English literature
Nothing is known about the author,
except that he probably wrote the 3 religious poems- Pearl, Patience and Purity. The dialect points to an
origin in provincial England. The author was a most sophisticated and urbane writer, must have been
contemporary of Chauser. S.G combines two plots: the beheading contest, in which 2 parties agree to an
exchange of blows with a sword or ax, and the temptation, an attempted seduction of the hero by a lady.
The motif of the green man's decapitation originates in very ancient folklore, probably in a vegetation
myth in which the beheading would have been a ritual death that insured the return of spring to the earth.
The poet studies how successfully Gawain, as a man wholly dedicated to Christian ideals, maintains
those ideals. Rare combination- a comedy- even a satire- of manners and a profoundly Christian view of
character and destiny. The court of King Arthur is presented as the place where the ideal of chivalry has
annaabi.ee 
