Gawain Companion: Vocabulary and Guiding Questions

for Stone’s translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

My hope is that this workbook will help students read Gawain accurately and attentively and help teachers in their discussions of the text by making the basics of the story easier for the students to grasp on their own. I have marked each question with an A, B, C, or D so that teachers can distribute responsibility for the questions to groups of students. This eases the homework burden on the students and allows the teacher to easily form study groups in class. Though I think students should read and consider all questions, distributing the questions allows each student to concentrate on a few questions. The questions here are purposefully basic. Where teachers want to lead discussions should be up to them. Teachers should change, add, and delete questions as their knowledge of their students indicates.

Sir Gawain Reading Questions

Fit I: Stanzas 1 – 21 Stanza 3 Vocabulary: Liegemen – knights who have sworn loyalty to a lord or king; Reckoned - judged; Catches - songs; Din – noise; Comely - beautiful.

1. What time of year is it, and how do the people mark the occasion? (A) 2. How does the poet go out of his ways to suggest that these are the best people? In what ways are they

the best and happiest? (B)

Stanza 4 Vocabulary: Laity – the regular people who follow a religion as opposed to the clergy; Bantering - speaking in a witty and teasing manner; Largesse - generosity; Warranted – proven.

1. In what two activities do the people participate? (C) 2. What famous character is introduced? How is she described? (D)

Stanza 5 Vocabulary: Lolling - lounging; Staunch - faithful.

1. In his good mood, what activities does Arthur call for? (A)

Stanza 6 Vocabulary: Mien – bearing; Trifling – playful, of little importance; Blazons – coats of arms; Foison – plenty; Loth – contrary to one’s desires.

1. How do we know that Gawain is an esteemed member of the court? (B) 2. What do we see of the splendor of Arthur’s table? (C)

Stanza 7 Vocabulary: Loins - the upper and lower abdominal regions and the region about the hips; haunches – hips and hindquarters; Garb – clothed.

1. How does the green knight enter Arthur’s court? (D) 2. How is the green knight different from your typical giant other than the fact that he’s green? (A)

Stanza 8 Vocabulary: Tunic - a long, plain, jacket that fits closely; Vesture - a covering garment; Tithe – tenth; Crupper – a leather loop passing under a horse's tail and buckled to the saddle; Mettlesome - spirited; Brusque - rough and prompt in manner.

1. What is the nature of the green knight’s garments, and what do they suggest about him? How do his garments complement his physical features? (B)

Stanza 9 Vocabulary: Gallant – showy, magnificent; Copious - in large amounts; more than enough; Gossamer - A fine, filmy substance, like cobwebs; Burnished - polished.

1. Beyond the fact that they’re both green, how is the green knight like his horse? (C)

Stanza 10 Vocabulary: Hauberk – tunic of chain mail; Hone – to sharpen; Bosses - protuberant ornaments on any work; Ramp - to spring or bound.

1. What is the green knight not wearing? What point is the poet making by such an observation? (D) 2. What is the green knight holding in is hands, and what might the two objects symbolize? (A) 3. What time of year is it, and what has that to do with the above question? (B)

Stanza 12 Vocabulary: Craven - coward; Cavaliers – knights; Chivalry – rules and obligations of knighthood.

1. What has attracted the green knight to Arthur’s court? (C) 2. How has the green knight made his intentions visible? (D)

Stanza 13 Vocabulary: Intrepid – fearless; Reprieve - a temporary rest from pain or trouble.

1. Why doesn’t the green knight want a fight? 2. How is what the green knight wants in keeping with the season? (A) 3. What are the details of the game the green knight suggests? (B) 4. How is this game like the earlier activity between the ladies and lords? (C)

Stanza 14 Vocabulary: Vaunts – boasts.

1. What is the knights’ first response to the green knight’s offer? (D) 2. How does the green knight provoke the Arthur’s knights? (A)

Stanza 15 Vocabulary: Boon – gift.

1. How does Arthur defend his court’s honor? (B) 2. How does Gawain rise to the occasion? (C)

Stanza 16 Vocabulary: Mettled – spirited; bounty – worth.

1. Part of Gawain’s courtesy is his modesty. What reason does Gawain give for taking on the challenge? (D)

Stanza 17 Vocabulary: Quail – shake in fear.

1. What is the green knight’s reaction to Gawain’s taking on the challenge? (A)

Stanza 18 Vocabulary: Covenant – unbreakable pact.

