In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the author utilized the stanza pattern called Bob and Wheel. In alliterative verse, Bob and Wheel is a section of five short rhymed lines succeeding a group of more extensive unrhymed lines, often at the end of a strophe.
Detailed answer:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English chivalric poem. It is written in the late 14th century, narrating the primary test of Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew. The story reveals the nobility of the protagonist’s character. The poem depicts how Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from the Green Knight. He asks someone present to hit him with an ax, provided that in a year and one day, the Green Knight will retaliate. Although Sir Gawain chops off the Green Knight’s head, he survives. Moreover, he waits for the arrival of Sir Gawain at the appointed time and place.
Meter plays a substantial role in poetry. It provides verse with a melodic and rhythmical sound. In this regard, a stanza usually represents a group of lines that form the basic metrical unit in a poem. The structure of a stanza is defined by the dominant meter, the number of lines, and the rhyme scheme. There are rime royal, bob and wheel, free verse, and octave and sestet among stanza patterns. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the author uses Bob and Wheel. It is typically five rhymed lines following a section of unrhymed lines, frequently near the end of a strophe. The bob is the first shorter line with single stress in the group. The wheel is four lines with three stresses, which follow the bob. Besides, the second and fourth lines of the wheel rhyme with the bob.
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