Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 5

Study Guide Questions for Stanzas 46-56

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

Joy, Decorum, Temptation

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What did the lord of the house do immediately following his “hearing of Mass”?

2. What had “the lord of the castle…decreed” concerning the hunt?

3. What was Gawain doing while the lord of the castle was out hunting?

4. Who unexpectedly came to see Gawain while he was still in bed?

5. What did Gawain request that the lady should do so that he might better “parley with” her?

6. What did the lady say Gawain should make himself “welcome” to?

7. How did Gawain respond to the lady’s advances?

8. What did Gawain say the lady had which was “far better” than himself?

9. What did the Lady say to Gawain that made him “afraid that he had failed in the form of his converse”?

10. What is principally described (that is to say, what is the main thing being described) in Stanzas 53-54?

11. What prizes did the lord of the castle and Gawain exchange?

12. What promise did the lord of the castle and Gawain make before they retired to bed that night?

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

1. Why did Gawain make the sign of the cross on himself before he began speaking to the beautiful lady?

2. What are at least three ways in which Gawain attempted to rebut the Lady’s advances?

3. Why did the poet use the analogy of fencing in regard to Gawain and the lady’s conversation?

4. Why was the Lady able to get Gawain to at least kiss her?

5. What does the gory description of skinning, disemboweling, and preparing of the deer have to do with the story? Why did the poet see it fit to share all of this with his readers?

6. Why did Gawain kiss the lord of the castle?

7. Why would Gawain promise to make another exchange with the lord of the castle given what took place this first time?

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

1. Would you say Gawain did a good job maintaining his virtue throughout his interaction with the lady? Why or why not? What could he have done better? What do you think prevented him from doing better than he did?

2. Offer a definition for the concept of temptation. What is necessary for something to be a temptation to us? How can we avoid temptation? How do we prepare ourselves to face temptation which we cannot avoid?

3. Define the concept of adultery. Why is adultery such an egregious (outstandingly bad) thing?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Proverbs 7. What points of comparison are there between this passage and our current reading? What should Gawain do in light of the teaching of Proverbs?

2. Read Matthew 5:27-30. How does this passage of Scripture relate to our present reading? Based upon it, would you say Gawain committed adultery? Defend your answer based upon the text of Scripture and the text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

3. Read Matthew 5:31-32. What does this passage add to our understanding about the concept of adultery and marriage?