Part 1 marie de france
What is your exposure to Arthurian legend and/or stories/movies/shows/games about King Arthur and his knights? How does this early entry into old Arthurian legend compare and contrast to our modern sensibilities and expectations?
Part 2 Sir gawain
While describing the knights and ladies of Arthur’s court, the Gawain poet alludes to some of the values of his audience? What adjectives, used to describe these scenes of “revelry”, correspond to these values?
How does the poet describe King Arthur? Does he remind you of anyone you know or have known?
Was Gawain wrong in the choices he made in the Castle? Why/why not?
Part 3 The death of arthur
How does this portrayal of Arthur and his Knights and the court of Camelot differ from the previous weeks’ readings on the same subject? How does this portrayal meet or betray your expectation of Arthur as a hero?