Today we discuss one of the greatest Arthurian tales, told by one of the most virtuosic poets in the history of English, an anonymous priest of the 14th century. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells us a lot about courtesy, original sin, and grace, all bound up in an enormously entertaining story about a giant, decapitation-surviving green knight.

Poet and critic Anthony Esolen joins the show to discuss the poem, its Middle English dialect, and the tradition of alliterative verse.

Watch discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8YKmYkklcuU

Links

Marie Boroff's translation of the complete works of the Gawain-poet https://www.amazon.com/Gawain-Poet-Complete-Cleanness-Erkenwald/dp/0393912353

Simon Armitage's facing-page translation including the original Middle English https://www.amazon.com/Gawain-Green-Knight-Verse-Translation/dp/0393334155

Dana Gioia essay, "Accentual Verse" https://danagioia.com/essays/writing-and-reading/accentual-verse/

Magdalen College, where Esolen teaches, still has spaces open in its 2021 freshman class! https://magdalen.edu/

Anthony Esolen, The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord https://www.ignatius.com/The-Hundredfold-P3358.aspx

Esolen on his poem The Hundredfold https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-55-hundredfold-anthony-esolen/

Esolen discusses Stagecoach on Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/stagecoach-1939/

Follow this link to join the Online Great Books VIP waiting list and get 25% off your first 3 months: https://hj424.isrefer.com/go/ogbmemberships/tmirus/

This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio