VERSE FORM: the "Gawain stanza"--a varying number of alliterative long lines terminated by a "bob & wheel," five short rhyming lines (ababa). The bob and wheel sums up, offers gnomic commentary, etc. The danger of such a stanza form is that the narrative may have a tendency to proceed to proceed by jerks. The poet avoids that danger by tying the bob and wheel in with the long lines in various ways."Bob-and-Wheel" Stanzaic Structure: the base stanza contains a varying number of unrhymed, four-stress alliterative lines linked by a one- or two-stress "bob" to a rhyming three-stress four-line "wheel." The bob-and-wheel rhyme scheme is ababa. Often, the bob-and-wheel turns to comment upon the action of the base stanza, and at times the bob contains key thematic value words.BOB-AND-WHEEL: A metrical devise in some alliterative-verse poetry, especially that of the Pearl Poet and that of fourteenth-century poems like Sir Tristrem. The first short line of a group of rhyming lines is known as the "bob" and the subsequent four are a quatraine called the "wheel." The bob contains one stress preceded by either one or occasionally two unstressed syllables (i.e., the bob is only two or three syllables long). Each line of the wheel contains three stresses. Together, the bob-and-wheel constitutes five lines rhyming in an ABABA pattern. Since it matches the alliterative pattern of the first part of the stanza, but also fits the rhyme scheme of the last five lines, the "bob" serves as a structural bridge between the alliterative sections and the rhyming sections of the poem. It is easier to understand by looking at an example. Click here for a sample to view. See also alliteration and rhyme.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s adapted Old English meter tends to connect the tw o halves of each poetic line through alliteration, or repetition of consonants. The poem also uses rhyme to structure its stanzas, and each group of long alliterative lines concludes with a word or phrase containing two syllables and a quatrain—known toget her as the “bob and wheel.” The phrase “bob and wheel” derives from a technique used when spinning cloth—the bobs and wheels in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight help to spin the plot and narrative together in intricate ways. They provide commentaries on what has just happened, create or fulfill moments of suspense, and serve as transitions to the next scene or idea.Important Elements in Sir Gawain and the Green KnightThe "bob-and-wheel" is a metrical device in some alliterative-verse poetry, for example, that of the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is a stanza of typically five rhymed lines following a section of unrhymed lines, often at the end of a strophe (in this case, an irregular and unrhymed section of a poem.) The first short line of a group of rhyming lines is known as the "bob" and the subsequent four are a quatrain called the "wheel." The bob contains one stress preceded by either one or occasionally two unstressed syllables (i.e., the bob is only two or three syllables long). Each line of the wheel contains three stresses. Together, the bob-and-wheel comprise five lines rhyming in an ababa pattern. Since it matches the alliterative pattern of the first part of thestanza, but also fits the rhyme scheme of the last five lines, the "bob" serves as a structural bridge between the alliterative sections and the rhyming sections of the poem.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is actually made up of two stories, one set inside the other. We have Gawain's relation to Arthur's court and what happens there before and after his quest, and we have the quest itself and what happens at Bertilak's castle. In the first episode at King Arthur's castle, none of Arthur's court knows what is going on. Like Grendel, the Green Knight is a sort of creature never seen before. Sir Gawain is, throughout the poem, marked by adherence to the rules governing courtliness; he always strives to be courageous, honorable (to keep his word), devout, loyal, and gracious toward all people, especially women. He thinks it is his courage that is being tested at Bertilak's castle. Important to understanding the poem is figuring out what is really being tested.Pay attention to the series of contrasts represented by the different settings Gawain moves through. There is Court life, which is refined, ordered, cultured, and safe; it is an existence apparently devoted to pleasure and entertainment. There is the harsh world outside the court, subject to untamed nature, chaos, and violent encounters. Finally, there is Bertilak's domain. What does it represent?Ask yourself the following questions when you finish the poem: What is really being tested when Gawain is with the lady and when he goes to meet the green Knight? How well does Sir Gawain do in these tests? How does he feel about himself when his ordeal is over and he has returned to the court? Is his self evaluation justified? What are we supposed to think of the Green Knight? Is he really a creature of evil? What are we supposed to think about Bertilak's behavior at the end--and of the credibility of his explanation? What are we supposed to think about Bertilak's wife? King Arthur? His court? Sir Gawain himself?A note about the opening thirty-five lines:The opening lines foreshadow many of the work's themes. They refer to the legend that Britain was founded by descendants of refugees from the city of Troy. In Greek mythology, Prince Paris kidnapped Helen, the wife of a Greek king, and took her home to Troy. The Greeks spent ten years trying to defeat the walled city, and finally conquered it through trickery (the Trojan Horse). The siege of the city by the Greek army is the subject of many ancient epics, such as the Illiad. In the great Latin epic the Aeneid, Aeneas, a prince of Troy, escapes from the city and endures many trials before founding the Roman Empire. Some medieval authors believed that Aeneas’s great-grandson, Brutus, traveled to England with other Trojans and founded Britain. The poet’s appeal to the epics of the Classical world is an example of translatio imperii, or the transmission of the empires of old into the medieval world. It is also a reminder that all great empires both rise and fall. The cycles of history are not so different from the cycles of the year, which figure prominently in the poem, or the cycles of failure and recovery that Gawain will experience. The poem opens with a characteristic ambiguity, one that