"Sir Gowain and the Green Knight" by Anonymous; translated by Marie Borroff

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is an old-English epic poem. The version that I read was included in an old edition of the "Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. 1," translated by Marie Borroff. It is beautifully written, clever and sexy, and among some of the most fun I have had reading epic poems.

Sir Gawain is one of the Arthurian knights. He is also Arthur's cousin, who claimes that he had nothing to show for himself other than his relations to the great king. On a New Year's Eve, a mysterious knight attired all in green to match his complexion shows up at the party in Arthur's court and challenges the attendees to a particular game. Gawain accepted the challenge to protect Arthur, and thus began the adventure of bravery, seduction, and honor.

This I think is a good poem to start with for those who may be reluctant to read epic poems. It is short and thoroughly entertaining. The humor mixed with a dash of eroticism keep things pretty exciting. I know of some high schools that teach "The Illiad" in English classes, and I think this is a much better choice. Why bore the kids to death with tales of war and gore? They get enough of that from TV and games.

This and That

I have been trying to update regularly, but it hasn't been easy with the life I'm living now. I've been working very hard on improvisation, because I don't know how long I will get to do it and I want to make the best out of it. I have made a lot of sacrifices to work on this particular art form, and will continue to do so at least for a while.

But I'm still a literature scholar, and that will never change. This blog is one of the things that help to keep that part of me alive, and therefore I will continue to keep it.

I have been accepted into an MA program at University of Alberta. This is a very exciting news; it had assured me that I'm at least good enough to continue doing this, and that choosing to major in English wasn't a bad idea, since I turned out to be quite decent. While I feel that there are other majors that would suit my fine too, I don't regret my choice one bit. The things I have learned, the people I have met, and the works I had been exposed to are priceless, and I would not trade them for all the world.

If you're new to this blog, welcome. If you haven't been here for a while, say hi. Have fun reading.