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