Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 3

Study Guide Questions for Stanzas 22-32

If you are looking for the beginning of the study for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Compassion, Wilderness vs. Civilization, Needing a Guide, Religion, Goodness, Loneliness

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What did the Gawain poet do to depict the changing of the seasons from Winter to Summer?

2. What did the Gawain poet do to depict the changing of seasons from Summer to Fall?

3. How long did Gawain wait before he finally set out on his quest to find the Green Knight?

4. In what manner were Gawain’s arms (weapons and armor) brought out for him?

5. What was the name of Gawain’s horse and how is its appearance described? 

6. What symbol did Gawain have on his “blazon” and what Old Testament figure reportedly used it also?

7. What did the five points of the symbol on his blazon represent?

8. What was the demeanor of the lords and ladies of the court as Gawain left them?

9. What did the few people Gawain met on his lonely journey all deny knowing?

10. What kinds of “foe” did Gawain find while searching for the Green Chapel?

11. To whom did Gawain plead for help on Christmas Eve?

12. To whom did Gawain pray on Christmas Day and what forms did he use to guide his prayers?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. What did Gawain mean by saying, “Why should I be dismayed? / Of doom the fair or drear / by a man must be assayed.”?

2. What might the fact that the “pentangle” had been used by Solomon say about why Gawain may have adopted the symbol? What was Solomon best known for?

3. Why might the fact that the pentangle forms an “Endless Knot” be important?

4. Why are the five fives of the pentangle important to Gawain? How should we understand their significance? 

5. Why did Gawain pray to Mary?

6. What was the Gawain poet referring to when he wrote of “the selfsame night / of a maid became man our mourning to conquer”?

7. Why did the Gawain poet make so much mention of Christian holidays and Gwain’s attendance of Mass?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Should some of the other knights of Arthur’s court have offered to accompany Gawain? Why or why not?

2. Is it ever legitimate to pray to someone other than God? If so, give an example and explain why it is legitimate. If you say it is not legitimate to pray to anyone else, make a clear argument as to why not.

3. How is the great idea of “Wilderness vs. Civilization” depicted in this reading? What are some qualities which characterize the differences between the two in this story? What do you think was the poet's point in depicting this distinction?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Matthew 6:9-15. To whom did Jesus teach us that we should direct our prayers? 

2. What element(s) of the Lord’s prayer seem most appropriate for Gawain to be praying given his current circumstance?

3. Read Luke 1:26-56. Why is Mary worthy of honor and remembrance by believers today?

4. Read 1 Samuel 28 and Isaiah 8:11-22. How should these passages affect our thinking about the propriety (appropriateness) of praying to deceased saints and asking for them to intervene on our behalf?