Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Essays Papers

Sir Gawain and the kilobyte KnightPassage AnalysisSir Gawain and the Green Knight was scripted in the fourteenth century in Northern dialect by an anonymous author who was a contemporary of Chaucer. The story begins in King Arthurs court. The Green Knight, a green monster who challenges the court to a Christmas stake, Sir Gawain, a brave, loyal knight of the court, and King Arthur, the lord of the court, are the main characters. Lines 279 through 365, which deal with the Christmas game, alike known as the beheading game, foreshadow the Green Knights supernatural powers, Sir Gawains victory over the Green Knight, and his bravery and loyalty to King Arthur. The events surrounding the proposal of the game foreshadow what allow for happen next. It is New Years, and everyone in King Arthurs court is feasting when the Green Knight arrives and challenges the court to a Christmas game. The rule of the game is that the knight, Sir Gawain, will strike at the Green Knight, and then in a ye ar and a day, the Green Knight will return the strike. This is indicated when the Green Knight says, So you grant me the guerdon to give him another, sans blame. In a twelve month and a day he shall of me the same(Norton 208). A guerdon is a reward and sans means without. So when the Green Knight receives his reward for the game, which will be to return the strike in a year and a day, it will not be his deformity when Sir Gawain dies because it is part of the game. This foreshadows the Green Knights supernatural powers and Sir Gawains confrontation with death. If Sir Gawain chops off the Green Knights head, one would think that the Green Knight would die. So why does the Green Knight gather up to meet Sir Gawain in a year and a day to return the strike? The answer to this question shows the Green Knights supernatural powers because he knows that he is not going to die because of the strike. The Green Knight appears to have a hidden agenda, which will be revealed at the end of the story. As a reward for the knight who is brave enough to participate in the game, the Green Knight gives him his ax to keep and use for the game. The ax is first given to King Arthur, who has volunteered to participate in the game so that his court will not appear to be full of cowards.

Shakespeares Hamlet - Gertrude Essay -- GCSE English Literature Cours

Regarding Hamlets Gertrude Angela Pitt in Women in Shakespeares Tragedies comments that Shakespeares Gertrude in Hamlet is, first and foremost, a mother Gertrude evinces no such lead to justify her actions and thereby does not betray any sense of guilt. She is concerned with her present good fortune, and neither lingers over the death of her first keep up nor analyses her motives in taking another. . . .She seems a kindly, slow-witted, rather self-indulgent woman, in no way the emotional or intellectual equal of her son. . . . Certainly she is fond of Hamlet. non only is she prepared to listen to him when he storms at her, proof that he is sufficiently close to her to have a right to make comments on her personalized life, but she is unfailingly concerned about him. . . .When she has drunk from the poisoned cup, almost her last words are O my dear Hamlet The simple endearment is very poignant, reminding us that the bond between mother and son, and Hamlets desperate jealousy of Claudius, account for as much of the tragic progress of the play as the need to avenge old Hamlets death (46-47). Is Gertrude a mother first, and queen second? This essay hopes to resolve seeming contradictions in the character of mogul Gertrude, as well as dealing with other aspects of her multi-faceted character. At the outset of the tragedy Hamlet appears dressed in solemn black. His mother, Gertrude, is apparently disturbed by this and requests of him Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Do not for ever with thy vailed lids try for thy noble father in the dust Thou knowst tis common ... ...s Hamlet. Early Modern Literary Studies 6.1 (May, 2000) 2.1-24 <URL http//purl.oclc.org/emls/06-1/lehmhaml.htm>. Pitt, Angela. Women in Shakespeares Tragedies. Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeares Women. N.p. n.p., 1981. Shakespeare, William. The Traged y of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http//www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html Smith, Rebecca. Gertrude Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother? Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of Hamlet A Users Guide. New York Limelight Editions, 1996. Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. Shakespeare. Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.

Life and works of John Steinnbeck Essay example -- biographies bio bio

John Steinbeck was probably the best author of alone time. He was the winner of a Nobel Prize, and along with many other accomplishments, Steinbeck wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories during his purporttime. Seventeen of his works, including The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, The Pearl, and East of Eden, went on to become Hollywood films, some appeared threefold times, as remakes. Steinbeck also had some success as a Hollywood writer, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Story in 1944 for Alfred Hitchcocks Lifeboat. Many of his life experiences are shown through his novels. Someone can tell, by reading one of Steinbecks novels that he had been through a striation, throughout his life. Also, Steinbeck worked hard to accomplish everything that he did, during his lifetime. Nothing came easy for him, and had to earn everything on his own, and this helped him in his works. He also had the ability to write about real people and real experiences. John Steinbeck got his dream from his life experiences such as people he knew, and places he had spent time at. Many of Steinbecks views of the world are shown through his novels. Some of Steinbecks closely influential works are included in this paper and are summarized, to show how many Americans living in poverty today can touch base to some of Steinbecks works which are also set during a recession era.Growing up in Salinas Valley, Steinbeck had the chance to spend a lot of time outdoors. His uncle used to take him on fishing trips, and spent time visiting his mothers grand-fathers farm near King City, it gave him a biggish respect for nature. Later on he became a caretaker on a large piece of land at Lake Tahoe, ... ...life experiences, events, and people which makes it easier for the reader to connect if they withal had the same experiences first-hand.Although John Steinbeck has been gone for awhile, his legacy continues to th rive on Americans today. Steinbecks influence not only flourishes across the United States but has also been all around the world. His influnces have also attracted the attention of film production studios in which the have created movies based upon stories from Steinbeck. His legacy is also continued through high tutor reading, a study by the Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature in the United States found that Of Mice and Men was one of the ten most oft read books in public high and independent schools. Steinbeck has been honored in many ways having, places dedicated to him and having his name inducted into the California Hall of Fame.