Name:________________________
SGGK Poem Dissection
In the
beginning…
King Arthur’s Court is celebrating Christmas and New Year’s
Eve.
Big Green Man comes to the door
Lines 1-24
Description: Tall and Green, had a huge beard, iron plates on
his arms, no armor
Page 210
Green =Envy
Lines 25-31
Page 212
Lines 32-60
No armor-no shield, spear, shaft, no gloves
Came with an axe in one hand and holly in the other
Holly represents peace
King Arthur invited the Green Knight to dinner
Green man came to play a game not to fight
Page 212
Lines 61-82
Page 213
Green man thinks he is undefeatable and explains the game
Game=Green Knight sits for the first swing (stroke) and a year
and a day later the Green Knight will return the swing
Lines 83-104
Page 213
No one steps up so the Green Knight questions King Arthurs
court
King Arthur steps up then to take the challenge
Lines 105-124
Page 214
Lines 125-147
King Arthur approaches the Green Knight but Sir Gawain steps
in to take over for Arthur
Sir Gawain accepts the challenge because he feels that everyone
else is too important and he wants to prove his worth.
Page 214
Lines 148-174
Page 215
Lines 175-197
Sir Gawain removes the Green Knights head with the axe.
The Green Knight appears unharmed and walks over and picks
up his head.
Green Knight tells Sir Gawain to meet him a year and a day
from now at the Green Chapel.
Page 215-6
Characters
King Arthur
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Green Knight
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Sir Gawain
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Lines 198-226
Lady attempts to give him a sash and a ring but he refuses it
because he cannot pay anything back
Page 216-7
Lines 227-250
The lady explains that the sash will keep him from dying and
asks him to take it and not tell anyone.
Page 217
Sir Gawain accepts the sash so that he would have it during his
battle with the Green Knight.
Lines 251-275
Page 218
Lines 276-300
Page 218-9
Lines 301-322
Page 219
Lines 323-349
Page 219-220
Sir Gawain meets the Green Knight at the chapel. When the
Green Knight swings his axe Sir Gawain flinches. The Green
Knight makes fun of Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain said he flinched
because he cannot put his head back on.
Sir Gawain is waiting for the Green Knight to swing again.
When the Green Knight goes to swing he stops! Sir Gawain
tells him to just get it over with.
The Green Knight takes a third swing, nicks Sir Gawain’s neck.
When Sir Gawain sees the blood he stands up quickly and says
that is it-you got your swing!
The Green Knight explains the 3 swings:
The first swing represented his honor the first night at the castle
(avoided the attempts made by the lady)
The second swing represented the two kisses he gave to the Lord
on the second day.
The third represented his lie about the sash (concealing that it
had been given to him).
Lines 350-380
Page 220-1
The Green Knight was the Lord and had set up the “tests” by
the lady.
The Green Knight recognizes that Sir Gawain is a great knight
The Green Knight talks about why he is ok that Sir Gawain kept
the sash and that he understand he did not keep it for worldly
values or love but to save his life.
Page 221
The Green Knight admires Sir Gawains honesty and gives him
the sash to remind him of the struggle. He then invites him back
to his castle to celebrate.
Lines 399-409
Sir Gawain says no thank you and returns home to Camelot.
Lines 381-398
Page 221
Symbol: A tangible (touchable) object that represents an intangible (not touchable) idea
or concept.
What symbol is found in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and what concept does it represent?
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What could the color green symbolically represent in the story?
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Theme: The lesson the story is trying to teach
What is the lesson in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?
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