Table Of ContentTULANE STUDIES
IN ENGLISH
Volume XIII
NEW ORLEANS
TULANE UNIVERSITY
1963
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TULANE STUDIES IN ENGLISH
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VOLUME· XIII, 1963
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Editorial Committee: : DirectOT bf Circulation:
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HAkTE& Chairman Lois
RICHARD FOGLE, DEBAKEY
P.
RICHARD ADAMS
p R
ALINE MACKENZIE TAYLOR
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LoIS DEBAKEY .
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13
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191,,3
©COPYRIGHT 1964 BY TULANE UNIVEB.SITY
PUBLISHED BY TB.E FACULTY OF ENGLISH. OF TULANE UNIVERSITY
Price : $3.00
Single volumes of The TulaM Stu.dis, in English may be
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CONTENTS
The Play-Element in Sir Ga,wa,in and the
Green Knight .... .. .. . .. . . .. ....... ROBERT G. COOK 5
•
Donne's "Farewell to Love": The Force
of the Shutting Up . . .. .. .. . . .... .. MARVIN MORILW 83
''A Digression in Praise of Digressions" as a Classical
Oration : Rhetorical Satire in Section VII
of Swift's A Tale of a Tub . ..... . LAMARR STEPHENS 41
Metaphors of Organic Unity in Pope's
Essay on Criticism . ....... RICHARD HARTER FOGLE 51
Meaning and "The Masque of the
Red Death" ......... . .. . JOSEPH PATRICK ROPPOLO 59
Tennyson's "Tears, Idle Tears" .... .. .. . THOMAS J. ASSAD 71
The Image of the Trapped Animal in Hardy's Tess of
the D'Urbervules . . . .. . .. PHILIP MAHONE GRIFFITH 86
From Scepticism to Poetry : A Note on
Conrad Aiken and T. S. Eliot ........... E. P. BOLLIER 95·
CONTENTS OF VOLUMES I THROUGH XII
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THE PLAY-ELEMENT IN
SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
Robert G. Cook
No reader of "the jewel of English medievalism" can fail to
notice its pervasively light and jovial tone. This tale of decapita
tion, temptation, and humiliation not only delights the reader with
its many jests; it also astounds him by offering laughter where
he least expects it, as when the Green Knight has made his exit
from Camelot (11. 463-64), or when Gawain has told his adventure
to Arthur's court (11. 2513-14). As one reads the criticism of
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, however, one gets a more sober
impression. Some studies fail altogether to mention or treat the
poem's lighter elements; others acknowledge them only in passing
to a more sententious statement of the poem's meaning.1 All the
more welcome, then, is a critic like Elizabeth Wright who, after
long and deep familiarity with the poem, writes:
I am inclined to •.. see our author in his lighter mood in
the figure of the Green Knight, the bolde burne ],at ],e
bur6 a6te, the courteous and hospitable host amid a crowd
of retainers and guests, the stalwart country gentleman
of high degree, in the prime of life, with his broad beard
al beuer hwed (11. 843-847). The author who could not
even tell the story of Jonah and point a solemn moral
°"'
lSee, for example, Dorothy Everett, E1111a11• Middle Englillk Litenitut'e
(Orlord, 1955): "The first concern of the poem is thus with conduct; that is,
it is moral in the true sense of the word." (p. 77) "In outlook he [the
Gawain-poet] is as civilized as Chaucer, but sterner, much more of a moralist,
a great deal less of a humorist. But there is humour of a sort in his presenta
tion of the Green Knight's play-acting in Arthur's hall, and in some of
Gawain's rueful remarks." (p. 85)
5
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6 TULANE STUDIES IN ENGLISH
about patience in adversity without little bursts of humor
breaking into the course of his narrative may well have
had - like Sir Bercilak de Hautdesert - a faculty for
wild exuberant joy, which expressed itself in mony w1pe0
(11. 1955-57); in boisterous games where he was the
leader (11. 981-990); and in such shouts of mirth that be
seemed to be almost off bis head (11. 1086-87) .2
These remarks suggest that a sense of humor is basic to the poet's
character and to his method in telling a story. Accordingly, in this
paper I will work from the assumption that it is unnecessary and
even wrong to separate the poem's lighter elements from its more
serious content. By studying the source of the humor in the poem
which I think can best be done in terms of the concept of play
I hope to show that it stands in a certain definite relationship to
the poem's essential meaning.
In my title I have deliberately borrowed the term "play-element"
in imitation of Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens: A Study of the
Pl,a:y-Element in Culture, 3 because I wish to make use of his inter
pretation of play. Huizinga's thesis is that there is a play-factor
in all of the major civilizing activities, from ritual to poetry to
warfare, and his book is largely an analysis of the various aspects
of culture sub specie ludi. Play, be insists at the outset, is not
to be thought of as the opposite of seriousness, but as lying "out
side the antithesis of wisdom and folly, and equally Qutside those
of truth and falsehood, good and evil" (p. 6). To take an example,
in his discussion of ritual Huizinga cites Plato's Laws (vii, 803) :
" 'God alone is worthy of supreme seriousness, but man is made
God's plaything, and that is the best part of him. . .. Life must
be lived as play, playing certain games, making sacrifices, singing
and dancing, and then a man will be able to propitiate the gods,
and defe nd himself against his enemies, and win in the contest.' "
(pp. 18-19) To this Huizinga adds: "The Platonic identification
of play and holiness does not defile the latter by calling it play,
rather it exalts the concept of play to the highest regions of the
spirit." (p. 19) To take another example, in his chapter on "Play
and Contest as Civilizing Functions," he argues-opposing Jacob
Burckhardt and Victor Ehrenberg-that the agon in Greek civil-
2"Sir Ga.wain a.nd tke Green K11igkt," JEGP, XXXIV (1935), pp. 157-58.
