Structure of the Narrative
LINGUISTIC STRUCTURE
Each stanza consists of any number of long lines, followed by four short lines. There is a common pattern to the overall structure, but as the number of long lines can vary from stanza to stanza there is also flexibility. The long lines are used to create elaborate expressions, provide precise details or develop complex thoughts. The four short lines act as a summary for the stanza, or sometimes as an antithesis.
Each group of long alliterative lines concludes with a two-syllable word or phrase (known as the ‘bob’). The quatrain that follows is known as the ‘wheel’. The bob and the wheel, the last five lines of every stanza, rhyme to the pattern of ababa. This poetic structure is therefore referred to as the ‘bob-and-wheel’, conveying a sense of repetition and variation.
Another regular feature is where a word that appears in the wheel is sometimes used to open the next bob, contributing to the sense of cohesion in the poem.
PLOT STUCTURE
The meaning of the narrative is not only defined by these formulaic traditions but also by the original shape of a narrative that the Gawain-poet creates.
The frame of the narrative is a quest, a journey to discover an unknown quality of the hero. Therefore, the narrative shape could be assumed to be like that of many other Arthurian legends:
However, although still a quest, the poem’s structure is more like:
The plots are intertwined.
The Temptation and Hunt narratives are inserted into the Beheading Game, while the Exchanges of Winnings are inter-twinned with the Temptations. It is not, however, until we arrive at the Green Chapel that we become aware that the temptations and exchanges are linked with the Beheading Game. What appeared to be an interlude while we waited for the meeting with the Green Knight was in fact the key subject of the narrative. The Beheading Game acts as a symbolic representation of a test that Gawain has already failed. The effect of such an ending has caused some to claim that it is an anti-climax. Such a response fails to appreciate that the symbolic representation allows Gawain to reflect upon and respond to the experiences he has endured. The narrative is not over until he returns to Camelot; until he reveals to the court how he interprets his experience.
