Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Sparknotes Literature Guide)

by Unknown and SparkNotes

Book Overview

Get your "A" in gear!They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes™ has developed a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586634895
• ISBN13: 9781586634896
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Sparknotes
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.2" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderous Tale!

Rare and elegant translation of a legendary tale...a great find for English Lit fanatics like me.

"Hony Soyt Qui Mal Pense"

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is considered one of the finest Arthurian romances in English. It belongs to the so-called Alliterative Revival: the organizing device of the line is alliteration, the beginning of several words with the same sounds ("foemen fled"). Unlike most Arthurian romances, which deal with the end of Arthur's life and his death, in "Sir Gawain," Arthur is still a youth, and the court is in its springtime. The main plot belongs to a type folklorists classify as the "Beheading Game," in which a supernatural challenger offers to let his head be cut off in exchange for a return blow. The poem is chock-full of games and exchanges.Dr. Borroff studied under E. Talbot Donaldson, who translated "Beowulf" to prose during the same period at Yale. Her translation is a joy and great fun to read.

Beautiful, A Gem of Romantic Literature

Gaiwan would be worth the purchase if only for the story line alone. However Marie Borroff's amazing translation adds that beauty and eloquence which only a master translator can produce. Borroff uses an alliterative meter which will get you tongue tied if you try and read it out loud. For example the first line is "Since the siege and the assault was ceased at Troy." She also gives us beautiful rhymes at the end of each stanza, like in lines 1236-1240: "My body is here at hand,/ Your each wish to fulfill;/ Your servant to command/ I am, and shall be still/." The story is full of symbolism, and confronts us with a tough philosophical question. You have to read the book to find out what that is however. The book also deals with the problems inherent in the institution of chivalry, and especially courtly love. Overall I thought the story was wonderful, the translation impeccable, and the underlying message profound.

Best Edition

Certainly the best edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight available in this price range. The translation is by Marie Boroff, and is highly regarded. The translation provides excellent glosses for both the amateur and seasoned scholar. A quality book for anyone who wants to begin an in depth study of Sir Gawain.

excellent story, outstanding translation

I love Sir Gawain and The Green Knight; it is interesting not only because of its expansive picture of what chivalry is (and what people pretend it is), but also for the fact that it can be read from many perspectives (try giving it a feminist reading, for instance, and see what you come up with!). I want to commend Borroff's translation in particular; she reproduces the alliterative meter and verse structure superbly, adding much to the reading. This work is captivating and entrancing; I highly recommend it.