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Alex Wahl Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Analysis By: Dr. Alex Wahl PhD. Professor of the American language at BSU (Bull S*** University)

“And he rode through England, Sir Gawain, on God’s Behalf, though the ride was hardly a happy one. He was often alone, at night, in places Where the path ahead of him could please no one. Only his horse with him, through the woods And hills, and the only voice he heard Was God’s, until he reached the north Of Wales. The Anglesey Islands were always To his left; he forded rivers near the highlands, Crossing at Holy Head and landing In the wilderness of Wirral Forest, where few men Lived whom God or a good man could love. And Gawain asked, as he rode, if anyone He met had heard of a green man, or a green Chapel, anywhere nearby, and everyone Said no, never in their lives, neither seen Nor heard of a man whom heaven had colored Green.” Pg. 78-9

The unknown author chose to begin this paragraph with a space between the last paragraph and the word “And”. The use of the space appeals to Kairos or the timeliness of the work and coupled with “And” foreshadows a theme later explained in this paragraph. “And” begins with the letter A which is the first letter of the alphabet, this can be looked at in greater detail to evoke a sense of loneliness since a is the first letter and is bordered on only one side. Because of this the reader can infer a theme of loneliness. Continuing on in the paragraph one will see the author’s choice to continue to the next line and capitalize a letter in the middle of a sentence. This abrupt disruption serves to symbolize one again the loneliness and unexpected journey of Sir Gawain. Our inference is later confirmed when the author states he was often alone. In the next line we see “the path ahead of him could please no one.” The author attempts to imply the idea of an internal argument going on inside Sir Gawain’s head, an argument where the two solutions will both cause some complaints. Also the mention of night in the prior sentence helps to establish a dark tone that further propels the idea of conflict and evil going on in Sir Gawain’s head. The author then uses the horse as a symbol of guidance and friendship, since horses are strong animals and in ancient Greek mythology serve as a symbol of wisdom. This contradiction dances across the reader’s eyes and into his mind dragging him deeper into the world of Sir Gawain. The hills mentioned refer to the good vs. evil theme and also to the highs and lows of emotion during this part of the book. The Anglesey once again helps to portray sir Gawain’s isolation. Next the author chose to mention the green man. The author uses the color green since green is the color of jealousy but also of nature. This can be used to infer the author loved to be outside by was jealous of the life the characters in his book lived. Lastly the author uses the mention of heaven to help show the divine nature of Sir Gawain, and also as an allusion of him self since he after all was the one who chose to color the man green. This helps to appeal to ethos or the author’s credibility.