SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
A Comedy for Christmas
Translated from Middle English
by
Theodore Silvers tein
Written in a style that might be called a sort of medieval baroque,
Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight
is a masterpiece of medieval alliterative
poetry. Professor Silverstein has sought to make his translation accurate,
but literal accuracy has seemed to him not enough. He also attempts to
exploit the special poetics of the piece, the play on sound and meaning, the
double entendre
and rhetorical ornamentation which were part of the New
Poetics of its era among English and Continental poets. In so doing, he is
able to render the poem as both a gay and witty discourse and a fast-paced
story of adventure.
This new verse translation is complemented by a number of striking
pen and ink illustrations by Virgil Burnett depicting the costumes, wea–
pons, armour, and personal trappings of the late fourteenth century.
1974 128
pages Cloth $10.00
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO 60637
