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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I gave this three stars because it whetted my bisexuality for , because seriously, if you hate women, there's only three things you can do to tide me over with your writing: not write about them, be glorious at everything else, or include a female character who for all your fancy rhythms obviously scares the living shit out of you. In the words of the immortal Shelley, if I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other, and with twenty lines out of 2530 in this Arthurian tale, a little goes a long way.
Moving beyond the author's obvious issues and more towards the stuffs of academia, it's hard to be impressed by this if one encounters [b:Beowulf|52357|Beowulf|Unknown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878125l/52357._SY75_.jpg|189503] and [b:The Heptameron|505222|The Heptameron|Marguerite de Navarre|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600077741l/505222._SY75_.jpg|493265] first. The former has it beat in terms of pure strength of utterance, while the latter has it beat in, well, everything else. It's the curse of encountering the critique before the critiqued, and while SGatGK has got a lovely sense of nature and hunting and male fashion, it doesn't make up for the utter flatline of the themes. Yes, lack of honor is the worst, yes, all women are lying whores, yes, it sucks that you can't get rid of sin no matter how many people are forgiven by, but guess what? Least you don't have to deal with Eve and all that biblical jazz. Gawain's mark of shame even turns into a fashion accessory of significant social status at the end which, as far as thematic meaning goes, I'm not even going to attempt to contextualize but will tell you for a fact that it must be amazing.
What else. If I had to write an essay about this I'd explore the relation of Nature to Humanity and all such Wicker Man themes, but it's not something I'll go after unless I have to. There was rhyme and meter and some interesting stuff about fundamental differences between Germanic and Latin senses of poetry in the introduction, so that'll be useful in the future. Armitage even gives the benefit of the doubt to whether the unknown is indeed male in the ending appendage, but frankly, he can have it. I'll take what bits and pieces I can manage and leave the glory behind.
Spoiler
Morgan la FayMoving beyond the author's obvious issues and more towards the stuffs of academia, it's hard to be impressed by this if one encounters [b:Beowulf|52357|Beowulf|Unknown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878125l/52357._SY75_.jpg|189503] and [b:The Heptameron|505222|The Heptameron|Marguerite de Navarre|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600077741l/505222._SY75_.jpg|493265] first. The former has it beat in terms of pure strength of utterance, while the latter has it beat in, well, everything else. It's the curse of encountering the critique before the critiqued, and while SGatGK has got a lovely sense of nature and hunting and male fashion, it doesn't make up for the utter flatline of the themes. Yes, lack of honor is the worst, yes, all women are lying whores, yes, it sucks that you can't get rid of sin no matter how many people are forgiven by, but guess what? Least you don't have to deal with Eve and all that biblical jazz. Gawain's mark of shame even turns into a fashion accessory of significant social status at the end which, as far as thematic meaning goes, I'm not even going to attempt to contextualize but will tell you for a fact that it must be amazing.
What else. If I had to write an essay about this I'd explore the relation of Nature to Humanity and all such Wicker Man themes, but it's not something I'll go after unless I have to. There was rhyme and meter and some interesting stuff about fundamental differences between Germanic and Latin senses of poetry in the introduction, so that'll be useful in the future. Armitage even gives the benefit of the doubt to whether the unknown is indeed male in the ending appendage, but frankly, he can have it. I'll take what bits and pieces I can manage and leave the glory behind.
So summer comes in season with its subtle airs,P.S. Who else cannot wait for that upcoming Dev Patel adaptation? Ouh là là is a massive understatement.
when the west wind sighs among shoots and seeds,
and those plants which flower and flourish are a pleasure
as their leaves let drip their drink of dew
and they sparkle and glitter when glanced by sunlight.
Then autumn arrives to harden the harvest
and with it comes a warning to ripen before winter.
The drying airs arrive, driving up dust
from the face of the earth to the heights of heaven,
and wild sky wrestles the sun with its winds,
and the leaves of the lime lay littered on the ground,
and grass that was green turns withered and gray.
Then all which had risen over-ripens and rots
and yesterday on yesterday the year dies away,
and winter returns as is the way of the world
through time.
At Michaelmas the moon
stands like that season's sign,
a warning to Gawain
to rouse himself and ride.
"Is Sir Gawain gay?"
"It's more likely than you think!"
My friends ask the important questions.
"It's more likely than you think!"
My friends ask the important questions.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
At Christmas time, a mysterious green knight barges into King Arthur's court and challenges the knights to a contest: They can take one swing at him with a weapon if he can return the blow in a year and a day. Brave Sir Gawain steps up to take the blow, and a year later, travels to keep his word to let the Green Knight return the blow. Adventures and magical mishaps befall Gawain on the way.
Gosh, I really wanted to like this book, one of the oldest extent stories that involves King Arthur! But, I think I should have picked a different version/translation. This was a Penguin Classic, and they kept the Middle English and supplied a glossary and notes.
I feel like this is the absolute hardest way to read the book. I had to put in 3 bookmarks: one for the text, one for the glossary, and one for the end notes. I think a side-by-side comparison of the original text and a modern translation would have been my preference. Second best would be to have footnotes with vocabulary and explanatory notes right on the page. I think the authors didn't do this because half of each page would be glossary notes!
Anyway, I'm giving this 3 stars because the story is classic and fun, and reading the original text did give me an appreciation for the tradition of alliteration in old English texts, but if anybody is thinking of tackling this, try a different edition! Upon doing some googling, I think if I ever read this again, I would go for the Simon Armitage retelling in modern English.
Gosh, I really wanted to like this book, one of the oldest extent stories that involves King Arthur! But, I think I should have picked a different version/translation. This was a Penguin Classic, and they kept the Middle English and supplied a glossary and notes.
I feel like this is the absolute hardest way to read the book. I had to put in 3 bookmarks: one for the text, one for the glossary, and one for the end notes. I think a side-by-side comparison of the original text and a modern translation would have been my preference. Second best would be to have footnotes with vocabulary and explanatory notes right on the page. I think the authors didn't do this because half of each page would be glossary notes!
Anyway, I'm giving this 3 stars because the story is classic and fun, and reading the original text did give me an appreciation for the tradition of alliteration in old English texts, but if anybody is thinking of tackling this, try a different edition! Upon doing some googling, I think if I ever read this again, I would go for the Simon Armitage retelling in modern English.
I wanted to read this for pleasure, since a new movie adaption is coming out very soon. decent little story.
I really love how Simon Armitage uses the intricacies of language. His description is so detailed that I could imagine everything so vivdly, down to the cloak Sir Gawain was wearing. And I liked how there's a deliberate use of alliteration which created suspense and tension throughout the book. Of course, the plot is also brilliant, despite appearing to be violent as it's premised on the beheading of each other's heads, it includes important values which still hold true today.
This is one book everyone should give their sons as a birthday present.
This is one book everyone should give their sons as a birthday present.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2022: re-read after watching the film adapation The Green Knight.
Very enjoyable Arthurian adventure story, and I was happily suprized that it was quite understandable too!
Very enjoyable Arthurian adventure story, and I was happily suprized that it was quite understandable too!