ENGL 2210 - Early British Literature: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Includes in-depth critical and biographical analysis.

A witty Arthurian tale receives a wondrous translation by England's Children's Laureate and an award-winning artist. Written anonymously in the fourteenth century, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is retold in its entirety by Michael Morpurgo in a lively and accessible narration that captures all the tale's drama and humor. Vivid illustrations by the celebrated Michael Foreman infuse this classic tale with the sights and colors of dragons, swords, and medieval pageantry.

In addition to his succinct introductions and plot summaries, Bowers skillfully details the cultural, historical, political, and religious contexts for these works, synthesizing them with close reading of selected passages. The final chapter surveys the works influenced by, as well as the influences reflected in, the poet's work, from the Bible to The Lord of the Rings. The attention Bowers pays to the critical tradition that has developed around these texts over the past hundred years makes An Introduction to the Gawain Poet an ideal volume for both undergraduate students and scholars of the Gawain Poet.

This monumental work involves over 50 scholars and contains a wide range of entries in the arts (visual arts, music, television, and film); Arthurian characters; history, legend, and archaeology; themes, motifs, and objects; and a wealth of literatures (Celtic, Dutch, medieval English, postmedieval English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hispanic, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian/Serbo-Croatian, Scandinavian, Tagalog, and Yiddish). Its clear introduction, good select bibliography, bibliographies under many entries, cross-references, and illustrations make it a useful reference for both specialist and general reader.

Examining the legend at its very source, An Introduction to British Arthurian Narrative covers over 400 years and discusses a broad range of romances, histories, and parodies written about King Arthur in Britain during the medieval period.