translations do not always preserve. The wording of the opening lines leaves unclear the identity of the "traitor" and who or what is "true." In the Aeneid, Aeneas is a model of duty and piety, but in other tales of the Trojan War, he and a companion betray their city to the Greeks. If Aeneas is being called both "true" and a "traitor," thatdescription looks forward to Gawain’s own si tuation: Like Aeneas, he is a true and worthy knight, but he will also be guilty of a breach of faith. In this same vein, the poet calls Brutus "Felix," Latin for "fortunate." Though he was fortunate in having founded a legendary kingdom, the label is somewhat ironic considering that Brutus inadvertently caused the death of both his parents and was exiled from Italy by his own countrymen. But even the kingdom of Britain itself has a contradictory nature: It is a place where both “wrack and wonder . . .bliss and blunder” have swiftly followed one another throughout history.The name Felix may also refer to the medieval idea of the felix culpa, the "fortunate fault" of Adam’s sin and fall from grace, which led to the redemption of all humankind by Christ. Cr itic Victor Haines applied the notion of the fortunate fault to Gawain’s failure of faith, seeing in it a metaphor for the fall and redemption of humanity.The poet’s claim that he is simply telling the tale as he heard it told is a standard device of medieval poetry. Medieval artists were expected to rely on traditional, well-worn material; their artistic worth was judged by how well they reused and reinterpreted their sources.。
Epic史诗An epic is a long narrative poem in a formal and elevated style about the achievements of a central hero who usually embodies national ideals.Alliteration 头韵In alliterative verse, certain accented words in a line begin with the same consonant sound. Heroic couplet英雄双韵体Lines of iambic pentameter rhymed in pairs: aa, bb, cc, and so on. （英雄双韵体：以五步抑扬格为基本节奏，每两行押韵，铿锵有力。
）Iambic Pentameter 五音步抑扬格A poetic line consisting of five verse feet (音步) with each foot an iamb (抑扬格).Iambic: a pattern of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.Folk/Popular Ballad 民谣A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed.Legend 民间传说A song or narrative handed down from the past.Arthurian legend 亚瑟王王传奇It is a group of tales developed in the Middle Ages concerning King Arthur and his knights. Canto 长诗的篇章，诗章A section or division of a long poem.Romance 传奇故事It was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero.Ballad 大众民谣A ballad is a long song or poem which tells a story in simple language.Humanism人文主义Humanism is defined as a moral and political view based on the worldly existence of man, his all-round development, his worldly life and happiness.Spenserian Stanza斯宾塞诗体Each stanza has nine lines, eight of iambic pentameter followed by one of iambic hexameter(六音步), with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc.Blank verse 无韵诗verse written in rhymeless iambic pentameter.Sonnet 十四行诗A sonnet is a poem of 14-lines, usually in iambic pentameter with various rhyming schemes. Essay 随笔A piece of prose writing, usually short, that deals with a subject in a limited way and expresses a particular point of view.An essay can be formal, with thorough, serious, and highly organized content; or informal, with a humorous or personal tone and less rigid structure.Elegy 挽歌An elaborately formal lyric poem lamenting the death of a friend or public figure, or reflecting seriously on a solemn subject.allegory 寓言A tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities.Gothic novel 哥特式小说A type of romantic fiction that predominated in the late 18th century. Its principal elements are violence, horror, and the supernatural, which strongly appeals to the reader' s emotio n.Lake Poets 湖畔派诗人Refer to such romantic poets as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey who lived in the Lake District. They came to be known as the Lake School or "Lakers". Byronic hero 拜伦式英雄Byron introduced into English poetry a new style of character, which is often referred to as "Byronic Hero".Refer to a proud mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. They are men with fiery passions and unbending will and express the poet' s own ideal of freedom. These heroes rise against tyranny and injustice, but they are merely lone fighters striving for personal freedom and some individualistic ends.Ode颂诗Ode is a dignified and elaborately structured lyric poem of some length, praising and glorifying an individual, commemorating an event, or describing nature intellectually rather than emotionally. Terza Rima 三行诗Terza Rima is an Italian verse that consists of a series of three-line stanzas in which the middle line of each stanza rhymes with the first and third lines of the following stanza, with the rhyming scheme aba, bcb, cdc, ded, etc..Shelley' s "Ode to the West Wind" is a case in point.Dramatic Monologue 戏剧独白A kind of poem in which a single fictional or historical character other than the poet speaks to a silent "audience" of one or more persons. Such poems reveal not the poet' s own thoughts but the mind of the impersonated (扮演的) character, whose personality is revealed unwittingly无意的. （My Last Duchess is his best-known dramatic monologue.）Aestheticism writers 唯美主义①Beauty is the purpose of art; the ultimate and highest and absolute goal.②The purpose of art is found in art itself or beauty of art, not in truth.③Art is independent of reality or life; its value lies outside social value/morality.④Art is above life.⑤Art is objective creation of a subjective world; a product of spiritual loneliness and isolation. Stream of consciousness意识流The continuous flow of sense-perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and memories in the human mind; or literary method of representing such a blending of mental processes in fictional characters, usually in an unpunctuated or disjointed form of interior monologue.Among English writers, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf are two major advocates of this technique.Modernism现代主义Modernism is an international movement in literature and arts, which began in the late 19th century and flourished until 1950s.Modernism takes the irrational philosophy and the theory of psycho-analysis as its theoreticalbase.The modernist writers concentrate more on the private and subjunctive than on the public and objective, mainly concerned with the inner of an individual.James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner are prominent modernist writers.。