3My references are to the English translation by R.F.C. Hull (London,
1949), now available in a Beacon paperback. This translation is based on the
German edition of 1944. The work first appeared in 1938, in Dutch.
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SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT 7
ization is not a falling-off from an earlier "heroic" period, a sub
stitution of play for battle. "There was no transition from 'battle
to play' in Greece, nor from play to battle, but a development of
culture in play-like contest. In Greece as elsewhere the play-ele
ment was present and significant from the beginning" (p. 75).
Huizinga's conclusion is that "real civilization cannot exist in the
absence of a certain play-element, for civilization presupposes
limitation and mastery of the self, the ability not to confuse its
own tendencies with the ultimate and highest goal, but to under
stand that it is enclosed within certain bounds freely accepted"
(p. 211). Huizinga's analysis of play and civilimtion can help
us to understand the play-element in Sir Gawain, and how it gen
erates at the same time both the humor and the seriousness of
that poem.
The first stanza of Sir Gmwain, especially the bob and wheel,
sets the keynote for the whole poem by describing a blend of
the happy and the grave. The lines state of Felix Brutus, the
eponymous founder of Britain, that
On mony bonkkes f ul brode Bretayn he sette
0
wyth wynne,
Where werre and wrake and wonder
Bi sy),e hat wont J,erinne,
0 0
And oft boJ,e blysse and blunder
Ful skete hat0 skyfted synne. (11. 14-19) •
("On many broad banks he establishes Britain in joy, where
war and distress and marvelous doings have dwelt in turn, and
often since then bliss and turmoil have alternated swiftly.") My
translation of "wonder" follows the suggestion of Professor
Adrien Bonjour, who has pointed to the double contrast in this
opening stanza : ( 1) between the destruction of Troy and the
founding of Britain, and (2) between the good and bad times
within the history of Britain itself. He further suggests that "the
double contrast on which this introductory stanza is built subtly
anounces the rapid shift from the 'blysse' reigning in the great
festivities at Arthur's court to the 'blunder' caused by the sudden
•Citations from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in my text are to the
edition by J.R.R. Tolkien and E. V. ~rdon (Oxford, 1925), hereafter referred
to as "TG." Occasional reference will be made to the edition by Sir Israel
Gollancz, with introductory essays by Mabel Day and M. S. Serjeantson,
E. E. T. S. (London, 1940), hereafter designated "Gollancz."
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frightful challenge of the Green Knight, a shift characteristic,
moreover, of the whole adventure with its ups and downs."11 To
carry this a bit further, it seems that in the poem the realm of
Britain, and particularly the time of Arthur, is marked off from
the rest of history by this addition of the marvelous and the happy.
The poem is "framed," it will be remembered, by references to
Troy, from which Brutus fled to England. The Trojan War is
characterized simply by "J,e sege and J,e assaut" (11. 1, 2525), and
the references to Ennias, Romulus, Ticius, and Langaberde and
the activities of the last three as founders of nations, though
humorous, lack something which is in the description of Britain:
only Brutus is "Felix," and only Britain has seen "werre and
wrake and wonder." The last stanza of the poem repeats this in
speaking of the many adventures that have taken place since
Brutus founded England (1. 2524), after the ending of the siege
and assault of Troy (1. 2525). Stanza two makes explicit that
Britain is specially marked by marvels :
Mo ferl yes on ],is f olde ban fallen here oft
Pen in any o],er ],at I wot, syn ],at ilk tyme. (11. 23-24)
Moreover, within the history of Britain, Arthur's reign is the most
outstanding:
Bot of alle ],at here bult of Bretaygne kynges
Ay wat Arthur ],e hendest, as I haf herde telle. (11. 25-26)
6
With this background, in which a certain period of history is sin
gled out and characterized, the poet states his intention :
For],i an aunter in erde I attle to schawe,
pat a selly in si t summe men hit holden,
6
And an outtrage awenture of Arthure wondere .
6 6
(11. 27-29)
The OED is helpful in understanding the word "adventure," which
appears twice in this passage and is an important word in the
poem: "A hazardous or perilous enterprise or performance; a dar
ing feat; hence a prodigy, a marvel" (s.v. adventure sb.11 Both the
).
dangerous and the fantastic are included within the meaning of
'werre and wrake and wonder'," English, Studies, XXXII (1951), p. 72.
II"
~ee also Morton W. Bloomfield, "Sir Gawain and the G-reen Knight: An Ap
iraisal," PMLA, LXXVI (1961), pp. 8-9.
