Sir Gawain and the Green Knight/Ivanhoe by Unknown/Sir Walter Scott

Chivalry and romance have proved to be enduring themes, as evidenced by the proliferation of Arthurian and chivalric subjects in literature, television, and film. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval poem that retells an Arthurian romance. This supernatural adventure questions the moral and chivalric values of its day, and it explores the interplay of human frailty and faith. It provides students a view of the Middle Ages, and it reminds them that literature was an anonymous process that relied on the telling of a story more than the personality of the author or even the originality of the theme.

Ivanhoe is a romance in the medieval tradition, but it is also an illustration of how nineteenth-century society absorbed and adapted the literary, cultural, and social legacy of the Middle Ages. This novel, published in 1819, explores the legends of Richard the Lionheart and Robin Hood framed in a fight for justice and equality played out in a tournament and trial-by-combat. Themes examined in the story include racial and religious prejudices.

About the Series:

Novel/Drama curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with plot summary, background, and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These study guides encourage the development of thinking, reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.