Your storytelling prowess must have improved enormously as nothing here is anything like a children’s tale!! What a wonderful tale nonetheless and I’m now off to read it in its entirety!
Ah, thank you so much, Tod. Sadly, my father is no longer with us but he did live to the ripe old age of 94 so, as he would have said himself, he had a good innings. Indeed, he was very proud when I began to get published, stories, reviews, a novel etc. and did all in his power to support and encourage me. Late in life he developed a love of poetry so he and I attended many poetry readings together, evenings we both enjoyed very much.
He would be glad and grateful, as I am, that I had found such a diverse and informed community of enthusiastic readers here on Substack.
Good point Laurence and a great summary of the forces at work in the story. The natural world is everywhere in the poem, which is part of its magic. The Morgan la Fey connection is interesting. Even the word green today has new connotations making the poem all the more relevant for us.
The Green Knight is an apparition symbolizing the forces of nature and pagan elements. Green lore is associated with decay and rebirth, representing balance and harmony with nature that the characters must understand and respect. Morgan Le Fey, associated with fairy lore and pagan spirits of nature, is suggested to be the magical force behind the story's events. The green tunic also symbolizes the natural lore of the world before the arrival of Christianity.
Your storytelling prowess must have improved enormously as nothing here is anything like a children’s tale!! What a wonderful tale nonetheless and I’m now off to read it in its entirety!
Ah, thank you so much, Tod. Sadly, my father is no longer with us but he did live to the ripe old age of 94 so, as he would have said himself, he had a good innings. Indeed, he was very proud when I began to get published, stories, reviews, a novel etc. and did all in his power to support and encourage me. Late in life he developed a love of poetry so he and I attended many poetry readings together, evenings we both enjoyed very much.
He would be glad and grateful, as I am, that I had found such a diverse and informed community of enthusiastic readers here on Substack.
For me, Aisling, the most powerful story here is about you and your father. Wherever he is,
how impressed and proud he would feel experiencing your great passion and erudition on these sundry Green Things of literature. Wonderful.
Good point Laurence and a great summary of the forces at work in the story. The natural world is everywhere in the poem, which is part of its magic. The Morgan la Fey connection is interesting. Even the word green today has new connotations making the poem all the more relevant for us.
Here is another take:
The Green Knight is an apparition symbolizing the forces of nature and pagan elements. Green lore is associated with decay and rebirth, representing balance and harmony with nature that the characters must understand and respect. Morgan Le Fey, associated with fairy lore and pagan spirits of nature, is suggested to be the magical force behind the story's events. The green tunic also symbolizes the natural lore of the world before the arrival of Christianity.