1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight By the Pearl Poet

2. Notes – Sir Gawain Composed in England around 1370 A romance poem: a narrative set in the world of knights, kings, and supernatural creatures. Exciting story full of adventure Derived from the word “Roman”

3. Notes, cont. Romance poem includes three stages: a dangerous quest, a test of honor or courage, and a return to the point from which the quest began. Author is anonymous but is known as the Pearl Poet b/c he also wrote the poem “The Pearl.” Author was probably a member of the court b/c he’s so familiar with court life, costumes.

4. Notes Sir Gawain, the main character, appears in several tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur: Legendary king, probably warrior during the invasion of Britain by the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons. Arthur was head of the Knights of the Round Table.

5. Notes Knights of Round Table: the greatest fighters, represented chivalry at its best. Camelot: fictitious place where the Arthurian legends take place Chivalry: the code by which knights lived. Courteous, courageous, and honorable

6. Knights Characteristics of a knight: strength, skilled at arms and horsemanship, courageous, loyal, and courteous. Sir Gawain – a knight of the round table. At first considered the weakest of most insignificant knight. Volunteers to accept a challenge from the Green Knight.

7. Literary Terms Symbolism – use of symbols that exist on a literal level within a work but also represent something on a figurative level. Symbols can be a person, animal, place, object, event, color, etc. Alliteration-the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.