Customer Reviews
Magical and human - By: Kurt Messick, 05 Jan 2006 
Middle English is a diverse collection of different dialects & styles, when it comes to literature. At the same time that Chaucer was writingin the southeast of England, with good command of French & Italian poetic sensibilities, there was a strong traditionin the north & west country of alliterative poetry, the kind that owed as much to the Old English forms of verse & use of language as to the new influences post-Norman Conquest-wise. Among the products of this time & place, the anonymously composed 'Sir Gawain & Green Knight' is one of the most outstanding.
This poem has all the hallmarks of being a work of many influences - it has the heroic aspects that one might expect from Old English epics such as Beowulf; it has a decided romantic streak reminiscent of French & Norman influences; it has virtue & church/Christian overlaying influences that come from Latin & ecclesial sources; it has magical & mystical ideas that are most likely Celticin origin. Perhaps more like a tapestry, the various strands of influence are woven together into a glorious pattern that stands as a towerig achievement of the synthesis of language that Middle English achieved between its Germanic & Latinate streams.
Gawain's story is a very popular one. The most virtuous of the Round Table knights, his bravery & his resourcefulness at seeking the Green Knight, the annual challenger at the court of Arthur, is legendary. Gawain's small fault (and indeed, Gawain was portrayed as a virtuous human, but human nonetheless) warrants a very small penalty, but he is deemed upon reporting back to Camelot that he has brought honour upon the whole fellowship of knights. There is something magical about the Green Knight, however, & this can be seen as metaphor for the wayin which temptation seems to have a magical power over humanity.
Don't buy this edition - By: , 11 Nov 2004 
This edition of Sir Gawain & the Green Knight has possibly the worst critical apparatus that I have ever seenin any supposedly scholarly text - it is quite simple: do not buy this edition if you want more than a condescending, sloppy, infuriating quasi-translation of one of the greatest poems that this language has ever produced. Where to start? Well, to begin with, J.J.Anderson has seen fit to omit any form of glossary - a fairly important addition you might think to a poem that is full of archaic & obscure language; the marginal glosses are simply too few & far between to be anything more than a minor annoyance. Infact, make that a major annoyance seeing as Anderson seems content to ignore some of the more challenging wordsin favour of glossing those words which are more or less obvious from their context & pronunciation. But, not to worry - Anderson has come up with a brilliant solution to the 'complexities' of the poem. Simple. Just translate it by stealthin a series of footnotes writtenin size 6 font to emphasise how unassuming & humble our exalted editor actually is. But really - come on - who actually wants to read the poemin its original form & understand the subtleties & nuances of what it has to say when we have 'scholars' such as J.J.Anderson to improve on the text & bring it up to standard for this discerning age? If your want to experience & enjoy this poemin its original form - and, believe me, it will be worth the effort - investin a better edition; preferably one edited by someone who actually respects the text - & his readers.
'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' (Everyman edition) - By: , 03 Jan 2002 
The story of this poem is pretty weird: Arthur's knights are eating their Christmas dinner when a hefty green man (why is he green? I've no idea!) walksin & challenges one of the knights to a duel. The poem follows Gawain, the knight who takes up the challenge, as he travels,in classic Arthurian fashion, through a wood, where he gets lost. A castle appears, Gawain goes in, & the kind host suggests offers him a bed for the knight: the bedin which his (the host's) daughter sleeps. We later learn that this host is the green man, disguised, & his offer is designed to test Gawain. Though Gawain is tempted, he keeps to his side of the bed, & travels on to meet the green man for a beheading game, unaware that he has already passed the test.
The poem is a combination of two mediaeval stories: the beheading challenge, & the temptation story (an good example of the latter, with a misogynistic twist at the end, can be foundin 'Three Arthurian Romances', alsoin Everyman paperback). The poet (we don't know his name) has combined themin a sophisticated way: so that Gawain triumphs not through his bravery, but his morality. (This is itself a twist, because Gawain was usually depicted as a womaniser!)
There are a number of translations of this poem into modern English, but, needless to say, a lot is lostin translation. (The poet for example, has invented or mastered a form that mixes alliterative verse -- using repeated consonants -- with rhyming verse.) The Everyman edition gives the poemin the original, but has helpful glosses of all the strange words that crop upin this strange poem. (It also includes two other poems which might have been written by the same poet.)
Medieval poetry at it's best - By: , 01 Jun 2001 Having studied a lot of medieval writing at university I was pleased to find something as fresh as Gawain & the Green Knight. There are so many levels to read this book on. You can look into all the allusions & the imagery, or you can read for pure enjoyment of the actionin the story. The narrative is clear & even though it is writtenin an old style of English it does not take long to get into that way of thinking - it is not difficult to understand. I would recommend this to all lovers of good fiction, & tales of knights of old!
