Reviews - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

1.52k reviews for:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Gawain Poet

3.69 AVERAGE

watto096's review against another edition

3.0

Weird/hard thing to give a score

jenna_le's review

4.0

I read this in anticipation of possibly seeing the well-reviewed new Dev Patel movie at some point. I seem to be having good luck with translations of verse narratives recently, as I enjoyed this book quite as much as I enjoyed the Headley Beowulf translation I read last fall. The fast pacing and vigorous language never left me bored, and translator Simon Armitage's obvious enthusiastic interest in some of the original Gawain poet's preoccupations (e.g., armor, hunting, the steps involved in preparing game meat) is infectious, making me devour those passages with avidity despite never having had any curiosity about those topics before. I relished the use of spiky, gristly concrete words like gralloching, numbles, and chine, which increased my awe for the virtually unplumbable richness of the English language. Regionalisms like nithering and chunters also added texture and interest. Finally, I appreciated how the physical adventure is balanced by timeless moral concerns ("friendship and fraternity with fellow men, purity and politeness...and pity"). "If fate is kind or cruel, man must still try."

alle_kat97's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging dark hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

shroomboi42's review against another edition

4.0

Very easy to understand and a fun read.

teddyotso's review against another edition

4.0

me when i, some kind of shapeshifting fairy creature i suppose, successfully make a bargain with a beautiful man that will bind him to

do unto me whatever he does unto my wife

and so

i beg my wife every night to try harder to seduce him

but nay..

she is unsuccessful…

and yet

i still get some little kisses

so it’s ok, i guess

I won’t decapitate him

<3

very fun, very curious, very religious but I guess I should’ve anticipated that. I read the burton raffel translation bc the cover was pretty but I look forward to researching other translations too :)