Literary Analysis of "Sir Gawain and The Green Knight"

"Gawain in a reversal of the pattern of romances, |...| starts as a perfect knight and moves downward..." (Larry Benson in Art and Tradition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 1966).

Relate this comment to the following passage from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Part 4). Refer to themes and explain the use of rhetorical devices and their effects. You should quote from the text, and use appropriate terminology. Write your answer in an essay format.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th century Middle English chivalric romance, the code of behaviour that was expected from knights. It is one of the best known Arthurian stories, and is of a type known as the beheading game. It is an important poem in the romance genre, which typically involves a hero who goes on a quest. At the beginning of the poem, "Gawain in a reversal of the pattern of romances, |...| starts as a perfect knight" but later he moves downward. During this passage, the Green Knight who is actually the lord of the castle explains that he knows all about Gawain's kissing and flirting with his wife because he planned it all. Therefore, Sir Gawain who starts being a perfect knight moves downward. These main ideas are developed through the use of different rhetorical devices such as hyperbaton, irony, polysyndeton, caesura, simile, anaphora, epithet, metaphor, hyperbole, alliteration.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight belongs to the chivalric tradition: Knights were expected to be brave, loyal, and honourable; to protect the weak; to behave nobly toward women; to display piety and respect for the Church; and to show the highest prowess in combat.

The author opens this section with the lord of the castle who knows that his "wife it was that wore it" which is a hyperbaton, a figure of speech in which words are transposed from their usual order, used to emphasize the meaning. He also knows "well the tale" (2359) and it is an irony because he planned the situation.

With the use of polysyndeton, the repetition of "and" (2360) and parallelism "The count of your kisses and your conduct too" (2360), the lord refers to the actions and behaviour of Sir Gawain. After that, a caesura "-" (2361) which is a strong pause, appears to create suspense. Then, he recognizes that is was his entire scheme. The simile "As pearls to white peas" (2364) is used to compare Gawain with the lady. "So is Gawain, in good faith, to other gay knights." (2365) is another irony and a metaphor because the lord is comparing to Gawain with other good knights.

Almost at the end of the passage, other literary devices such as anaphora, parallelism, epithet, metaphor, hyperbole and alliteration are used by the author. The anaphora "but" (2367/8) to show that "the cause was not cunning, nor courtship either" (2367). "But that you loved your own life; the less, then, do blame" is a parallelism to refer to the love for life and being responsible for something.

On the other hand, "the other stout knight" (2369) was thoughtful for a time. It is an epithet which characterizes Gawain who is brave and determined. So, "his great heart shook" (2370) is used as a metaphor to describe that Sir Gawain was shaking of shame. "All the blood of his body burned in his face" 82370) is an alliteration because three words begin with the consonant /b/ which depicts the sound of Gawain's heart.

To conclude, the analysed lines show through different literary devices that Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is very important in literature because it represents all of the following significant poetic genres: Arthurian romance poetry, courtly love poetry, medieval alliterative poetry and epic poetry. During this section of the poem, the Green Knight is actually the lord of the castle. He explains that he knows all about Gawain's kissing and flirting with his wife because he planned it all.

I'll help with parts of your essay.


The title of the story need to be in italics. Also, you need something to link the part of the sentence ending with "romance" and the part of the sentence starting with "the code of behavior." I had to read about the "beheading game" to understand what you meant by that term, and I'm not sure I understand. It may require more extensive explanantion. I've reworded the second sentence for you to improve the style, but consider what I said about the "beheading game."

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th century Middle English chivalric romance ,that profiles the code of behaviour that was expected from knights. It is oneOne of the best known Arthurian stories, the plot is told in sections, the first of whichand is of a type known as the " beheading game."


I'll help improve the style here:

It is an important poem in the romance genre ,; in this genre,which typically involves a hero typicallywho goes on a quest.


This is much like the quote in your essay prompt, so I think you need to give credit to Larry Benson. I'm not an expert of citation styles, so check your guidelines. I'll do my best, but double check. Here's my suggestion:

As Larry Benson in Art and Tradition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight notes,At the beginning of the poem, "Gawain in a reversal of the pattern of romances, |...| starts as a perfect knight"Gawain starts the story "as a perfect knight," but later he" moves downward."(1996).


During which passage? Be more specific. Here are my suggestions for this sentence:

During thisIn the provided passage, the Green Knight who is actually the lord of the castle explains that he knows all about Gawain's kissing and flirting with his wife; we learn thatbecause he planned it all.

I hope that helps you a little!