1. What does Gawain ask the green knight? (B) 2. When does the green knight say Gawain will have his answer? (C)

Stanza 19 Vocabulary: Scintillating – causing sparks; Spurn – to repulse.

1. What strange soccer game takes place after Gawain’s strike? (D) 2. How does the green knight react to his headlessness? (A)

Stanza 20 Vocabulary: Gainsaying – contradicting, opposing; Redemption – paying back an obligation and/or in theology, freedom from sin gained through Christ’s grace.

1. Where is Gawain to meet the green knight in a year’s time? (B) 2. How does Arthur react after the green knight’s exit? What does he think of these events? (C)

Stanza 21 Vocabulary: Repast – meal.

1. Why can Arthur eat now? (D) 2. What happens to the axe? (A)

Fit I 1. What does Gawain know will happen a year from this day? What themes does this knowledge raise?

(ALL) 2. What important physical objects drive the themes of this poem? (ALL) 3. In what ways is this poem religious? (ALL)

Fit II: Stanzas 22 – 45 Stanza 22 Vocabulary: Earnest – proof; Vaunted – boasted; Crabbed – compressed, lean; Vernal – spring like; Ebb – decrease; Garbed – clothed; Solace – comfort; Dell – valley; Rank – full of growth.

1. What does the poet remind us that people don’t know? (A) 2. What description fills the second half of this stanza? (B)

Stanza 23 Vocabulary: Zephyrus – Greek god of the west wind; Wax – increase; Wrathful – full of anger; Michaelmas – celebration of the feast of St. Michael on Sept. 26 – hence autumn; Fell – fate.

1. What is the tone of this description of the passing seasons? What aspects of the changes in season does the poet emphasize? (C)

Stanza 24 Vocabulary: All Saints’ Day – Nov. 1 (day after Halloween night) celebrates Gods’ saints; Liege – sovereign; Covenant – binding oath; Carking – distressing.

1. How did the other knights and ladies act as the time for Gawain’s departure approached? (D) 2. With what declaration does Gawain answer others’ concerns? (A)

Stanza 25 Vocabulary: Turkestan – cloth from central Asia; Greaves – armor covering the shin; Thew – muscle, girth; Hauberk – tunic of chain mail; Betide – takes place; Athwart – across from side to side.

1. This stanza describes a scene that should be familiar to you from action movies. What is this oft-played scene? What movies can you recall? (B)

Stanza 26 Vocabulary: Hasped – fastened; Girt – encircled; Crupper & Caparison – parts of a horse’s harness; Casque – helmet.

1. How does the emphasis of the description change from the stanza above? What aspect of Gawain’s and Gringolet’s apparel is the poet emphasizing here? (C)

Stanza 27 Vocabulary: Gules – red; Baldric – belt worn over the shoulder; Troth – faithfulness; Anneal – to strengthen.

1. The pentangle is a symbol at the center of the poem. In what ways is the form of the drawn pentangle “endless”? (D)

2. In what ways might this pentangle “anneal” Gawain? (A)

Stanza 28 Vocabulary: Use the notes and a dictionary to understand the virtues.

1. Create a table with five columns and six rows. Then, using this stanza and the notes in the back of the text, fill in the virtues represented by the pentangle. (ALL) Type: Wits (senses)

Type: Fingers (physical prowess)

Type: Wounds Type: Joy Type: Chivalric Virtues

2. What does Gawain have etched on the inside of his shield? (B)

Stanza 29 Vocabulary: Comely – beautiful; Dubbed – named.

1. What do people wish Gawain’s destiny had been? (C)

Stanza 30 Vocabulary: Nigh – near.

1. What is the land like after he leaves the area of Camelot, Arthur’s castle? What region of Britain does Gawain travel through? (D)

2. What does Gawain ask as he travels alone through the country? (A)

Stanza 31 Vocabulary: Parlous – hazardous.

1. What possible stories does the poet refrain from telling? (B) 2. What aspect of the journey is most difficult for Gawain? (C)

Stanza 32 Vocabulary: Hoary – old and weathered; Matins – morning prayers; Pater – “Our father” prayer.

1. What is the nature of the place where Gawain prays to find a place to hear Mass? (D)

Stanza 33 Vocabulary: Promontory – high cliff; Palisaded – protected with spikes; Goad – prod; Blenched – flinched; St. Julian - Patron saint of travelers and of hospitality.

