The story of Gawain and the Green Knight is one well known to all of the English majors I am sure. The Arthurian legends are a key favorite to British literature. But today I would not like to talk only about Gawain but about what we can ascertain by comparing Beowulf with this story. We are looking at two similar but very different stories and ways of telling them. Both stories are unlike the books we read in our current time in the fact that they are not wrapped up in the end of the story but the details of getting there. But both stories focus on very different details. In Beowulf the emphasis for most of the poem seemed to be on establishing the history and bloodlines of the great families and the relationships of all those involved. Gawain of the other hand gives little family history; a large amount of the text is spent in detailed descriptions of everything and everyone. Also it is no longer boasting and tall tales that show greatness but a respectfulness and humbling quality that shows the true worth of the knight. Why do you think these changes came about? Was it the influence of the church? Which story telling method do you prefer more and why?
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