First, a correction to Hand-out #2, my summary for stanza 66; on the second day, after the Lord presents the boar's head and flanks to Gawain, he bestows TWO kisses (not one).
I am going to combine the "what we did part" with "what you need to do if you missed class today--regardless of which section you are in. There had been slightly different responsibilities on Thursday night.
1. We read the very broad summary in italics at the top of p. 237 in the textbook, and discussed what aspects of the work as a whole are really undercut by such a sweeping and superficial account.
2. For classes which had not done so, we looked closely at the content of stanzas 71-72 (the start of Gawain hand-out #3 for most of you; 1st period had gotten that on Wednesday, but those stanzas were also the start of the longer 71-74 plus 75/77 hand-out I asked people to label Hand-out #3.) Focus here was plot (what happened) as well as continued emphasis on Gawain's politeness and willingness to tell the truth, even if might have made things easier to lie. (Be sure to know what that key issue was).
3. Stanzas 73-74 on the hand-out; pp. 237 and p. 239 in the text. Objects: know what happens; trace the thinking/reasoning of both Gawain and the lady; understand when there is an unstated or more important reason. Also, though most people feel that the translation that appears in the textbook is more clear overall, there are selected spots where students felt that the hand-out version was preferable (better/more effective).
People were supposed to have read farther than this--either finished the hand-out, or have read what was in the book, but in class we did not go beyond Stanza 74. Week-end:
1. Everyone needs to have finished all the hand-out material:
- the rest of Packet #3 (stanzas 75 and 77)
- Packet #4, which is John Gardner's translation of much (not all) of the poem's conclusion
2. Our work on Monday will involve the textbook plus your hand-outs. Be sure to have them all with you.
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