1. At what moment does Gawain suddenly see a huge castle that was not apparent a moment before? (A)

Stanza 34 Vocabulary: Cornice – decorations on walls; Barbican - a tower; Crenellations – gaps in the tops of a castle’s walls used to shoot arrows from.

1. What is the poet’s and Gawain’s attitude toward the appearance of the castle described in this Stanza? (B)

Stanza 35 Vocabulary: Portcullis – an iron grate over a doorway; Blithely - happily; Squire - a male attendant.

1. What sort of welcome does Gawain receive? How might he react to it, given what he has experienced the last few weeks? (C)

Stanza 36 Vocabulary: Retainers - servants.

1. Describe the lord of the castle. (D) 2. What orders does the lord give? (A)

Stanza 37 Vocabulary: Trice – an instant; Trestles -table frames; Penance - an act that shows one’s sorrow for a sin; Whet – sharpen.

1. What does the poet want to impress us with in this stanza? (B)

Stanza 38 Vocabulary: Figures – ways of expressing oneself through language and gesture.

1. Though Gawain is a knight of famous prowess, what virtues are the people of the castle most interested in learning from Gawain? (C)

Stanza 39 Vocabulary: Nigh – near; Bevy – group; Winsome – pleasing, charming; Chancel – the altar and choir seats in a church; Swathed – covered; Wimple - a cloth covering worn over the head and around the neck and chin; Trellised - interwoven; Trefoils – clover shaped ornaments; Bleary –tired and exhausted.

1. What is the difference between the two women described in this stanza? (D) 2. How do we know that the elder woman is of high rank? (A)

Stanza 40 Vocabulary: Mirth – gaiety.

1. Whom is Gawain eager to meet? (B) 2. What does the lord of the castle promise? (C)

Stanza 41 Vocabulary: Crone – an old woman; Solace – comfort, satisfaction; Dalliance –frivolous play; Repartee –witty conversational exchanges; Compares – comparison.

1. In addition to the food, what does Gawain enjoy at the banquet table? (D)

Stanza 42 Vocabulary: St. John’s Day – Dec. 27th.

1. How long did this party last? (A)

Stanza 43 Vocabulary: Castellan – lord of the castle; Glebe – plot of land.

1. How does Gawain express his earnestness in finding the green knight? (B) 2. What does the castellan tell Gawain about the green knight’s chapel? (C)

Stanza 44 Vocabulary: Sooth – truth (as in “soothsayer”).

1. What does the host suggest that Gawain do while the host goes hunting? (D)

Stanza 45 Vocabulary: Trifling – playful, of little importance; Lambent – flickering.

1. What game and bargain does the castellan offer? (ALL)

Fit II 1. In what ways has Gawain been extraordinarily lucky in this section? (ALL) 2. At the end of the section, what ambivalent feelings is Gawain experiencing? (ALL)

Fit III: Stanzas 46 – 79 Stanza 46 Vocabulary: Sop – a bit of food dipped in a fluid (i.e. a dunked donut); Strident - characterized by harshness; grating; shrill.

1. What sort of activity is a medieval hunt? Can you liken it to any kind of modern day activity? (A)

Stanza 47 Vocabulary: Hart - A stag or male deer; Hind - female red deer; Alight - to get down off something (a horse, in this case).

1. What makes this a successful hunt? (B)

Stanza 48 Vocabulary: Adroit - skillful; Circumspect – careful about consequences.

1. What is Gawain’s first reaction to the sound in his room? (C) 2. Why does Gawain cross himself? (D)

Stanza 49 Vocabulary: Habiliment – a piece of clothing; Chevalier – knight.

1. What metaphor do the Lady and Gawain use in their exchange at the start of this stanza? (A) 2. In what danger is Gawain? In how many ways would taking this lady up on her offer give rise to

problems? (B)

Stanza 50 Vocabulary: Luxury - the indulgence in pleasing activities or things.

1. In what manner does Gawain say he would be happy to pleasure this lady? (C)

Stanza 51 Vocabulary: Requite – repay.

1. Why is Gawain less vulnerable to the lady’s allurements than he might normally be? (D)

Stanza 52 Vocabulary: Debonair – courteous, poised.

1. How does the lady manage to get one kiss from Gawain? (A)

Stanza 53 Vocabulary: Holt - a woody hill; Heath – a tract of land covered with shrubs; Ligature – anything that binds; Wezand - the windpipe.

