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Medieval Romance. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. Historical Context. Written mid to late fourteenth century Composed by a university-trained clerk: The Pearl Poet Written in a dialect of Middle English
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Medieval Romance “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
Historical Context • Written mid to late fourteenth century • Composed by a university-trained clerk: The Pearl Poet • Written in a dialect of Middle English • Belongs to a type of literature traditionally known as Alliterative Revival (Northern England)
Literary Context • Purpose of alliteration: to connect two halves of each poetic line • Poet uses rhyme to structure the stanzas • Each group of long alliterative rhyme concludes with a word or phrase containing two syllables and a quatrain-known together as the “bob and wheel.”
Literary Devices • Bob and wheel – technique used for spinning cloth. • Bob and wheel help to spin the plot and narrative together in intricate ways. • Bob and wheel provide commentaries on what has just happened, create or fulfill moments of suspense, and serve as transitions to the next scene or idea.
Literary Devices • Story is told in four “fitts” (parts), which weave together at least three separate narrative strings commonly found in medieval folklore and romance. • First plot: “The beheading game”: derived from pagan myths related to the agricultural cycles of planting and harvesting crops. • Second and Third Plots: Exchange of winnings and hero’s temptation: romance (honesty, loyalty and chastity are tested).
