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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by Unknown

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thearchivist03's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really difficult to read at first because of the Old English. But once you get past that, it becomes an enjoyable tale that I can see a lot of the influences come from. Very mysterious, overall an interesting read, although slow at first.

beauty_andherb00ks's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

eds_writing_journey's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval verse poem, written by an unknown author around the year of 1400. It tells of the quest of Sir Gawain, one of the knights of King Arthur’s round table, to fulfil his agreement with an illusive Green knight whom he beheaded the year prior. Keith Harrison, the translator of the Oxford edition, recreated the verses exceptionally, the structure and flow of the poem being very much enjoyable. This too is complemented by wondrous description of landscape and nature, though also to the same degree of detail descriptions of hunting, of which were less pleasant to read. It being a medieval tale, many details of a magic system or the characters overcoming unfathomable odds is largely unexplained and the poem leaves the reader with more questions than answers, though it does remain true to it’s context and period.