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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (The English Poets)

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CAUGHT BETWEEN AND ROCK AND A SOFT PLACE
Magical and human
Burrow's Penguin Classics edition is a solid resource
My favorite Gawain
The Best Modern English Translation of This Masterpiece

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (The English Poets)
Poet Pearl
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300029063

Customer Reviews:

CAUGHT BETWEEN AND ROCK AND A SOFT PLACE.......2007-02-12

This medieval poem from approximately 1350 represents one of the earliest pieces of literature extent in prototype English. At first glance the manuscript, housed in a special collection at the British Museum, appears to be in a foreign language; it is characterized by archaic spelling and specialized vocabulary known mainly to medieval scholars. But conscientious study proves rewarding; scholars may view the birth of English, or at least a stillborn twin, of its modern descendent. A unique example of a translation from oldest into
into modern English, this Penguin Classics edition includes notes on the bottom of the pages, explaining words or references to scholars and legendary figures.

Constructed in four basic Parts the plot is elegantly simple. During a Christmas feast at Camelot Arthur and his knights are amazed at the rude intrusion of a brawny giant of man on horseback--with both rider and steed appareled in green. The intruder taunts the bravery of the members of the famous Round Table--challenging any one among them to swap blows in the Beheading Game. Although modest in his self assessment, young Sir Gawain feels compelled to answer this insolent challenge--speedily salvaging the honor of Arthur's court. (A literary aside: this chaste and loyal warrior is also Arthur's nephew; the uncle-nephew bond is the most sacred human relationship in medieval lais. Gawain's failure to defend Arthur's reputation--a year hence--would prove even more shameful than if ignored by the other knights.)

After the Challenge and Acceptance of Part One, we enter Part Two: Preparation and Departure. We read of the perils and hardships of Gawain's odyssey as he seeks the Green Chapel--the site of the assignation as designated by the insolent Green Knight--throughout England without any
true sense of direction. Part Three may be subtitled Hunt and Temptation:
a 3-day sojourn at the castle of a most hospitable lord, who promises to provide his guest with a guide to the very Green Chapel which he seeks at year's end. The poet alternates scenes of the hunt in the forest with softer struggles in Gawain's bedchamber, as he is assaulted most delicately but insistently by the Lady of the manor, who seems enamored of her husband's guest and oblivious to her reputation. To further complicate secret affairs, the Lord jocularly insists that Gawain and he swap the spoils of each day's exertions. Gawain is hard pressed not to betray either the laws of chivalry toward the Lady or the lavish hospitality of the Lord. He insists on departing after three days of trial by seduction--determined to meet his fate at the hands of his mysterious adversary.

Part Four may be considered Trial by Axe and Conscience. Sir Gawain, barely escaping Venus' onslaughts but secretly wearing the Lady's green girdle beneath his armor, reaches the scene of his probable doom--a curious natural structure called the Green Chapel. This is a wonderful read, rich in Anglo-Saxon alliteration with vivid details of medieval hunting, feasting and personal combat. Thought-provoking themes abound such as the role of Chivalry, the dictates of Hospitality, and the influence of the French creation: Courtly Love. As the blood
representative of King Arthur, Sir Gawain is constantly being tested. Individual readers must determine for themselves how well he succeeds in his maintaining his ideals.

Magical and human.......2005-10-03

Middle English is a diverse collection of different dialects and styles, when it comes to literature. At the same time that Chaucer was writing in the southeast of England, with good command of French and Italian poetic sensibilities, there was a strong tradition in the north and west country of alliterative poetry, the kind that owed as much to the Old English forms of verse and use of language as to the new influences post-Norman Conquest-wise. Among the products of this time and place, the anonymously composed 'Sir Gawain and Green Knight' is one of the most outstanding.

This poem has all the hallmarks of being a work of many influences - it has the heroic aspects that one might expect from Old English epics such as Beowulf; it has a decided romantic streak reminiscent of French and Norman influences; it has virtue and church/Christian overlaying influences that come from Latin and ecclesial sources; it has magical and mystical ideas that are most likely Celtic in origin. Perhaps more like a tapestry, the various strands of influence are woven together into a glorious pattern that stands as a towerig achievement of the synthesis of language that Middle English achieved between its Germanic and Latinate streams.

