Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem by an unknown poet. That is an interesting case. The question might arise that the poem is only as popular as it is because of having an unknown writer. That is obviously not the reason. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a brilliant narrative put into a complex structure. Its structure gives and gave reason to look at for many researchers. This paper provides a further viewpoint on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s structure.
Considering the textual structure, it is a question of either having a “striking balance of [...] structure” (Randall 1957: 161) or an “extraordinary coincidence” (Hieatt 1968: 346) when talking of the five times five pentangle—one of the two important symbols in the poem—in line 2525. Four divisions with irregular length, no regular length of stanzas, no clear rhythm, but a bob and wheel at the end of each stanza make the structural analysis very complicated. That is probably the reason why studies of the textual structure of the poem are contradictory. Michael Robertson, for example, departs the 101 stanzas of the poem into nine sections in the following way: 22-1-11-11-11-11-11-1-22 (compare 1982: 780). Unlike A. Kent Hieatt, who divides them into sections of 21-6-6-6-6-11-11-11-1-21-1 (compare 1968: 356-367).
While studying the narrative structure of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in contrast, I was reminded of a research paper I wrote two years ago on the structure of fairy tales with the use of a method by a Russian formalist named Vladimir Propp. The narrative structure of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight seems to be very similar to that of a fairy tale such as Propp defines it, and Clinton Machann has already done a brief analysis of the poem's actions in Propp's way (compare 1982: 629-637). If the poem fits into Propp’s scheme this will prove that its narrative structure is similar to the one of the Russian fairy tales used by Propp and would be helpful in comparing its structure to other narratives. A deeper analysis of the structure of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight considering Propp’s scheme is the result.
In the following, a brief description of Propp’s method is given (which is similar to that of my research paper for the Englisches Seminar der Universität zu Köln in 2004). Afterwards, the results of studying Sir Gawain and the Green Knight according to Propp’s method are explained and presented.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Theory of Vladimir Propp
3. Morphology of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
5.1 Primary Literature
5.2 Secondary Literature
Objectives and Research Themes
This paper examines the narrative structure of the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by applying the structural methodology developed by the Russian formalist Vladimir Propp. The research aims to determine whether the poem’s sequence of actions aligns with Propp’s universal morphological scheme for fairy tales, thereby evaluating the applicability of his framework to non-Russian, medieval literary narratives.
- Structural analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Application of Vladimir Propp's morphology of the folktale
- Identification of narrative functions and character spheres of action
- Comparison of the poem’s structure with Proppian tale types
- Evaluation of the "seeker-hero" role in Arthurian romance
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3. Morphology of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
In the following, the poem is divided up into segments. Each segment is summarized and afterwards analyzed according to the scheme explained above. Since Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has not been analyzed by Propp, the found morphological elements are results of comparing the functions of the poem to the functions described in Propp’s Morphology of the Folktale.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight opens with an explanation of the historical background of the story. The poet describes what kind of story he is going to tell us. The actual story begins with a New Year’s feast at Arthur’s court. The present people are made known, Gawain is mentioned, and a description of the court having a pleasant time is given. Arthur explains that he will not eat unless he hears a special story or someone challenges him. (Stanza 1-6)
These first six stanzas provide us with the “initial situation” as Propp names it (1968: 25). Here, “[t]he members of a family are enumerated, or the future hero [...] is simply introduced by mention of his name or indication of his status” (Propp 1968: 25). Who will be the hero of the story remains unclear at this point, because of mentioning more than one person’s name and status in the opening scene. The title of the poem suggests that Gawain will serve as the story’s hero, though.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter contextualizes the poem's complex structure and introduces the research objective of applying Vladimir Propp's morphological method to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
2. The Theory of Vladimir Propp: This section details the fundamental aspects of Propp's structural framework, including the definition of character functions, spheres of action, and the fixed sequential order required for a narrative to be classified as a fairy tale.
3. Morphology of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: This core chapter provides a stanza-by-stanza analysis of the poem, mapping specific narrative events to Propp’s established symbols and functions to build a structural formula for the work.
4. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the analytical results, confirming that the poem functions as a double-move tale and suggesting that Propp’s scheme is a valid analytical tool for medieval English literature.
5. Bibliography: This section lists the primary and secondary sources used to support the structural analysis.
Keywords
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale, Narrative Structure, Structuralism, Russian Formalism, Medieval Literature, Seeker-Hero, Narrative Functions, Spheres of Action, Tale Type, Bertilak de Hautdesert, Arthurian Romance, Literary Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the narrative structure of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, analyzing it through the lens of Vladimir Propp’s morphological theory originally designed for Russian fairy tales.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
The work explores themes of structural uniformity in narratives, the role of the hero in quests, the function of villains and donors, and the adaptation of formalist theory to medieval Arthurian texts.
What is the main objective of the study?
The primary goal is to determine if Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fits into Propp's rigid scheme of narrative functions and to prove that the poem possesses a fairy tale-like structure.
Which methodology is employed in this research?
The research uses the structural analysis method described in Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale, identifying functions (actions) and mapping them to specific symbolic signs.
What topics are covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section (Chapter 3) provides a detailed segmentation of the poem, summarizing each part and assigning Proppian functional symbols to the characters' actions, such as villainy, testing, and the receipt of magical agents.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The key terms include Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Vladimir Propp, Narrative Structure, Morphology of the Folktale, and Structuralism.
How does the author handle the missing functions in the poem?
The author notes that missing functions do not invalidate the structural analysis, as Propp himself acknowledged that not every tale contains every function, provided the fixed sequence is maintained.
What is the conclusion regarding the tale type of the poem?
The analysis concludes that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight belongs to the fourth type of fairy tale in Propp's classification, as it contains neither the struggle-victory pair nor the difficult task-solution pair.
How does the author interpret the Green Knight's belt in this analysis?
The author identifies the belt as a marker or "branding" symbol (function J), noting its symbolic importance in representing Gawain's failure rather than acting purely as a magical agent.
- Quote paper
- Helga Mebus (Author), 2006, The narrative structure of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/93222
