, which "rovide su!!ar# and;or offer a counter"oint to the !ain idea of the stan:a. I$. %lot analysis A. 5he Christ!as revels at Arthur6s court dis"la# the chivalric ideal in all its glor#, but a sense of iron# hangs over the descri"tion. Arrival and challenge of )reen *night, which ) acce"ts.

&. )awain6s <ourne# suggests a degree of realis! as well as focusing on )awain6s isolation. C. )awain is tested b# the lad# three ti!es, who te!"ts hi! to slee" with her, and b# &ertial4 $with who! he has engaged to share half of all that either wins%. 5his is a test of )awain6s truth $3- treuthe% as well as of his courtes#, and his challenge is to !aintain his co!!it!ent to both of these "otentiall# conflicting values at the sa!e ti!e. +. -ach test has its "arallel in &ertila46s activities for the da#the "rogressivel# !ore difficult hunts of the stag, boar, and fox. 5he last of the hunts, in "articular, suggests a "arallel to )awain6s $or is it the lad#6s=% tric4er#. -. 5he outco!e of the test is a!biguoushas )awain failed or not=but he res"onds to it with anger, bla!ing wo!en and swearing to wear the girdle as a re!inder of his sha!e. $>uestion? how does the girdle differ fro! the &entangle on )6s shield as a s#!bol of what this "oe! is about=%. $. 'orm and meaning A. 5he overall "lot of ))* ta4es the for! of a series of exchange-ga!es $both the e(change of blo#s ga!e and the sharing of the #innings ga!e, which turn out to be "art of the sa!e, larger ga!e. A sense of "la# "ervades the stor#, des"ite its serious ethical !essage. &. 5he "oe! diverges fro! the conventions of ro!ance in a nu!ber of wa#s? b# substituting an ethical test for the usual !onsters and ene!ies, !a4ing the test ta4e "lace in the bedroo! instead of on the battlefield, and b# ending in a wa# that could be inter"reted as tragic or onl# "artl# co!ic $although this final "oint is sub<ect to !uch debate a!ong critics%. $I. )a*or themes A. elfhood and societ#? )awain exe!"lifies the values of Arthurian societ#, es"eciall# chivalr# he stands for this societ# in the wa# that an e"ic hero !ight. &ut )awain is often re"resented as alone and isolated, forcing us to as4 if individual and social ex"erience can be reconciled in this "oe!. &. &elief and 4nowledge? How does chivalr# stac4 u" as an ideal in this "oe!= +oes the e!"hasis on chivalr# conflict with the "oe!6s invest!ent in Christianit#= How= C. 5he ga" between ideal and realit#? the "oe! uses iron# throughout, suggesting a tendenc# toward satire that will be full# ex"lored b# Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales $see next wee4%.