Sir Gawain & The Green Knight Parts 1 & 2

Questions
Part 1

1. What descriptors give the reader the feeling of excess and abundance in lines 25-80?

Why might this appeal to the audience of the Middle Ages? Today’s audience?

 the excessive amount of description everything was receiving. Things were
being described to a great extent. Author was being praised a lot throughout the
text because of how great he was. In the middle ages, people liked the extra
description and gratitude people got, it was like someone getting praised for the
stuff they have done. people in our days would not want to read all the extra
words that describe something because it’s overwhelming and loses attention
from the readers.

2. What gives the impression that Arthur is an unusual kind of king? How does that affect
our impression of him as a leader (l. 85)? 
 because he puts others before himself;
he is selfless. he is also young at heart, and socially and physically active.

3. Why would the poet describe the Green Knight as both huge and graceful? Ghastly and
opulent? What effect does this use of paradox have on our perception of the
Knight (ll. 140-145)? 
 we come to view the knight as more than a scared
intruder, both his description is positive and negative. it leaves us trying to figure
out what kind of man he is. even though the green knight is described many
things, he remains a mystery to many.

4. Why has the Knight sought out the men in Arthur’s court? Why not another king’s
court (ll. 257-283)? 
 he sought out to find king author;s court to play a
christmas game which was a blow of an ax and one in return to that one. he
challenged them because they were well known for being brave and his knights
were very highly praised by others because of how godly they were. because of
those remarks made by others, he visited just to check and see if the things being
spoken about his knights were true.

5. Why is Gawain facing the Knight instead of Arthur (l. 345)? What are Gawain’s
apparent virtues and strengths? 
 he thinks that arthur is too important and
valuable to fight the knight. people would explain gawain as generous,
courageous, has chastity, honorship, guidance, and passion, he has a great
reputation that makes him the most valuable and strongest to face this challenge.

6. How does the Knight’s description of the stellar reputation of Arthur and his court spur
the knights on to accept the challenge? How is hubris, or excessive pride,
involved (ll. 257-338)? 
 Commented [1]: No answer.

Part 2
1. To what is Gawain compared as he is being armored? How is this compared to the
Knight (ll. 570-590)? 
 he is being compared to the shield he is carrying. the
shield has a pentangle on it that represents the five codes of chivalry and other things
such as his fingers, senses, and religious virtues. because the green knight is a knight as
well, he also shows some of those chivalry qualities as well.

2. How is Gawain in conflict with nature on his journey to the Green Knight’s chapel
(ll.710-739)? 
 the scenery that he passes affects his ability to make it to the
green knight. when he stops places, he could be risking his life and his freedom, he gets
tired trying to pass certain obstacles such as mountains, cliffs, and nature.

3. In line 1067, Gawain states he’d rather “be dead than fail.” What does this suggest
about the code of knighthood? About Gawain? 
 he knows that if he fails then he
might get shamed by others and looked upon differently, he would rather die than go
back home and people describe him as unhonorable and not nobel. He is very serious
about the code and his reputation to others.