Instruction
English 381 Literary Analysis Essay:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Due Thursday, September 26 in hard copy at the start of class. Papers should be 900-1200
words in length. Two notes on formatting: 1) be sure to include the Word Count at the bottom of the final page and 2) all
quotations should be in the original Middle English.
The descriptive language of the pentangle is found throughout the poem. Choose a term from
the list below,
1. consult its Middle English definitions
2. create an argument about its significance, both in terms of the pentangle and (more importantly) in terms of the larger poem:
“Knot” (Alternate Middle English forms: knotez/ knottes)
3. describe the meaning of the words in each part of the poem.
4. Tell the difference between the meaning of the word you think the author using.
5. Always be specific and tell some details.
6. Use quotations from the book.
Two writing tips:
• Thesis: Be sure that your thesis is an argument, rather than observation or fact. (You can
test this by coming up with an alternative thesis to make sure that a reasonable person can argue
against your essay.) The thesis is usually 1-2 sentences in the introduction paragraph.
• Body paragraphs: Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence that introduces its main
claim in support of the thesis. The remainder of the paragraph consists of textual analysis to
illustrate that claim.
Avoid
(1) plot summary (describing the plot isn’t the same as analyzing the
themes and ideas in the text)
(2) long “block” quotations. For a short paper like this, it’s important to keep the length of quotations proportionally short. Only quote the words/phrases you will analyze thoroughly.