Gawain's Poem 'The Histrionic Arrival'

The Histrionic Arrival During the course of King Arthur’s New Year’s celebration, a mysterious stranger- who oddly is entirely green- interrupts the festivity to challenge the King himself. The green, giant-like stranger is described by the poet to be of such openhanded civility; a man who should be paid with high respects. The narrator vindicates this claim in lines 18-20, declaring “So monstrous a mount, so mighty a man in the saddle/ Was never once encountered on all this earth/ till then;”(The Gawain Poet). The isocolon and iambic pentameter found in this quote adds rhythm to the poem, to serve as the backdrop from which the musicality of the story will be revealed. By stressing the analogy found in the iambic pentameter, the narrator
can echo the green stranger’s formidable power, which, in fourteenth century Britain, was a general desire of the commoners. Anglo-Saxon literature connects deeply with citizens who strived for a better life, as the nobles had(Or in this case, the Green Knight). Though power, described of that magnitude, can be feared by even the most daring people. The complexity of the stranger seems to progress the more the audience falls deeper into the tale. In lines 21-24, the narrator comments on the “lightening” like glimmer in the Green Knights eyes, adding, “And it seemed to many a man/ That any man who clashed/ With him would not long stand” (The Gawain Poet). The tone shifts away from the lightheartedness in the introduction to a much more serious and threatening tone, adding new aspects to the Green Knight’s persona. The analogy of “lightening like” eyes changes the audience’s first glance at the Green Knights persona, while the rhyming scheme further emphasizes how powerful the Green Knight can be. All in all, by setting up with fantastical, complex characters while intriguing the audience with the melodic framework found in this epic, The Gawain Poet has constructed a tale to entertain generations to come.