The problem with writing alliterative poetry in Modern English is that it’s much harder to do than in Old or Middle English. The poet who wrote Sir Gawain was one of these, and the whole poem is alliterative. Īlliterative poetry died out in English, but some people decided to bring it back in the 13th and 14th centuries. So in the phrase, ‘ St eve de str oyed the st ool,’ the word ‘destroy’ alliterates with the others, because the second syllable, stroy, is stressed, and all the other words begin with st. For example, there is a tongue twister in English, a phrase that is very hard to say, that starts, ‘ B itter B etty b ought a b it of b etter b utter.’ Here, all the words starting with B are alliterating.Īctually, in alliterative poetry, it is the stressed syllables that must alliterate. Alliteration is when several words are used that start with the same sound. However, in Old English, the main form of poetry was alliterative poetry. As I said, most poems these days are rhyming poems. For example, ‘cat’, ‘bat’, ‘pat’ and ‘sat’ all rhyme. It’s quite strange by modern standards, and it’s very difficult to translate into a modern poetic style, but that’s part of why I like it so much.įor hundreds of years, the main form of poetry in English has been rhyming poetry. Recently, I read two different translations of Sir Gawain, and I fell in love with the story. Now it is considered one of the greatest poems in the English language, and there have been many different versions made of it. So for hundreds of years, nobody knew about this great work of art, and it wasn’t until translations into Modern English were made that the work started to gain interest. What makes it a very interesting poem is that we don’t know the author, and the poem was only discovered in 1839. The original is written in Middle English, which makes it quite hard to understand to modern audiences. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an ancient poem originally written in the late 14th century. Illustrations from the original manuscript of Sir Gawain There, you can also download the episode as a PDF. You can find a transcript of the episode at /Gawain1. Today’s episode is the first two parts, and next week will be parts three and four. The name of the story is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Today’s story is for intermediate learners. I am Ariel Goodbody, your host for this show. ![]() Welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great. Take your English to the next level today! If you use that link and buy a class, you’ll get $10 free to spend on more classes! Plus, I get a bit of money, too. Plus, you can take lessons anywhere-at home, at school or even on the bus! It’s cheaper than in-person classes, and you can find the perfect teacher for you. ![]() On italki, you can find teachers from all around the world to practise English with. Listening to podcasts like Easy Stories in English is a great way to improve your comprehension skills, but sometimes, you just need to speak. This narrator follows Gawain for most of his journey, and of all the characters comes closest to Gawain’s internal world, occasionally noting his thoughts and feelings.Download this episode as a PDF. Point of View: An omniscient, third person narrator.But by the end, it becomes evident that the real conflict is between Gawain’s desire to adhere to the knightly code of virtues and his more natural desire to stay alive. Antagonist: Initially, it seems that the Green Knight, who destroys the court’s revelry and forces Gawain to face his own death, is the antagonist of the poem.Climax: Gawain’s long-awaited meeting with the Green Knight at the Green Chapel, where he expects to lose his life but, after much suspense, is spared.Setting: The court of Camelot, then across the wilderness of Britain to Bertilak’s castle and environs.Genre: Epic poetry, Romance, Adventure, Arthurian Legend.Literary Period: Medieval Romance Literature. ![]() ![]()
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