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SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT 9
this word. With regard to danger, we recall that the bold men of
Britain loved to fight ("baret },at lofden," 1. 21) and make trouble
(1. 22). It is typical of this "fayre folk in her first age" (1. 54),
under their "sumquat childgered" king (1. 86), that they enthusi
astically regard the dangerous activities of life as something to
be enjoyed-in short, as a kind of play. With regard to "adven
ture" as "a prodigy, a marvel," we shall examine the attitude of
Arthur's court in a moment.
Now it is the Christmas season, and time for relaxation from
''baret" and "tene." As soon as the New Year's chapel service is
over, the spirit of play is shown to reign indoors:
And sy},en riche forth runnen to reche hondeselle,
3e ed eres- iftes on hi , elde hem bi bond,
0 0 0 0 0
po
Debated busyly aboute giftes;
Ladies la0ed f ul loude, },o0 pay lost baden,
And he },at wan wat not wrothe, },at may e wel trawe.
0 0
(11. 66-70)
The first two lines speak clearly of an exchange of gifts at New
Year's, a custom known to have existed in medieval England. One
of the well-attested meanings for "hondeselle" is "a gift or present
(expressive of good wishes) at the beginning of a new year, or
on entering upon any new condition ..." (OED s.v. handsel sb.2
).
The relationship of this exchange to what follows the busy de
bating, the playful winning and losing-is not immediately clear.
Most probably, all five lines must be taken together, that is, the
gay game of 11. 69-70 is somehow bound up with the exchange of
gifts. Some scholars have detected in this passage a reference to
a kissing game,6 and especially the last lines make this seem likely :
the play is based on the opposition between the sexes, and the man
who won was not angry, the poet tells us with understatement.
Whether the New Year's gifts themselves were the kisses .(as
Grattan and Banks imply), or the exchange of kisses developed
&See C. T. Onions, N', & Q, CXLVI (1924), p. 203; J. H. G. Grattan, RES,
I (1925), p. 486; Cyril Brett, MLR, XXII (1927), p. 455. The editions of TG
and Gollancz avoid this suggestion. TG: "But precisely in what manner these
lords and ladies contended about their gifts, or how the ladies might lose
(68-9), is not known." Gollancz suggests that "he" in line 70 be read "ho,"
for "it hardly consorts with the chivalry of King Arthur's court for a knight
to rejoice at having secured a New Year gift at a lady's cost." This seems to
me inappropriately sober. T. H. Banks, in a note to line 65, suggests that the
"gifts may have been kisses under the mistletoe" (The Age of Chaucer, ed. by
William Frost [Englewood Cliffs, 1961], p. 343).
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out of an exchange of gifts, is matter. for furj;her speculation, once
one decides that a kissing game is. really suggested by the passage.
But of this .there is no certainty, and the most we can say with
conviction is that some game or other of the most trifling sort is
being referred to in 11. 69-70-and a kissing game here would
nicely. anticipate the kissing game in which Gawain later finds
himself. ..
Arthur's custom on such holidays was not to eat
er hym deuised were
Of sum auenturus },yng an vncou),e tale,
Of sum mayn meruayle, ],at he my t trawe,
0
Of alderes, of armes, of o),er auenturus,
0],er sum segg hym biso t of sum siker kny t
0 0
To joyne wyth bym in iustyng, in joparde7 to lay
Lede lif for lyf, leue vcbon o],er,
As fortune wolde fulsun horn, ],e fayrer to haue. (11. 92-99)
Either he will bear a marvelous tale about some "adventurous
thing," or be will witness a life-and-death jousting match. For
Arthur and his court, the alternative here is not so much between
a marvel and a more ordinary event, as between hearing and seeing
an "adventure."8 Accustomed as they were to ''ferlyes," great
marvels and mortal jousts were equally exciting and "adventurous"
-and unintimidating.9 The fact that Arthur, on this high holiday,
will not eat until he hears or sees an adventure of whatever sort
-indicates that he conceived of it as something to be enjoyed, an
entertainment. This completes our picture of the young folk of
Arthur's court: they accommodated war, supernatural events, and
deadly tourneys within their essentially playful attitude toward
life.
TThe Gawain-poet probably appreciated the etymological sense of this word
- "an even game."
SC/. the beginning of Malory's tale of Bewmaynes: "So evir the kynge had
a custom that at the feste of Pentecoste in especial! afore other festys in the
yere, he wolde nat g:o that day to mete unto that he had kerde other aawe of
a grete mervayle" (italics added). The Work• of Sir Thoma• Malorv, ed. by
Eugene Vinaver, O.S.A. (London, 1964), p. 212.
9Gawain's journey to the green chapel (11. 720 ff.) gives additional evi
dence of this. He encounters snakes, wolves, forest trolls, bulls, bears, boars,
and even giants (the Green Knight only appeared to be a half-giant, 1. 140).
Yet all these are simply mentioned in passing; none is singled out as beinir
particularly terrifying, and in fact, the poet tells us that Gawain's struggle
with the cold weather is worse than any of the other combats on the journey
(1. 726).
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