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There was a some discussion of Gawain in this thread, which might prove useful in discussing the original text. Not questioning the move, but (maybe understandably) Barbelith doesn’t really have an obvious place for oral storytelling does it?
I thought it was a pretty close translation to most of the events and spirit of the poem, although it’s obviously a streamlined adaptation, which means you lose both the numerological significance of Gawain’s virtues, and the specific Christian framework that it’s based upon. Seemed at one point near the conclusion to go a bit squiffy, “bottling out”, “interest” and “mega blow” all felt like they could have been replaced with something a little less modern, especially “big” for “mega”, which would as least continue the alliteration. David Fleeshman was good as the Green Knight, though very reminiscent of Brian Blessed. Overall, very enjoyable though.
Do people think that a very lucid translation from the Middle English is preferable? The cadence and alliteration works very well here, but I suspect that it’ll never be as powerful as the original, and McKellen’s delivery in particular felt… distant and removed. His tone almost suggested a tale told to children, rather than one possessing the immediacy of a relevant moral and a pressing threat. I’m not meaning to needlessly criticise, but I didn’t think the performance was as intense and forceful as the text makes allowance for. Part of me would prefer, I think, a version that was closer to the original language at the expense of some comprehension, as it’s amazing how much clearer the intoned poetry is compared to the written text, but that might just be personal taste.
Oh, and Chew on Fat, the original makes clear (for instance in his holding a spray of holly in one hand and an axe in the other) how much the Green Knight is a figure of duality, warlike and peaceable, rough but genteel, unorthodox and supernatural in appearance but also an embodiment of Christian values, and quite how disturbing that was to the society of the time. But thank you for the link, it brightened up my afternoon no end! |
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