(The) Romance – Crimson Miscellany

Gawain Poem

Warning and Remorse

In this warm and welcome castle, sleep soundly.
The revelry has ended with time to spare for lasting rest,
For the lord and lady of this land, this kindly keep, must
Come morning hunt for themselves a morsel for their savoring.
The princely paladin—your proficient provider—sends to procure
A portly pig. He’ll plant his point where the pool meets the precipice,
Carrying the rightly collected cadaver to cook and contribute in
Account of your corroborated accord: a gift to grant good Gawain in
Christmastime. But the lady has another prey in mind.
Good knight, tonight you lock yourself away to accept
A trial: A more creeping demon than her lovely face implies
seeks to cleverly dishonor you in all your knightly glory.
Her seductive glare—sent to test your chivalrous wit—
Is masked by a gentle, courtly allure. Your veracity would be her meal,
Drawn from your lips like the blood of the delicious swine, though a venom to kill the truth: the troth you profess in all sincerity.
The husband
hunts for vicious beasts
In the early morning dew.
Will you become a pleasant feast
For his wife to seek and chew?

The scratch on your nape will scar with the smart of your sin.
The green sash with which you replaced the Ephesians’ Belt
girded you with far fewer promises and protections.
Had you held wholly to your holy behavior, your flinching furrows
would never have feared the floor. When you learned of Bertilak
and his beautiful bride’s arrangement, did you find yourself
outmaneuvered or dishonored? Bested or proven less than knightly?
Carry home the axe and dress the broken pentangle with the memory
Of your fallacy, the ornamental gift you never gave in recompense.
But return to your King. The Table will surely slay the fatted calf
In celebration of their fellow knight’s return from a most assured demise.
Tell them the tale of Sir Gawain, the nephew that overcame the beast and fell to himself. Let them know the shame you bear, for they will share in your failures.
Gawain,
The Green Knight sealed away
Your place at Arthur’s side.
But by the shame of that sash’s sway
In humility you’ll reside.

Lady Mary Wroth

Lady Mary Wroth, born (probably) on October 18, 1587 was the “first Englishwomen to complete a sonnet sequence as well as an original work of prose fiction”. Unlike many female poets of her time Wroth pushed the envelope of secular love poetry and romance. In 1621 she published The Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania which would go on to become one of her most famous literary works.

Wroth grew up in a prominent English family. Her father, ( Sir Robert Sidney) and her uncle (Sir Philip Sidney) were both well know poets of their time. Mary’s aunt (who was also her godmother) had a major affect on her life as well. Her aunt lived in a country estate where she would invite many patronages of the arts to come and visit which inspired Mary to become a poet herself.

Wroth had a very informal education but it was said that ” “she [was] very forward in her learning, writing, and other exercises she is put to” “. We also assume that in the time of her education she learned French.

Mary eventually married Sir Robert Wroth on September 27, 1604 and the two never really got along. He was not at all interested in the arts and so the two never had any common ground. However he was knighted by James I in 1603 and became in the kings favor, and even though her marriage was unhappy it served as the backdrop to many of her works, and because her husband was in good standing with the king she got to experience life at court often, which also influenced her writing. After ten years of marriage the two finally had a son in February of 1614 named James and soon after his birth Robert Wroth died leaving with her with a large amount of money and an even larger amount of debt, and to make matters worse in the summer of 1616 James, her son died. Her problems only seemed to worsen for she had started an affair with her first cousin the Earl of Pembroke who also happened to be a poet.

Wroth continued to write into her later years which we don’t know much about. We do know that she died between 1651 to 1653 and continued to pay off debt until she died.

Bibliography

“Lady Mary Wroth.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-wroth.

“Lady Mary Wroth.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wroth.

Das, Nandini. “Lady Mary Wroth: Biography.” English Faculty, www.english.cam.ac.uk/wroth/biography.htm.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Map

Sir Gawain had many adventures on his journey to meet his fate with the Green Knight.

He starts the tale in the lively court of Camelot during Yuletide festivities (Line 37).

He remains here until November 1 and then sets off (Line 536).

Our gallant knight rides through the English lands (lines 691-96).

Then gallant Gawain is in north Wales, with the Isle of Anglesey to his left (697-98)

Next he crosses at Holy Head, and arrives in the wilds of Wirral (700-701).

After failing to hear anything of the Green Chapel, he continues on to strange mountains (713-15).

Descending the mountains on Christmas Eve, he crosses forests and marshes in search of a house for mass (740-755).

His prayers are answered, he arrives at a castle unknown to him in the forest (763-767)

Here he stays until New Year’s Day (1998-99)

His guide leads him to Green Chapel from here, crossing many daunting obstacles (2074-2090)

Gawain follows the directions of the guide down to the Green Chapel, and meets the Green Knight, Bertilak (2160-2185).

After fulfilling the wager, and asking repentance for his deceptive ways, Gawain makes off for home (2475-2483)

Finally, Gallant Sir Gawain reaches the King’s court in Camelot, where he retells his journey (2489-End).

References: Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume A, Pages 186-238

Link to Story Map : https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=f6e0d0a6f2224f80bb1f67b81b0c04cd