|
The unity of the plot is
appreciated even in the twentieth century. There are many suspense and
surprises in the exciting plot with careful interweaving of one episode with
another. The poet never tells his readers how to respond to the events, and
never points out important details. For example, the ending is totally
unexpected, for the readers do not know the lord in the castle is the Green
Knight until the end of the story. Besides, the symbolic meaning of the
green color of the girdle and the Knight is confusing, for the poet does not
tell us. It is this narratorial strategy that makes this poem very
interesting together with the combination of high literary and folklore. The
four fits are closely related and well-organized and even within one fit,
the plot is closely related. For example, the description of the three
hunting scenes and the three bedchamber scenes are interwoven.
The poem vividly describes the fighting and exposes
human emotions and depicts the life of ancient royal house, clothes, arms
and scenery, the adventures and love affairs of knights. The poet is good at
creating atmosphere, making contrast of different atmosphere. For example,
the merry Christmas atmosphere at Camelot becomes gloomy because of sudden
appearance of Green Knight. There are elaborate descriptions of the seasons
as well as the places and things in the hero’s adventures.
A fine psychological analysis of the main character as he encounters many
adventures in this poem is worth mentioning.
Finally it is written in Midland dialect of Middle English
and a more simple, straightforward language close to ordinary speech.
In the poem, there are many symbolic meanings. For
example, the green color probably reflects the Celtic customs, creativity,
life or even menace.
The most striking feature is alliterative verse
employed in this poem. This poem is created during the period of
alliterative verse revival in the early 14th century. It is a mixture of
Anglo-Saxon poetry with alliterated initial syllables and French poetry and
contains the fixed number of accented and unaccented syllables in a verse
line. It combines alliterative verse with metrical verse and long
alliterative lines are followed by a singly line of two syllable called
“bob’ and a group of four-stressed called “the wheel” rhymed abab, forming
the concluding parts of a stanza. See the examples below:
“When the cold clear rains rushed from the clouds
And froze before they could fall to the frosty earth.
Near slain by the sleet he sleeps in his irons
More nights than enough, among naked rocks,
Where clattering form the crest the cold stream ran
And hung in hard icicles high overhead.
Thus in peril and pain and predicaments dire
He rides across country till Christmas Eve,
Our knight.
And at that holy tide
He prays with all his might
That Mary may be his guide
Till a dwelling comes in sight.
|
