Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

by James L. Rosenberg (Translator)

Other authorsJames R. Kreuzer (Editor)
Paper Book, 1959

Status

Available

Call number

821.1

Collection

Publication

New York, Rinehart [1959]

Description

"The Green Knight is a chivalric romance that was written anonymously and first published in the late 14th century as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"--

User reviews

LibraryThing member Osbaldistone
I read W.S. Merwin's 2002 verse translation of this medieval poem, and so thoroughly enjoyed his rendering that I flagged it to read again. However, I heard good things about Armitage's translation, so bought it to add to my library. Figuring I'd read it someday, I flipped to the first page of the
Show More
translation to see what it was like, and was immediately pulled into the narrative by the now familiar setup combined with Armitage's rich and accessible style. Being at work, I had to put it down, but I was reading it at home that night after everyone else was in bed.

The story is marvelous (in more ways than one), but a side-by-side translation would be preferred. Armitage strikes a gentle balance between contemporary, accessible verse and keeping the otherworldly feel of the original. I say 'otherworldly' in reference to how far removed we are from the time and culture in which the original was written. Armitage emulates the beat (and off-beats) of the original. He also uses alliteration much as in the original, and this added layer contributes much to the power of the text.

This story of chivalry, loyalty, fear, faith, doubt, and duty has a lot to say to our world. As with the Bible, a new and faithful translation can open up previously un-seen or unappreciated windows onto the landscape of a story. Armitage has added a new voice to an ancient tale, and I highly recommend it.

Os.
Show Less
LibraryThing member richardderus
This is the book to get your poetry-resistant friend this #Booksgiving 2017. I read it on a dare. I don't like poetry very much, it's so snooty and at the same time so pit-sniffingly self-absorbed that I'd far rather stab my hands with a fork repeatedly than be condescended to in rhyming
Show More
couplets.

This tale is fabulous in every sense of the word, which is no surprise since it's survived for so many centuries. But poet and translator Simon Armitage has made the old world new again. He sucked me right in and never let me come up for air with his gorgeous words and his carefully chosen words and his alliterative rhythmical phrases.

If the idea of a Norton Critical Edition is keeping you far away from this delightful read, rest assured it's not stodgy or dry or just plain boring. It's vibrant, alive, shimmering with an inner power, waiting for you to open its covers and fall utterly under its spell. Become happily ensorcelled, gentle reader, relax into the sure and strong embrace of a centuries-old knight and his spectacular tale.
Show Less
LibraryThing member anthonywillard
This is a longish narrative poem in Middle English, here translated into modern English by the well-known British poet Simon Armitage. It recounts one of the legends of King Arthur and his nephew Gawain. It starts on New Year's Day at an elaborate banquet celebration at Arthur's court. In the first
Show More
few stanzas, the company is invaded by a green giant who rides his green horse right into the banqueting hall, and demands a trial of fortitude with any one of the knights. Gawain volunteers, and the giant directs him to take one swing with the giant's axe at the giant's neck, unresisted. Gawain complies and chops off the giant's head. The giant picks up his head, gets back on his horse, and bids Gawain to show up at the giant's place, The Green Chapel, in one year to the day to suffer the giant's return blow. Then off he goes. The rest of the story tells of Gawain's search for The Green Chapel and his adventures when he gets there.

The narrative approach throughout is light-hearted and lyrical. Suspense is maintained by a series of delays, but without any of the tiresome digressions that plague medieval romance. The poet excels in describing the scenes of nature and daily life (of the aristocracy) that surround the main action. The scenes of hunting particularly impressed me with their realism and detail. The poem takes a slightly humorous, ironic view of the conventions of courtly romance.

