Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

By Anonymous
Unabridged
100% overall 2 ratings. Go to reviews
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The famous Middle English poem by an anonymous English poet is beautifully translated by fellow poet Simon Armitage in this edition. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight narrates in crystalline verse the strange tale of a green knight who rudely interrupts the Round Table festivities one Yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of their number to a wager. The virtuous Gawain accepts and decapitates the intruder with his own ax. Gushing blood, the knight reclaims his head, orders Gawain to seek him out a year hence, and departs. Next Yuletide Gawain dutifully sets forth. His quest for the Green Knight involves a winter journey, a seduction scene in a dream-like castle, a dire challenge answered, and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing.

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2 reviews

  1. no
    Overall Liked it
    Verified listener

    its good

    had to do it for school

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  2. Bertie Wooster
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    An awesome episode in the legends of Arthur."

    That's how the anonymous genius who wrote this masterpiece describes the story he's about to tell. And it isn't just hype or pre-sell. This is simply one of the greatest poems the English (or Middle English) Language ever produced. The plot is perfectly conceived and constructed. There is not a phrase or detail that does not serve to achieve the overall effect. Unlike some Medieval Literature which, to modern eyes and ears, seems at times to wander a little aimlessly—usually due to radically altered audience demands rather than any shortcoming on the old authors’ part—here the unfolding story keeps us on the edge of our seats right up to the thunderclap of the denouement. Every time I read or listen to it, I am struck by how “modern” it seems, fulfilling much of what we desire today in narrative pacing and telling detail. Add to all that a brief introduction that sets the historical and legendary stage for us (as well as outlining the poem's form and antecedents). And, after the translation, a full reading of the poem in its original language (just try it; you won't catch every word, but every once in a while the mists will clear and a whole sentence or even passage sounds intelligible. The effect is as if an ancestor suddenly spoke to you). Finally, as if that weren't enough, there's Armitage’s vigorous rendering of the Northern Middle English original. True, no translation is “perfect”, each one having it’s own unique perfections (and there are a plethora of good translations about, just Google them). But overall, and speaking as someone who can read Chaucer’s Southern dialect with far more ease than its craggy Northern counterpart, Armitage’s version is becoming my favorite. In no small part that is due to Bill Wallis’ masterful reading. He gets every nuance out of every line, without ever sounding arch or hokey. His voice is what you might expect to hear by a huge stone fireplace as snow dusts the battlements and the bright wine is passed around. He seems to enjoy the poem as much as we do.

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