Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

by Brenda Webster (Introduction), Burton Raffel (Translator)

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE UPCOMING MAJOR MOTION PICTURE THE GREEN KNIGHT—STARRING DEV PATELAn epic poem of honor and bravery written by an anonymous fourteenth-century poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is recognized as an equal of Chaucer’s masterworks and of the great Old English poems, including Beowulf.   It is Christmas in Camelot, and a truly royal feast has been laid out for King Arthur and his knights. And though there is plenty of good cheer to go around, the festivities hardly begin before a monstrous, axe-wielding, green-skinned knight barges in. He has come to see the famous Knights of the Round Table and offer them a simple but deadly challenge—a challenge taken on by the brave Sir Gawain—a challenge that will force him to choose between his honor and his life....Includes a Preface by Burton Raffelan Introduction by Brenda Websterand an Afterword by Neil D. Isaacs

156 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 3, 2009

About the author

Brenda Webster was born in New York City, educated at Swarthmore College, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley, where she earned her Ph.D. She is a freelance writer, critic, and translater who splits her time between Berkeley and Rome, and she is the current president of PEN West.

Her latest novel, VIENNA TRIANGLE, explores the loves and rivalries in Sigmund Freud's inner circle that led to the death of his disciple Viktor Tausk.

Webster has written two controversial and oft-anthologized critical studies, Yeats: A Psychoanalytic Study (Stanford University Press) and Blake's Prophetic Psychology (Macmillan), and translated poetry from the Italian for The Other Voice (Norton) and The Penguin Book of Women Poets. She is co-editor of the journals of the abstract expressionist painter (and Webster's mother) Ethel Schwabacher, Hungry for Light: The Journal of Ethel Schwabacher (Indiana, 1993). She is the author of two previous novels, Sins of the Mothers (Baskerville, 1993) and Paradise Farm (SUNY, 1999), and a memoir, The Last Good Freudian (Holmes and Meier, 2000). The Modern Language Association recently accepted for publication Webster's translation of Edith Bruck's Holocaust novel Lettera alla Madre.

Reviews

[Grace Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book much more than I thought I would! A must-read for fans of Arthurian Legend.

[Isabel Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine read about the Arthurian legend and the high standards lived by those knights of the round table. Quite a short read and very fast paced as well. Definitely recommended

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shoutout to my favorite diva the Lusty Lady

[Courtney Malpass · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you read the text properly, with a sense of humor and nod to irony, this Old English poem is quite enjoyable. It’s not my favorite classic poetic text, but it is one whose relevance is secure nearly 700 years after it was written.