Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Alliterative Essay

Alliterative poems are those that provide a work with rhythmical sounds often times in sequential patterns. Poems that contain alliteration are, to many, read and recited with a keener interest given that they lend beauty, structure, and flow to any piece of writing. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an alliterative poem written in the latter half of the 14th century, although the author is unknown. The poem is long and rather difficult to comprehend given that it was written over centuries ago, yet it still inspires awe due to a plethora of reasons. Some of such reasons include its many poetic devices, vivid language, and contextual depth, all of which help establish the poem as a piece of writing superior to that of anything else in its time. In taking a closer look at the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it can be seen that the poem attempts to confound chivalry and order through the accentuation of poetic devices such as hyperbole, alliteration, and a

mythological tone.
In order to better understand the poetic devices used, it may be useful to first briefly summarize the poem.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows the exploits of the title character, Gawain. Gawain is a member of King Arthur’s round table- an honor that is given to a select few- and he begins his journey by volunteering, in King Arthur’s place, to play a beheading game. His challenger is a broad and burly knight who goes by the name of the Green Knight, presumably because his armor is almost completely drenched in the color green. The Green Knight, initially, seems to have lost the game, but in a spectacle of magic or enchanted power, the Knight recovers, and pleads that Gawain must hunt him down in a span of one year so that he may have the opportunity to strike Gawain. The chivalric romance goes on to explore the quest of the hero Gawain, and it ultimately tests his chivalric code and loyalty. Although he displays great valor and reverence, he eventually buckles under to an offer of

impunity.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is undoubtedly a mythological poem; it tells a great tale of a hero that battles many creatures in an attempt to maintain courage and promote courtliness. The supernatural happenings of the poem are accordingly paired with a tone that is mystical, yet marvelous. In order to better comprehend this claim, it may be practical to examine the text, specifically by looking at a passage that illustrates a grandiose tone through the use of vivid language, hyperbole and alliterative lines. This can be found in part I of the poem, when the narrator gives a physical description of the Green Knight; “His great calves were girt, and gold spurs under / He bore on silk bands that embellished his heels, / And footgear well-fashioned, for riding most fit. / And all his vesture verily was verdant green;” (Borroff 158-161). If read intently, it can be seen that this passage contains numerous devices used to give it a laudatory tone and mythological feel. One of such devices is the use of hyperbole. Often times used in fairy-tale like works, hyperbole helps establish the tone of the play by overly exaggerating certain descriptions. In the passage at hand, the author employs this method of exaggeration for the description of the Green Knight. He/she writes, “His great calves were girt… and all his vesture verily was verdant green” (Borroff 158 161). Rather than giving a simple description of the Knight, the author delves deep to give every minor detail of the Knight’s apparel. Furthermore, he exaggerates certain details going as far to call his claves “great” and “girt”, and his apparel as “verily”, or really, “verdant green”. In another stanza, the author calls the Green Knight “half a giant of earth… [and] the largest of men” (Borroff 140-141). The author clearly distorts reality to give the poem a fantastical feel.
In addition to hyperbole, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a highly alliterative poem. Alliteration is defined as “the repetition of initial stressed, consonant sounds in a series of words within a phrase or verse line” (poetryfoundation alliteration). In the same passage quoted above, alliteration is used to further structure and develop the poem. According to the definition, the last line of the passage contains the most highly alliterative verse; “And all his vesture verily was verdant green;” (Borroff 161). The “initial stressed, consonant sound” is the “V” from “vesture” and the sound repeats in the words “verily” and “verdant”. Additionally, in line 160 if the same passage, another sequence of alliteration may be found. The line, which reads, “And footgear well-fashioned, for riding most fit” (Borroff 160), maintains a prominent “F” sound, beginning with the word “footgear”. Like many other poems of its time, Sir Gawain was part of an alliterative revival in the late thirteen-hundreds. The use of alliteration and hearing/reading the repeated sounds give an incantatory, almost hypnotic effect which greatly contribute to the poem’s tone and overall enjoyment.
Throughout the poem, the poem’s use of a mythological, fantastical tone, accentuated by the use of hyperbole and alliteration, give the poem a fairy-tale like a feel. In other words, the poem, in many ways, is a distortion of reality and plainly, dreamlike. Although cynical, perhaps the poet was trying to contend that humans are innately corrupt and unable to form an ideal society despite their push for chivalry. In a chivalric sense, nature is a latent power that forever keeps a man imperfect. Even though Gawain perseveres throughout the poem as a man that keeps his word, and honor, he eventually errs by giving in to a natural and innate desire: protection. Even more so, Gawain is labeled a hero; a member of King Arthur’s round table and presumably the best humanity has to offer. Even he failed by eventually giving in to natural