Free College Essays - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Sir Gawain Green Knight Essays

Sir Gawain and the viridity Knight   The poet begins his work by reminding us that the history of Britain is both antique and splendid Aeneas, whose deeds in the Trojan War atomic number 18 legendary, whose exploits in war are recorded in Virgils Aeneid, and who is legendary for having founded the city of capital of Italy after the Trojan War, was the ancestor of a man named Felix Brutus who founded Britain ("Britain" comes from "Brutus"). The most grand of the kings that followed Brutus was Arthur the poet says that he intends to tell one of the wondrous tales of Arthur. One Christmas at Camelot, the king, his nance Guinevere, and the court gather for fifteen days of celebration. The best and noblest of people and activities are there brave and famous men who compete in legions games, beautiful and gracious ladies who play kissing games with the men. There is the most grand entertainment-dancing, feasting, singing. On New Years Day, there is a trem endous feast at which all gather together. Arthur, young and impulsive, has a feast-day tradition, though, which has to be observed out front the meal. He would not eat on such an occasion until he observed something curiosityous the telling of an amazing story, the fighting of a glorious battle, or the like. Arthur presides over the feast at the high table with Guinevere and Gawain and other famous knights as music plays and the food is brought in-so many delicacies and elaborate dishes that the poet says it would be impossible to describe them all. In the midst of the preparations for the feast, and as Arthur waits for a marvel to take place so that he can eat, a spacious and terrible man bursts into the hall-a giant of a man, his chest and limbs are long even while his proportions show him to be fit and attractive. The most take aback thing about him is that he was completely green. The poet spends most of the next one-third stanzas describing the Green Knight in detail first, we learn of his clothing, trimmed in fur and embroidery, all green and gold. Then we learn that the horse he rides, the saddle, and the stirrups are all green. The mans long hair matches that of the horse, and he has a great, dim beard, also green.