Choose one of the following options for your response paper on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:

1. You have by now been exposed to the critical motifs and themes of the Arthur story (romance, heroism, Guenevere's adultery, chivalry, loyalty and honor, Gawain's knighthood, Arthur's kingship, court life, the emasculation of Camelot, feudalism, etc.).  How are those themes played out in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?  The author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight assumes that you know the basic themes and associations of the story, and he expects you to pick up on subtle cues about those themes and associations.  What does the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight seem to be saying about the atmosphere and character of Arthur's court?  How is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight like the other Arthurian texts we've read?  How is it unlike them?
 
2. How has romance evolved since King Horn and Havelock?  What makes Sir Gawain and the Green Knight a romance?  How is it like King Horn and Havelock?  How is it unlike them?  What has happened to the romance genre?  Is it really fair to lump Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the same genre as King Horn and Havelock?  Does the genre of romance really exist?  If so, what are its essential elements?  If not, why not?

NOTE ON RESPONSE PAPERS: I ask you to type your response papers (so that they are easier to read), but they need not be a perfect, polished product.  Rather, response papers should be just what their name says -- a response.  Think about the question(s) that I ask you to consider; then, write a response.  Don't worry about typos or comma splices or even organization.  Don't worry about answering every question I ask in the assignment.  Just be as specific as you can and get down as much as you can as quickly as you can.  Treat response papers more as a journal entry than as a formal paper.  I don't want a thesis or five-paragraph theme.  Rather, I want an exploration -- as detailed and concrete as possible.  As long as you submit a response paper of suitable length (about 2 pages), detail, and thoughtfulness (and as long as you turn it in on time in the class assigned), you will receive all the points that the assignment is worth.  Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and organization have no effect on the number of points you receive.  (NOTE: If you choose not to submit a response paper for extra credit, you should still come to class prepared to discuss the questions assigned, since we will focus on those questions in our discussion of the reading assignment.)