Book Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Translated by JRR Tolkien

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tough book to review. It's long-form poetry, with very specific but unusual meter, and can often spend long passages on tangents.

So, what can I write about this book? Lucky for my, my son just did his first pre-3rd grade summer book report. So, I'm just going to copy off of his form. Here we go!

What was the title and author of your book?

Let's start with title - that's the easier part. It's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo (there are three poems in the book). As for author, that gets trickier. The name here is JRR Tolkien, but he didn't write the poems. He translated them. And that job is much, much trickier.

First off, Tolkien translated into English texts that were...English. But English in the 1500s was WAY different than English today, so actual translation was needed. But again, Tolkien had to translate a poem, that not only used specific words but also specific formats, and do it line by line. This was a very challenging undertaking.

When you think of poetry, you probably think of verses that rhyme in abab or abba forms. In English, the idea for those poems originated around London, and spread out across the English-speaking world from the center of English culture. But the world was a much smaller place in the 1500s, and different regions of England had different ideas on what "poetry" meant. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written somewhere in the Northern or Western parts of England, and there the idea of poetry revolved around alliteration - very specific alliteration, where vowels and consonants had to play together in very specific ways, all with the same rising/falling meter in every line.

It's one thing if you're fluent in that form of English - it's another if you're trying to replicate it, line by line, into another form of English. That was the monumental job Tolkien had to do here.

As for the original author...we will unfortunately never know.

Who was/were the main character/s in this chapter?

• "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight": Sir Gawain, Green Knight, local lord (who might be someone else in disguise SPOILERS), local lord's wife

• "Pearl": Pearl, Jesus for an extended period of time for some reason

• "Sir Orfeo": Sir Orfeo, lots of fairies and such

Where did this story take place (setting)?

England - starting in Camelot, ending up in the more rural areas

What were two main events in this book?

1. It's New Years in Camelot, and a huge, hulking, completely green knight enters the festivities wielding a giant axe. He challenges any knight of the Round Table to take one swing at him, but in return the Green Knight will get his shot in the next New Years. Nobody wants to take this guy up on his offer, until Sir Gawain, who feels like he only got his knighthood because he's related to King Arthur, takes up the challenge. The Green Knight leans over a chair and offers up his neck. Gawain takes the axe, raises it high in the air...and chops off the Green Knight's head. Game over. Except...the Green Knight's body rises from the floor and pulls his head up by the hair. The head tells Gawain to come find him in a year to fulfill his bargain, then the decapitated knight mounts his horse and rides out of Camelot. BAD. ASS.

2. On his way to find the Green Knight, Gawain is invited to stay at a local lord's castle. Gawain and the lord strike up a hearty friendship. They decide that for the next few days they will go hunting, and whatever each of them catch they will give to the other as a token of friendship. So the first day, the local lord rises early, goes out into the forest with his party, and hunts down a wild boar. Gawain, in the meantime, sleeps late (which seems like a dick move) because he's recovering from riding across England. The local lord's wife decides to enter his quarters and walk right up to his bed. She clearly wants DA BIZZZNESS but, citing his strong Christian faith, Gawain refuses her. However...he will kiss her. Later that evening, at dinner, the local lord proudly presents a roasted boar for Sir Gawain to feast on. When he asks what Gawain has caught for him, Gawain...kisses him. And he thinks that's funny. All three days in a row that it happens. (Isn't that still cheating? I kinda think it's cheating.)

What was your favorite part in this book?

Tricky question? I LIKED ALL OF IT! Before you accuse me of taking the easy way out (J'accuse!!! J'accuse!!), let me explain. It isn't the story itself that I'm talking about. The beginning, as mentioned above, is awesome. then Gawain goes to find the Green Knight, takes a visit at the lord's house, and it feels like something must be happening even though it's the weirdest thing ever. Then he finally finds the Green Knight and it's a head scratcher (literally). The story leaves a lot to be desired.

But, again, this is poetry. And although it isn't poetry that I'm accustomed to, it's still poetry you can feel as you read. The words flow like a river throughout the book, and fall into an easy rhythm. You find yourself having read a page or more without having digested the story elements because you were so caught up in the beat of the words - like listening to a song and tuning out the words. And again, as mentioned above, JRR Tolkien not only had to translate this work, he had to re-create this poetry for us to experience. It's quite an accomplishment.

How many hot dogs would you rate this book?

Hey, I thought that was my thing! This is a challenging book to read, and is more about the experience than the enjoyment - for modern readers, I'll give it seven out of ten hot dogs. But still, amazing work!