Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Character A quest for perfection

2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • Keep a list of character traits for Gawain: • Appearance • Speech • Thoughts • Actions • Opinion of others • Habits or mannerisms

3. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • The Pearl Poet • The identity of the Pearl Poet remains a mystery. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the last of the Pearl Poet’s poems is acknowledged by virtually all critics to be the masterpiece of the manuscript.” • Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Vol. 6, pg. 2075

4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells of the artist-hero’s successful war within himself against such sensuality and epitomizes his spiritual salvation after having confronted nature and experience without evasion or submission.” • Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 32, pg 467

5. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • “Gawain believes that his chastity and his courtesy are being tested, when what is actually being tested is his ultimate commitment to both the Christian and heroic codes.” • Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Vol. 6, pg. 2076

6. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • “Nor, again would he be worthy of honour if he were bad; for honour is the prize of virtue, and it is to the good that it is rendered.” • “Niconian Ethics”, Great Books of the Western World, Aristotle, pg. 370