The Knight with the Lion (Yvain) - Day Two

Please answer two questions or come up with your own topics for discussion.

1. Gawain gives a speech on pp. 326-327. What is the outcome of this speech (in other words, what does this speech accomplish, for better or worse)? How do you interpret the agreement Yvain then makes with Laudine? What kind of agreement is this? Would you want to accept such an agreement? Why or why not?

2. What is the “build-up” Chrétien employs leading to Yvain’s shame? What is Yvain’s problem? How do you interpret the text here (pp. 328 – 329). Use specific quotes from the text to support your answer.

3. Why does Yvain react the way he does to Laudine’s messenger? Why do you think we have this specific reaction? What might this imply? What happens in the wilderness? Do you notice any changes within Yvain during this part of the romance? What are they? How do you interpret these changes? (And what do you make of his “cure”?)

4. At the mid-point of the romance we have Yvain’s encounter with the snake and the lion. What do these animals represent within the romance (and within popular mythology)? What is the dilemma Yvain faces here (on a deeper level)?