Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Essay One is our first essay assignment for the semester, and it will focus on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The end result of this essay will be a four or five paragraph essay that should be between one and two pages. It should include a proper introduction, a proper conclusion, and at least two well-developed body paragraphs. The essay should offer a thesis statement at the end of the introduction and then support the thesis in its body sections. For more information on how I grade essays, please see the “Wisner’s Principles of Composition” file in the Student Guide. Most of these ideas should be familiar to you by this point in your academic career. You may write on any topic, but here are some suggestions: Is Gawain’s self-disgust at the end of the poem justified? In other words, has he truly failed in his knightly (chivalric) obligations? In what ways does Christian symbolism function in the poem? Many readers and scholars disagree over the nature of the Green Knight. Some of them see him as an analog for Satan, while others see him as an analog for Christ? Which is he? A Satanic figure or a Christ figure? Why? Compare life within the castle walls (at Camelot and Bertilak’s castle) with life outside them. How are they different? I’m looking for lots of details from the poem that show how castle life is “idealized.” What is the place of women in the poem? Hint: are they characters on their own terms, or are they merely challenges to the “goodness” of our protagonist? Hopefully, these questions will help you generate a short but solid essay. Other requirements: Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font Double space throughout Use quotations from the poem. This is a requirement. We’re still using the older version of MLA format (7th). I will update to the 8th edition this spring. Here’s a sample essay that shows the correct format for your heading and title: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/ The Perimeter College Learning and Tutorial Center has a wealth of handouts here: http://depts.gpc.edu/~gpcltc/commhandouts.htm Here’s one on quoting: http://depts.gpc.edu/~gpcltc/handouts/communications/usingquotations.pdf Last comment: You should NOT include outside research in this essay.