The author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a contemporary of Chaucer, is thought also to be the author of three other poems, The Pearl, Patience, and Cleanness. He or she is often referred to as The Gawain Poet or The Pearl Poet. The poem is written in stanzas of varying lengths consisting of unrhymed lines of alliterative verse terminated by a five-line section of short rhymed lines. It has a nice sort of swing to it, both in the original and in Armitage's translation, which duplicates the original stanza form. I read mostly the translation (the original is on facing pages) since I am not very good at Middle English, and this is particularly hard, being a northwest midlands dialect with a vocabulary quite different from Chaucer's London dialect. But I could read enough to sense the musicality that Armitage preserves. I infer from reviews that Armitage's translation is more informal than the well-known translation by J. R. R. Tolkien. I haven't read that one but will try to do so soon. Recommended to fans of Arthurian legends, descriptive poetry, and good yarns.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Pepys
Some passages of this book were unexpectedly droll. It might come from
Simon Armitage's translation, which makes use of many words and expressions which I didn't know, and which are marked as familiar in my dictionary. It doesn't bother me too much that he uses these terms, because they do not sound
Show More
familiar to my French ear anyway. But native English speakers will maybe find it somewhat jarring.

A few examples gathered haphazardly (with the line number):

'He leaps from where he lies at a heck of a lick,' (1309)
heck and at a lick are referred by dictionaries as familiar or informal. My Harrap's Unabridged translates at a tremendous lick as à fond la caisse, à fond de train, which is indeed familiar.

'so that many grew timid and retreated a tad.' (1463)
a tad is again familiar or informal. As un peu wouldn't sound informal in French, a tad is translated by un chouïa, un tantinet. The 1st expression comes from North Africa and is indeed very familiar (I wouldn't write it in a French translation of Sir Gawain!), the second, though familiar too, is very old-fashioned and could suit a text on chivalry.

'If someone were so snooty as to snub your advance,' (1496)
snooty is again informal.

There are many more similar examples—much more than one in each page. At least, they allowed me to increase my familiar and informal vocabulary. Let alone the jointing scenes, whose vocabulary is however much harder to place in conversation.

But Simon Armitage's choices of informal terms perhaps makes the tale more entertaining finally. It might be the reason why I was surprised by this book and eventually liked it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ashleypolikoff
I read the untranslated version in college, and thanks to a linguistics class and a history of the english language class, my elitist English scholar self can now cringe whenever Armitage takes liberties with the original text. However, he explains why he does so in the introduction, in order to
Show More
keep the original sound of the poem and in order to preserve the meaning of the original text. In the end, I agree with his choices and I feel he has done the modern reader a great service with this translation. There were a few times he chose alliteration over meaning, resulting in a few phrases that I considered to be anachronistic. But overall, Armitage's translation is beautiful and digs up the exciting story that has been buried under elitist/scholarly translations and from heavily footnoted untranslated versions for years and years
Show Less
LibraryThing member thorold
The poem

The only known manuscript of the poem known as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight comes, oddly enough, from Sir Robert Cotton's collection, the same source as the Beowulf MS. But the Gawain MS was filed there under the bust of the emperor Nero, rather than Vitellius...

We know next to nothing
Show More
about the poet - there are three other poems in the same MS that look to be stylistically linked and are assumed to be by the same poet ("The Pearl", "Purity", and "Patience"), and a separate poem, "St Erkenwald", that has also been suggested to be by the Gawain poet, although Davis doesn't find the evidence for this convincing.

In form, it's a classic Arthurian romance, taking up two themes that appear in several other texts of the period - the beheading contest, and the (attempted) seduction of the knight by his host's wife. What's unusual about it, though, is that the two themes are rather tightly linked, and that the story sticks closely to what all this is doing to Gawain's state of mind, and doesn't ramble off into other embedded narratives as medieval texts tend to do. Very little happens in the poem that isn't obviously relevant to the main storyline in some way (apart from a few little things that look relevant, but the poet appears to have forgotten to come back to). So it feels like a very modern story, in many ways. Gawain is a man who has an appointment with almost certain death coming up in a few days (as a result of a foolish bet that he can't honourably back out of), and he finds himself the guest of a generous and affable stranger who breezily goes off hunting saying "look after my wife whilst I'm out". Gawain is perhaps a little more surprised than we are when the wife turns up in the guest-room in her nightie as soon as the coast is clear, and the handsome young knight has a hard time defending his virtue...

