Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The Pearl Poet (c.1390), translated by Kline, A. S. (contact-email)

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, composed in Middle English in the late 14th century by an anonymous author - ostensibly the Pearl Poet - exists in a solitary manuscript alongside three religious texts presumed to be by the same writer. The narrative, an Arthurian romance, details Sir Gawain’s ordeal in a challenge posed by the enigmatic Green Knight, examining his knightly attributes and integrity. The text merges elements from Celtic, French, and English traditions and offers multiple layers of thematic and symbolic interpretations. The Pearl Poet, a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer, likely hailed from the West Midlands, judging by the dialect. Characterised by its alliterative verse and rhyming quatrains, the poem represents the Alliterative Revival, yet anticipates later poetic forms that blend alliteration with rhyme. Despite speculation, the Pearl Poet’s true identity remains unknown.

Author Details

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Kline, A. S.

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