Tag Archives: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

My Three Book Projects

By Robin Bates | Published: May 24, 2018

In which I share my first three sabbatical–I mean retirement–book projects.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Sir Gawai, William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Writing | Comments closed

Trump Drama as Sherlock Mystery

By Robin Bates | Published: February 5, 2018

Trump and the Russian investigation resemble the Sherlock Holmes story “The Five Pips.” But is Trump the secret society doing the killing or the panicked uncle marked out for slaughter?

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Arthur Conan Doyle, Donald Trump, Five Orange Pips, Mary Oliver, Robert Mueller, Rod Rosenstein, Russia investigation | Comments closed

Gawain, Trump and Shame

By Robin Bates | Published: December 15, 2017

Trump and Sir Gawain respond in opposite ways to shame: Trump counterattacks by acting shamelessly while Gawain lets it tie him into knots.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged chivalric code, chivalry, civility, Donald Trump, Edgar Allan Poe, shame, Trumpism | Comments closed

Nature Lit Has Healed for Centuries

By Robin Bates | Published: December 5, 2017

For years my Intro to Lit class has had a nature theme.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Bacchae, Barbara Kingsolver, climate change, environmental issues, Euripides, Flight Behavior, John Keats, Leslie Marmon Silko, Lord Byron, Lucille Clifton, Margaret Atwood, Mary Oliver, Midsummer Night's Dream, nature poetry, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wendell Berry, William Blake, William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Year of the Flood | Comments closed

Will Warm Days Never Cease?

By Robin Bates | Published: October 12, 2017

Changes in climate can cause us to see classic poems in a new light. Case in point: Keats’s “To Autumn.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "To Autumn", Autumn, climate change, death and dying, John Keats, Seasons | Comments closed

Green Knight’s Lessons for Doctors

By Robin Bates | Published: June 30, 2017

An essay I received on “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” from a pre-med student has me thinking of the poem’s useful lessons for doctors. There are several.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Doctors, Medicine | Comments closed

Sir Gawain and Celtic Spirituality

By Robin Bates | Published: October 31, 2015

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” may represent the clash between two strains of Christianity which today we describe as Dominionism and Green Christianity. The 14th century poem definitely comes down on the green side.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Christianity, Dominionism, Environment, Green Christianity | Comments closed

Puck’s Summer Magic

By Robin Bates | Published: June 22, 2015

“Midsummer Night’s Dream” dips into ancient British legends about the mystical aspects of midsummer.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged A. S. Byatt, Children's Book, E. Nesbit, Midsummer Night's Dream, Midsummer Night's Eve, summer, summer solstice, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

How Fantasy Saves Our Souls

By Robin Bates | Published: April 13, 2015

Great fantasy can always be seen as oppositional, pushing against prevailing modes of thought and opening up portals into new human possibilities.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Age of Reason, Bacchae, Don Quixote, Enlightenment, Euripides, fantasy, Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Miguel de Cervantes, Scientific Revolution, Tracks | Comments closed