SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT By Kelsey Ferrell, Sophie Hogan, Katie Binger, Owen Powell and Parker Dolton

BACKGROUND By Sophie Hogan

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT  Middle English romance  Alliterative  Bob and wheel A metrical alliteration device

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT  During the time of King Aurthur  Two plots: The beheading game Temptation  Romance

GAWAIN POET  Pearl poet  Unknown  Cotton Nero A x.  Concluded in 1925 that… He was a serious writer but not without a little bit of humor Interest in theology West Midlands of England

COTTON NERO A X.  Consisted of four poems Pearl, Patience, Purity and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight  Around the late 14 th century, near the same time as Geoffery Chaucer  All of the poems had the same style, allusions, and theme.

CHARACTERS By Owen Powell

SIR GAWAIN  The protagonist of the story  Beheads the Green Knight  Is a figure of chivalry, honesty, and loyalty  Very respected among the other knights

THE GREEN KNIGHT  A sinister visitor to Camelot  He is killed by Gawain, then reborn  Is also Bertilak of Hautdesert  One of Morgan La Faye’s henchmen

BERTILAK OF HAUTDESERT  A kind, noble, ruler of the castle where Gawain is at Christmas  Also the Green Knight

BERTILAK’S WIFE  The wife of Bertilak, lady of the castle  Tries to seduce Gawain  Turns out to be another one of Morgan La Faye’s minions

KING ARTHUR  The noble lord of Camelot  A knight of the round table  The uncle of Sir Gawain

MORGAN LA FAYE  An evil sorceress  King Arthur’s half sister  The mastermind behind the havoc wreaked by the Green Knight

QUEEN GUENEVIRE  The intelligent, charming wife of King Arthur  Does not have a big role in the poem overall

SUMMARY Kelsey Ferrell

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT  Knights are all at the round table, Arthur asks for a good story to be told  Knight dressed in green appears, asks for a deal: someone can hit him with an axe if he can hit them back a year and a day later  Gawain volunteers to take the challenge, chops the head of off green knight, but does not kill him.  Later Gawain must go to the green knight so that he gets hit (year and day later)

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT  Long journey to the green knight’s green chapel, and he encounters magical creatures, but he defeats them.  After prayer on Christmas eve, he suddenly can see a castle  Spends some time with the people of the castle, including an old woman, but it is not the chapel of the knight. However he gets directions to the chapel.  The wife of the lord whom is master of the castle tries to get Gawain to sleep with her, but he refuses and only kisses her

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT  For the next sequences of kisses that Gawain receives from the lord’s wife, he passes on to the lord as thanks for the hospitality  Over the next few days, she attempts to seduce him, but only manages to convince Gawain to kiss her a few times  Then she offers him her green girdle, which she claims will protect him from death. He takes it. (girdle could be a belt or it could be a corset)

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT  For the next sequences of kisses that Gawain receives from the lord’s wife, he passes on to the lord as thanks for the hospitality  Over the next few days, she attempts to seduce him, but only manages to convince Gawain to kiss her a few times  Then she offers him her green girdle, which she claims will protect him from death. He takes it. (girdle could be a belt or it could be a corset)

SYMBOLISM By Parker Dolton

GREEN KNIGHT  2 interpretations of the Green Knight  1) Pre-Christian  2) Christian

THE GREEN KNIGHT DESCRIPTION “For all men marveled what it might mean, /That a horseman and his horse should have such a colour, /As to grow green as grass, and greener yet, it seemed, /More gaudily glowing then green enamel on gold.” (lines )

PRE-CHRISTIAN REPRESENTATION  Before Christianity spread, the Green Knight is a representation of nature, also called the “Green Man”  100% green from head to toe, green is the color often connected with nature  He is a sprite-like creature of the forest  The Green Knight uses a green axe, instead of the common sword or spear, and carries holly in the other hand

BEHEADING DESCRIPTION  “Gawain gripped his axe and gathered it on high, /Advanced the left foot before him on the ground, /And slashed swiftly down on the exposed part, /The fair head fell from the neck, struck the floor,” (lines )

CHRISTIAN REPRESENTATION  Christianity was extremely popular and growing during the medieval time period  The Green Knight is an allegory of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ  The beheading and attempted killing of the Green Knight by Sir Gawain was the figurative crucifixion of Jesus  The Green Knight shares Christ-like immortality  If the Green Knight is a representation of Jesus, then Sir Gawain would be representing the common man, who tried to kill the immortal Christ

THEMES By Katie Binger

TIME  Sir Gawain waits a whole year for his death, he knows that he is going to get splayed. He doesn’t back down though.  He lives for a full year knowing that his life was coming to an end.

SUPERNATURAL CREATURES  Everybody in King Arthurs court thinks the green knight is some kind of creature because he is all green and after when Sir Gawain slays his head the green knight picks up his head and talks with it.

COURAGE  Sir Gawain shows courage through how he stays with what he was told to do and not chicken out  Sir Gawain shows courage through bravery