The language of the poem - as well as the places referred to in it - places it in the north-west of England, probably somewhere around Cheshire or North Staffordshire. The poet obviously knows his French romances, but the language feels solid and earthy, even when you compare it to Chaucer. There were a surprising number of words that I recognised as (cousins to-) dialect words still in use in the north-west when I was growing up - bonke (bank) for a hill, for example. And it was a surprise to discover that "bird", the coarse word for a girl we were brought up not to use, has its entirely respectable roots in Middle English burde, which originally meant "someone who does embroidery", i.e. a young lady. And much else of the same kind.

Because the language is quite close to Old English and doesn't have much French or Latin in it to guide us, there are a few places where it's hard to make sense of it on a first read-through, but there are plenty of other parts where you get a good idea of what's going on even if you don't recognise absolutely all the words. And the Davis edition comes with a comprehensive word-list and good, clear notes, so it didn't take me long to get to grips with even the most obscure parts.

Simon Armitage's translation

For those who are primarily interested in the story, and want something that reads naturally, the Armitage translation is a good bet. It's written with a clear sense of the "northernness" of the poem (even though he's from the "wrong" side of the Pennines...), and Armitage is even happier to include modern dialect expressions than Heaney was in his Beowulf, even when it means leaving the literal sense of the original behind (e.g. in l.2002, where he is so gleeful about rediscovering "nithering" that he drops the slightly puzzling but memorable image "to harass the naked" in the original. But his is a great line, and definitely in the spirit of the original (I'm not going to quibble about nithering being a Yorkshire word, so technically out of place here...). But occasionally he seems to get the tone slightly wrong, making it just a bit too modern-informal, e.g. "He leaps from where he lies at a heck of a lick" (l.1309) which was "..he ryches hym to rise and rapes hym sone" (he decides to get up and hastens himself at once). Sometimes the drive to alliterate seems to be a bit too much.

But on the whole it's a very lively, consistent translation, giving the progress of the story priority over the shape of the words and drawing the reader on with the energy that a text like this needs. Now I've read the original I wonder whether this is a text that really needs translating, but if you want a translation to read in isolation, this is the one to go for. It's not much use as a literal crib for the Middle English, though.
Show Less
LibraryThing member janeajones
A splendid translation of the best of the English Arthurian romances. Armitage has made this classic readable and exciting for the 21st century. SGGK is a gorgeously crafted tale full of games, laughter, human foibles, tragedy averted and humanity triumphant .
LibraryThing member ijustgetbored
I love Sir Gawain and The Green Knight; it is interesting not only because of its expansive picture of what chivalry is (and what people pretend it is), but also for the fact that it can be read from many perspectives (try giving it a feminist reading, for instance, and see what you come up with!).
Show More
I want to commend Borroff's translation in particular; she reproduces the alliterative meter and verse structure superbly, adding much to the reading. This work is captivating and entrancing; I highly recommend it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Sile
I have a hard copy of Simon Armitage's "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". Unfortunately, I haven't had time to read it, so when the CD of the audio book fell into my hands, I was over the moon. I really enjoy listening to Simon Armitage's voice and the idea of listening to him read his own
Show More
translation of this poem, whilst commuting, was exciting. I have recently discovered the pleasures of listening to audio books when driving, especially along the highways, when you have time to actually absorb what is being read, so this audiobook fit the bill perfectly. I'm so glad I have it on my iPod now, so I can listen and re-listen.

The poem recounts the story of Sir Gawain, a knight in King Arthur’s court, who offers to take the sovereign’s place in a challenge set by a visitor to Camelot on New Year’s Eve. The stranger asks that a blow be struck against him with an axe and, in exchange, he will be allowed to do the same one year later to his challenger. It is a mediaeval tale of the chivalry and virtues, with lavish descriptions and more than a hint at (pagan) magic.

