Chivalry code
Gawain is said to be faultless in five ways. Name any two.
Smell, touch, taste, hearing, and sight
What poetic form is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written in?
What magical event occurs when the Green Knight is beheaded?
He picks up his head and rides off.
What is the code of chivalry, and what does it demand of knights like Gawain?
It is symbolized by the pentangle, which combines physical, social, and Christian virtues. The knights are supposed to be infallible in all 5 sets of 5 virtues. They are the following: perfection in the 5 senses, 5 fingers, faith in the 5 wounds of Christ, 5 joys of Mary, as well as 5 civil virtues (friendship, fraternity, purity, politeness, and pity)
What are “bob and wheel” in the context of the poem’s structure?
It is a five-line rhyming structure at the end of longer passages in "Sir Gawain" that rhyme ababa and that provide a conclusion to that passage.
Who is revealed to be behind the Green Knight’s test of Gawain?
Morgan le fay, Gawain's aunt and Arthur's half-sister.
How does Gawain break the chivalric code during his stay at Bertilak’s castle?
He accepts the green girdle from the wife of the lord and does not trade it in, as they agreed.
The poem is written in a regional dialect of Middle English. Which one?
Northwestern dialect of Middle English
What is the "game" that Gawain and Bertilak agree to during Gawain’s stay?
To trade their winnings - Gawain in the castle with the lady, Bertilak at his hunt
What does the green girdle symbolize?
This is an interpretive answer. Answers may vary. It can symbolize nature, materiality, the body, the life of love, the bodily vs. the spiritual self.
Identify one stylistic feature that distinguishes the poet’s narrative voice.
This is an interpretive questions. Answers may vary. For example, the narrator sounds ironic, literary, polished, and self-aware, as in these lines:
And Gawain had been glad to begin the game, / but don't be so shocked should the plot turn pear-shaped:/ for men might be merry when addled with mead / but each year, short lived, it unlike the last / and rarely solves in the style it arrived."
What happens at the Green Chapel when Gawain finally meets the Green Knight again?
The Green Knight hits his neck three times - two times for dramatic effect and one time actually scratches him a bit, but does not kill him. He lives in the mound and sharpens his huge axe, when Gawain arrives.
Propose a modern equivalent of the chivalric code based on Gawain’s experiences. How would his story change if set in today’s society?
This is an interpretive question. Any thoughtful and creative answer can get full credit.
How does the structure (four parts/fitts) contribute to the development of theme and tone in the poem?
This is an interpretive question. Answers may vary. For example, the four parts mirror the four seasons. As the poem starts at Christmas, it ends with Christmas. The two castles, Arthur's and Sir Bertilak's mirror each other, just as Arthur's wife Guinevere is compared to Bertilak's more beautiful trickster-wife, the Lady (not named).
How does the story’s ending reflect on the meaning of the entire journey? Was it a trap, a test, or something else?
This is an interpretive question. Answers may vary. Any thoughtful and creative answer may get full credit.