1. What moments in a modern day barbecue does this stanza remind you of? (B)

Stanza 54 Vocabulary: Chine – backbone; Imbrue – to drench; Stalwart - brave.

1. How long does a medieval hunt take? (C)

Stanza 55 Vocabulary: Venison – deer meat; Thane – landholder of rank.

1. What do the two men exchange? (D) 2. What does the host ask after the exchange, and what is Gawain’s response? (A)

Stanza 56 Vocabulary: Bumper - a filled cup or glass to the brim used in making a toast.

1. How does this stanza serve as a transition between the first and second day? (B)

Stanza 57 Vocabulary: Spate - an overflow; Career - to move or run rapidly; Baneful – deadly, destructive.

1. Compare and contrast this stanza to stanza 47. (C)

Stanza 58 Vocabulary: Lithe – agile; Disport – sport, play.

1. Compare and contrast this stanza to stanza 47. (D)

Stanza 59 Vocabulary: Desist – stop.

1. How does the lay’s opening move in this stanza compare to her approach in stanza 49? (A)

Stanza 60 Vocabulary: Punctilious – very careful about small details or appropriate actions.

1. What does the lady ask to hear about from Gawain? (B)

Stanza 61 Vocabulary: Clemency – mercy; Construe – interpret and explain; Travail – burden, task.

1. What does this stanza make clear about the Lady’s intentions? (C)

Stanza 62 Vocabulary: Hapless – luckless; Abrade - to scrape, scratch, gnaw; Whet – sharpen.

1. How is the boar faring against his attackers? (D)

Stanza 63 Vocabulary:

1. How is the hunt in the woods ended? (A)

Stanza 64 Vocabulary: Brach – a female dog; Offal - guts

1. Does the description here remind you of some upcoming event in the poem? (B)

Stanza 65 Vocabulary: Guerdon - a reward; Sojourn – to temporarily live somewhere.

1. How does this exchange compare to that in stanza 55? (C)

Stanza 66 Vocabulary: Rebuff – spurn, turn away; Aspersion – a claim that hurts someone’s reputation.

1. What behavior on the Lady’s part bothers Gawain? How does he react? (D)

Stanza 67 Vocabulary: Perforce – of necessity.

1. What concern continues to weigh on Gawain’s mind? (A)

Stanza 68 Vocabulary: Holt - a bit of forest; Rout – a group or troop; Tryst - an appointed place or time of meeting; Cleft - an opening made by splitting something.

1. What is the animal of choice today, and what is that animal’s method of avoiding the chase? (B)

Stanza 69 Vocabulary: Muster – a gathering and review of soldiers; Coif - hairstyle; Casement - window; Rebuke - a sharp reprimand or criticism.

1. How has our Lady pulled out all the stops [editor: a musical metaphor meaning set the organ to play at its loudest]? (C)

Stanza 70 Vocabulary: Buffet - a forceful blow.

1. What has Gawain been dreaming about? (D) 2. What lines make clear that the Lady’s appearance has an effect on Gawain? (A)

Stanza 71 Vocabulary: Verge – edge; Blackguard - villain; Rebuff - to reject or criticize sharply; Caitiff – an unprincipled or cowardly person; Plight - an unfortunate, difficult, or dangerous set of circumstances.

1. What does the Lady ask that forces the issue, and what is Gawain’s reply? (B)

Stanza 72 Vocabulary:

1. Disappointed, what does the Lady ask for? (C)

Stanza 73 Vocabulary: Proffer –offer; Girdle – a piece of clothing or cloth that circles the waist.

1. What does Gawain reject, and why? (D)

Stanza 74 Vocabulary: Solicit – beg, request.

1. What does Gawain accept, and why? What conditions are put on the acceptance? (A)

Stanza 75 Vocabulary: Privily – privately; Absolution - a cleansing of sinst.

1. Why is the religious ceremony important to Gawain at this time? (B)

Stanza 76 Vocabulary: Harry – pursue, annoy; Pell-mell – in confusing haste.

1. How is the fox caught despite his best efforts? (C)

Stanza 77 Vocabulary:

1. How is Gawain’s behavior during this exchange different from his behavior in stanzas 55 and 65? (D)

Stanza 78 Vocabulary: Sottishness – drunkenness.

1. About what promise does Gawain remind the castellan? (A)

Stanza 79 Vocabulary: This being Gawain’s last night in the castle (at least), he says his courteous goodbyes.