Simon Armitage possesses a warm voice, that is soft without being soporific and somehow it gave the reading of this poem more atmosphere. The lilt in his voice added a slightly magical air to the words, especially when describing the rich costumes of the characters. I realise his accent may not appeal to all, but given he was raised in the area from where the original author was said to hail, it lends itself to the authenticity of the tale.

I highly recommend this audio version and I am more anxious than ever to read the book for myself. Now all I have to do is find the time.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I like this translation because the introduction is long enough to get me started, but not so long that it feels like work to read. And there is a great appendix that explains the poetical form, which I really enjoyed learning about and that helped me to appreciate the poem more. The poem itself is
Show More
surprisingly vivid. The images are rich and the story is detailed and even brutal at times. I also liked the moral message - even the "best" of us had better beware of pride!
Show Less
LibraryThing member MorgannaKerrie
An epic poem about Sir Gawain from Arthur's court.
LibraryThing member isabelx
Let me tell you, then, a tale of adventure,
A most striking one among the marvels of Arthur
Which some will consider a wonder to hear.
If you listen closely to my words a little while
I'll tell it to you now as I heard it told
in town;
A bold story, well proven,
And everywhere well known,
The letters all
Show More
interwoven,
As custom sets it down.

During a New Year's feast at Arthur's court, Sir Gawain takes up a challenge issued by a strange green-skinned knight, and must find his way to the Green Chapel a year later to meet the mysterious knight again. On the way he stays at a castle for Christmas, whose lord and lady, while very hospitable, seem to be playing games with him. There were detailed descriptions of later fourteenth century armour, hospitality, hunting and also the traditional way of butchering deer and boar at the end of the hunt, which was fascinating.

This poem about a quest by one of King Arthur's nephews, was written by an unknown poet in the late fourteenth century, in the dialect of the Cheshire/Staffordshire border. The Oxford World's Classics version contains an interesting introduction and useful notes alongside a verse translation by Keith Harrison. He has used an alliterative style to echo the pattern of the original Middle English poem, which was meant to be spoken aloud rather than read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mdtwilighter
A great translation- I thought the endnotes were especially helpful. I had to read the book for English, but it made me interested in the genre as a whole. I want to read more now about Arthur and Camelot. I never realized that there were these intricate stories that went deeper into the legend of
Show More
King Arthur.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MMWiseheart
The changing of the seasons, the clothing of the characters, and the bloody battles and hunt scenes are all described with such vivid detail. I love the expression of the struggle that Gawain faces between chivalry and what he knows to be right.
LibraryThing member AnArtsNotebook
Very modern translation, using newer turns of phrase but keeping in the spirit of the work - even more so than strict translations. Strict translations, which keep the antiquated expressions, preserve the language, but lose the "riveting" aspect of the story in their strictness. This is opposed to
Show More
the new Armitage version, where the language is flashy and action packed, which was the beauty of the story in the first place. Purists will be up in arms and probably wish to slice off Armitage's head (ha ha), but high school students studying British literature will finally see what the big deal is.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ThinkNeil
I remember reading a summary of this story in middle or high school, but it is nice to sit down with a classic and let it tell its tale. This is a very good story and its age only makes it more endearing. A simpler story from a different time.
LibraryThing member BenjaminHahn
This Folio Society Edition is very nice with huge thick pages and some lovely illustrations. It is Simon Armitage’s translation but it does not have the dual language format, just the new verse.

The story is good, at least for being centuries and centuries old. There are some misogynistic themes
Show More
in the end unfortunately, but the overall message of cowardice and valor was rewarding in my opinion.

I do not know much about old English translation, but I enjoyed the work that Mr. Armitage did with the alliterations. I'm sure it must have been difficult to compose while staying to true to the meter and meaning of the original.