Gawain's story is a very popular one. The most virtuous of the Round Table knights, his bravery and his resourcefulness at seeking the Green Knight, the annual challenger at the court of Arthur, is legendary. Gawain's small fault (and indeed, Gawain was portrayed as a virtuous human, but human nonetheless) warrants a very small penalty, but he is deemed upon reporting back to Camelot that he has brought honour upon the whole fellowship of knights. There is something magical about the Green Knight, however, and this can be seen as metaphor for the way in which temptation seems to have a magical power over humanity.

Do note: This is a review of the Penguin Classics 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' as edited and translated by Brian Stone, who also produced the Penguin Classics 'Medieval English Verse'. It has a wonderful introduction, as well as a series of essays following the translation of the poem. These essays include topics such as the significance of the Green Knight, the moral nature of Gawain, the way in which the poem can be and has been used as a play, Arthurian images, and speculation about the poet himself. There are also extracts from the original alliterative verses with the middle gaps.

There are also two bibliographies, one of texts mentioned in this book, and another for suggested readings for students. These are a bit dated now, as the latest impression of the book comes from the early 1980s, and none of the items on the list dates past the mid-1960s. There is also an extensive section of translation notes.

Burrow's Penguin Classics edition is a solid resource.......2003-12-06

The Penguin Classics edition of SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT, edited by J.A. Burrow, is fantastic for motivated readers who wish to approach the text as it really is, and delve deep into its symbolism and historical references. Burrow's edition is not a translation into modern English, but a presentation of the original Middle English with enough notes and and a glossary so copious that the reasonably well-educated reader will be able to tackle and even really enjoy this important work.

While it was written at the same time as Chaucer's CANTERBURY TALES, which is difficult but of which the modern reader can usually get the gist, SIR GAWAIN is written in a dialect of rural England which seems more impenetrable nowadays. Under this archaic facade, however, lies a magical tale ostensibly of Arthurian myth, but which is really an adaptation of an older, indigenous legend. The framing of the tale attempts to claim a noble heritage for England from Troy like the Roman poet Vergil had done for Rome with his AENEID.

I was a bit disappointed by the lack of a decent introduction. Barrow provides only a brief explanation of how the text was typeset and minor alterations in spelling, but I would have preferred coverage of the history of the story, the role of Arthurian myth in the popular literature of the writer's region, and a brief mention of the other contents of the manuscript on which the work was found.

If you are a student of English literature, or simply a lover of archaic English texts, the Penguin edition of SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT is a great choice.

My favorite Gawain.......2002-10-10

I have read at least four translations of Gawain, including Tolkein's, and the Brian Stone version is my favorite. It is written in understandable English. As another reviewer has pointed out, Stone's version is most like the medieval one in its structure, its use of alliteration, and the rhyme scheme of the bob and wheel. Tolkein, in an appendix to his version, gives a clear and enlightening explanation of the principles of this kind of poetry. Once you've read Tolkein's explanation, your appreciation of the poem will be greatly enhanced. Nowadays, many poets and others turn up their noses at alliteration, but I love it. So the language is one of the things that make the poem such a pleasure to read.

Another thing that makes Gawain a great read is that it is just a darn good story. When a green man riding a green horse and carrying his own green-haired head gallops into Arthur's dining hall, you know there's going to be some drama in this tale. And there is! There's some hunting and killing of animals for the sportsperson and the bloodthirsty. There's romantic temptation, and there's suspense.

One reviewer speculated on possible symbolism in the novel. The search for deeper meanings might interest some readers. For me to "get" a symbol, it has to jump out of the book and bite me on the nose.

The Best Modern English Translation of This Masterpiece.......2002-05-06

I know that the Marie Borroff translation is much praised, but this one is far better for the undergraduate classroom. While both translations share some characteristics (both are in poetry, both try to maintain the alliteration), you need only compare/contrast the "bob and wheel" (last 5 lines of each stanza) to see that Stone has managed to maintain "the sting in the tail" so typical of the original Middle English version--wherein a significant or surprising part of the stanza often appears in the bob and wheel--start with Fitt I, stanzas 4 and 7. Stone also maintains the "alliterative signaling" oral tradition: when possible he tries to alliterate only key words (Boroff seems happy when she can alliterate anything in the line, regardless of its significance to theme or motif!). As a medievalist, I am truly sorry to see so many of my colleagues jumping on the Borroff bandwagon when this superior, alternative translation is so readily available.

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