Fit III 1. What parallels do you find between the hunting and bedroom scenes? (ALL) 2. How do you judge Gawain’s actions in the castle? (ALL) 3. What parts of his experiences in the castle made resisting the girdle difficult? (ALL)

Fit IV: Stanzas 80 -101

Stanza 80 Vocabulary: Ordain - to set in order.

1. What does the description of the weather remind us of? (B)

Stanza 81 Vocabulary:

1. How are the conditions of Gawain’s upcoming experience unlike any battle he has faced in his life? (C)

Stanza 82 Vocabulary: Assiduous - performed with great care and attention.

1. What does Gawain wish for his hosts in his final goodbye? (D)

Stanza 83 Vocabulary: Mantle - cloak; Cascade – waterfall.

1. How does the scenery change as Gawain and his guide leave the castle and approach the green chapel? (A)

Stanza 84 Vocabulary: Hector – famous Trojan warrior; Churl – peasant.

1. What does the guide tell Gawain of the green knight? What sort of reaction from Gawain does the guide seem to want? (B)

Stanza 85 Vocabulary: Halidom –an oath (Holy doom); Weal – prosperity, happiness.

1. What does the guide offer Gawain, and what is Gawain’s response? (C)

Stanza 86 Vocabulary:

1. On his own, what does Gawain put his trust in? (D)

Stanza 87 Vocabulary: Hillock – a small hill; Barrow - A large mound of earth or stones (esp. over the remains of the dead).

1. You were expecting a “chapel,” but what do you get? (A)

Stanza 88 Vocabulary: Oratory - a small, private chapel; Mischance – bad luck; Scythe – a large hooked blade used for harvesting grain.

1. What does Gawain hear, and what does he understand about the noise? (B)

Stanza 89 Vocabulary: Assignation – appointed meeting.

1. What is the purpose of the manner of the green knight’s entrance? (C)

Stanza 90 Vocabulary: Nimbly - agilely; sunder - part; Uncowed – not frightened; Loth – unwilling.

1. What do the green knight and Gawain review? (D)

Stanza 91 Vocabulary: Reprove – criticize; Quail – shake in fear.

1. How does Gawain react as the axe descends? What is the green knight’s reaction? (A)

Stanza 92 Vocabulary: Smite – strike.

1. How does Gawain react to the green knight’s stopping the axe a second time? (B)

Stanza 93 Vocabulary: Buoyant – encouraged, ebullient; Rancor – deep hatred; Despite - contempt.

1. What is the result of the third blow, and how does Gawain react? What does he seem to expect? (C)

Stanza 94 Vocabulary: Resolute – determined; Rend – tear apart; Rive - split; Feinted – pretended.

1. Surprisingly, what is the green knight’s mood? (D) 2. Who is the green knight? What are the implications of this discovery? (A)

Stanza 95 Vocabulary: Paladin – knight; Covetousness – the desire for others’ possessions.

1. What is the marked difference between the green knight’s judgment of Gawain’s behavior in the castle and Gawain’s judgment of the same behavior? (ALL)

Stanza 96 Vocabulary: Paragon – best example; Token – symbol.

1. Why does the green knight give Gawain the girdle? (B) 2. What does the green knight want Gawain to do? (C)

Stanza 97 Vocabulary: Doff – to take off a piece of clothing; Suffice – satisfy; Wanton – of loose morals; Wiles - schemes; Sleights – tricks.

1. How does Gawain use the Bible to make a generalization about what happened to him? (D)

Stanza 98 Vocabulary: Incommode - inconvenience; Demesne - domain; Lavish – to give generously and/or excessively; Fervent - passionate

1. What is the castellan’s name, and who is the power behind the enchantment? (A)

Stanza 99 Vocabulary: Beldame – old lady (esp. a witch).

1. What part has Morgan had in all this? What was her motive? (B)

Stanza 100 Vocabulary: Oblique - diagonally; Suffuse – to spread over (esp. a fluid).

1. What is the lesson of the adventure for Gawain? (C)

Stanza 101 Vocabulary: Bane – deadly harm; Debasement – lower in status; Dissever – to cut apart.

1. What is the attitude of the lords and ladies about Gawain’s failings? What do the ladies propose? (D)

Fit IV What does the story suggest about the nature of the testing human beings face? What saves Gawain from a worse fate? How do courtly love, chivalric virtues, and religious obligations weave themselves throughout the story?