I was also interested in this story's contribution to the Arthurthian myth. Armitage's translation posits Uther as Arthur's father and Morgan as his mother but also as the wife of the Green Knight. There are strong Christian words used to describe the green chapel where the Green Knight abides: Satan, evil, ect. But once the ruse is up, Morgan's witchcraft seems tolerable and almost necessary as Gawain's test. I wonder if this tolerance is so apparent in the original text. If so, how indicative of the times when it was written. Was “magic”, despite its non Christian origins, tolerable or maybe even just something to be reckoned with?

This was book was pleasure to hold, admire, and read aloud. It might become one of those Christmas books that gets read every year to the family.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Bobobones
I enjoyed how this book was a poem, it was in verse but when you read it you don't get caught up in the rhyme and rhythm. When i was reading this book, because its told in third- person form, and i imagined the author was some sort of philosopher because there are times where there are parts that
Show More
sound like something you would find in a quote book, and it is very descriptive and well worded. though in the middle of the book, it was a little hard for me to follow what was going on. The only way I understood what I was reading was when I read out loud. This story itself is great though. It has good moral values, but it has (just a little bit) goriness.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mwirkk
A very nice alliterive translation by Brian Stone (1959).
LibraryThing member g026r
While perhaps not the most accurate translation, it remains one of the more readable by the general reader, and maintains a sense of vitality and flow throughout. My main complaint would be a few too modern, or too slang-y phrasing choices of the sort that feel forced and dated a mere handful of
Show More
years later.
Show Less
LibraryThing member smith54a
A fun book. One outstanding feature is the color green; it is a beautiful shade in this book by the Folio Society.
LibraryThing member AlCracka
The meter on this thing is pretty impressive: a strict alliterative pattern of two stresses, a pause, and two more stresses, with a five-line rhyming stanza (a short line followed by four with an ABAB scheme) at the end of each passage. It should be terribly constrictive, but the Gawain poet flows
Show More
through it like it's nothing.

Not that I can read the original, of course, so I have to take Armitage's word for it that it's as good as his translation, which I did like. This edition has the original on the left side and the translation on the right, though, which allows you to see how close he's hewing and also lets you play the "How well could I understand this?" game. (Answer: not at all. Those people talked funny.)

The intro here has an interesting point: Anglo languages, Armitage says, stress the beginnings of words, whereas Romantic ones stress the ends. For this reason, Anglo epic poetry tends to focus on alliteration, while Romantic ones focus on rhyme. Get it? It had never occurred to me before. That's kindof cool.

This isn't a long book; I blazed through it in a single night over a couple glasses of wine while Kirsten was out getting blasted at some company event.
Show Less
LibraryThing member trilliams
I wouldn't trust anyone wearing all green in the first place.
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
Wow. This is good stuff, but not written for a modern audience. I found myself trying to figure out what the motivation of Gawain is. Once I figured exactly what chivalry is, everything became much clearer.

As for the other stuff in this book, namely the translators notes and essays, I found myself
Show More
enjoying them. Mr. Stone has a tone that is very English, very polite, and very condescending. I love how he can agree with one scholar while dismissing another in the the next sentence. Best of all, he knows what he is talking about. I found the extra stuff to be very illuminating although a bit wordy.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BrynDahlquis
It's not at all what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I -was- expecting, but Sir Gawain and the Green Knight wasn't quite as epic and noble as I was thinking. Perhaps I was envisioning too modern a version of an arthurian knight.

I got really into the beginning, even reading it aloud at times
Show More
because the translation is just so pretty, but then the middle lost me. When Gawain started just sitting around the castle dodging the seductive lady (who is freaky), I grew very disappointed in him.

But the ending makes up for it. I was -not- expecting a twist from a classic epic poem!
Show Less

Language

Original publication date

c. 1380
1912
1925 (Tolkien & Gordon)
2007 (Simon Armitage)

Physical description

lxxxiii, 86 p.; 19 cm

Local notes

Inscribed by Hope Athearn (Glenn's mother)

Similar in this library

Page: 1.4896 seconds