Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Pearl; Sir Orfeo

I've never had much of a fondness for poetry. I was usually too caught up in the mechanics to understand or appreciate the story, emotion, or sentiment. That changed when I began to read Tolkien's poetry. For some reason, I got it. This book is a collection of 14th – 15th century poetry that Tolkien studied and translated into modern English, keeping the form of the originals as close as possible. The result in the case of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a phenomenal alliterative tale of morality and courtesy in Arthur's Court. Pearl is a dream-like fantasy of ABAB poetry, and Sir Orfeo is a variation of Orpheus and Eurydice again in ABAB style. I enjoyed them in varying degrees.

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