Themes
What is the primary theme of honor in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"?
What is the importance of knighthood, comitatus code, or chivalry.
What does the color green symbolize throughout the poem?
What is nature, renewal, or life.
The castle that Gawain has arrived to is this many miles away from the Green Chapel
What is 2 miles
The Anglo Saxon period lasted _____ years
What is 617 years
How long is the game between the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight supposed to last?
What is one year and a day.
How does the theme of chivalry manifest in Sir Gawain's journey?
What is a knight's duty to uphold the virtues of chivalry.
In Anglo-Saxon society, dragons were a symbol of __________.
What is protection & death.
Name two of five rules of chivalry
Bravery, strength/skill, respect women, defend the weak/poor, generosity to his lord/family/friends
Paganism is
What is having a belief in nature-based religion
Based on the reading, what is the main religion that Gawain's faith relies in?
What is Catholic or Catholicism.
Discuss the theme of temptation as it relates to Gawain's character.
What is the challenge of resisting temptation and its consequences.
How do the changing seasons symbolize the passage of time in the poem?
What is the representation of the life cycle - how things get old, change, and die over time.
What are the five virtues of Knighthood?
Generosity, Fellowship, Chasity, Courtesy, & Piety
What is one aspect of Anglo-Saxon society that is prevalent as part of the rules of the game between Gawain and the Green Knight?
What is revenge.
What is the basic premise of the game that Sir Gawain agrees to?
What is [an eye-for-an-eye] or [strike-for-strike]
How does the poem explore the theme of human imperfection?
What is understanding that all humans, including knights, have flaws.
What does the green knight symbolize in the poem?
What is a symbol of nature and the supernatural.
The five virtues that Gawain embodies, represented by each point of the pentangle
What are the five wounds, five joys, five flawless senses, five fingers, and knighthood
Stories and poems were delivered via what medium?
What is the Oral Tradition.
What is the basic premise of the Gawain agrees to play with the king while on his journey?
What is an exchange or winnings.
What role does the supernatural theme play in the poem?
What is explaining things that cannot be explained in the natural world.
E.g. The green knight being beheaded
Explain the symbolism of the pentangle on Gawain's shield. Additionally, explain three different sets of five in the poem.
What is symbolizing all of the fives that Gawain embodies, such as: virtues of knighthood, virtues of chivalry, the five wounds of Mary, etc.
How does irony play a role in Gawain's interaction with the Queen?
What is he is supposed to do whatever he is told, but he refuses to play her game by kissing her.
Answers will vary
What is the name of the code that guides the actions of the knights during this time?
What is the Comitatus Code.
The theme of "Games, Rules, and Order" shows the way that games
What create a structure for rules and order in their society.