Apparently, I am more of a procrastinator than I thought. Or assignment extender, or slow reader. Which ever term you feel in more politically correct. Truth is, I am so far behind in this class, that I am going to have to skip over some of the books that I was originally planning on reading and discussing here, and read mainly the AP books, so I can receive AP credit on this course, and go to a outstanding college and become rich and famous (well, hopefully).
Sadly, one of the books that didn't remain after the cut was
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I was able to read it (well, most of it), and really did enjoyed it. The language is absolutely beautiful in my translation (by James Winny) and made even more beautiful that you can read it side by side with the original text. I think that's one of the reasons I read it too slowly. That and the fact that even though it is translated into more readable English, some of the words are extremely archaic and obsolete.
It is definitely worth reading, though. And it is quite interesting to see how the original story, an original, straight-from-the-source translation, compares to the various versions of the story I grew up with. One of the things that always puzzled me as a kid was why the lady of the castle kissed Sir Gawain as a gift. What was that all about? In kiddie versions, I have realized, they leave a lot of stuff out. It seems the lady was trying to seduce Sir Gawain, not just to kiss him, but to go to bed with him. And he holds her back with words, trying to protect her honor as a married lady and his honor as a chivalrous knight who is supposed to fulfill the wishes of a lady. Quite interesting, to say the least. Their banter was quite entertaining to read. (Below: an old manuscript depicting the Temptation of Sir Gawain)
Though I will most likely not get back to writing anything more about
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I encourage you to read on you own, if you have time. I am reading the version translated by James Winny, published by Broadview Press, as part of their Broadview Literary Texts. The link is at the top of this blog entry.
The book that I am presently reading is excerpts from "The Canterbury Tales." I'll be writing more about that later.
Well, TTFN,
brit_lit_chic 
Comments (1)
You might be amused by fascination's blog. It has her working translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.