Can you help summarize what King Arthur is trying to say to Sir Gawain in each text.

Question

1. Then the King commanded him to rise and come forward and he stood quickly, walked with stately steps to kneel before the king and claim his weapon. Arthur handed it over and held his hand to give him God’s blessing. With a glad smile he charged him to be hardy in heart.
2. The king then commanded that he quickly should rise, and he readily uprose and directly approached, kneeling humbly before his highness, and laying hand on the weapon; and he lovingly relinquished it, and lifting his hand gave him God’s blessing, and graciously enjoined him  that his hand and his heart should be hardy alike. ‘Take care, cousin,’ quoth the king, ‘one cut to address, and if thou learnest him his lesson, I believe very well that thou wilt bear any blow that he gives back later.’
3. Then Arthur commanded the knight to rise, and he rose up quickly and knelt down before the king, and caught hold of the weapon; and the king loosed his hold of it, and lifted up his hand, and gave him his blessing, and bade him be strong both of heart and hand. “Keep thee well, nephew,” quoth Arthur, “that thou give him but the one blow, and if thou redest him rightly I trow thou shalt well abide the stroke he may give thee after.”
4. So the sovereign instructed his knight to stand. Getting to his feet he moved graciously forward And knelt before Arthur, taking hold of the axe. Letting go of it, Arthur then held up his hand to give young Gawain the blessing of God and hope he finds firmness in heart and fist. “Take care, young cousin, to catch him cleanly,Use full-blooded force then you needn’t fear the blow which he threatens to trade in return.”
5. What do YOU believe Arthur’s advice to Gawain is AND how do you suppose this advice will help Gawain as the story progresses?

Answer 1

In these paragraphs, Arthur is giving his “young cousin” Gawain advice for going into battle. Arthur tells Gawain that he has to be the first to land a blow in any fight. If Gawain can strike “one blow…cleanly” and “with force,” he can incapacitate his opponent and assure his victory.  

Paragraph 1

Arthur is showing favor towards Sir Gawain by presenting Gawain with his weapon and offering him encouragement in his future travels.

Paragraph 2

This paragraph provides an important piece of information: Gawain is Arthur’s cousin. Arthur wishes Gawain strength in “his hand” and courage in “his heart.” Arthur adds that if Gawain takes down his opponent with his first strike, he can protect himself from harm.

Paragraph 2

Arthur reiterates that Gawain should be able to win a fight with a single strike of his sword, and that if he wounds he man he is fighting, he is less likely to be hurt in battle. 

Paragraph 4

Arthur explains further that Gawain must strike hard and fast in battle to take his opponent down before he himself is put at risk. 

Answer 2

In passages 1 - 4, Arthur is encouraging Gawain to be brave and fight his rival (if memory serves, the rival was the Green Knight), with whom he has made an agreement to trade one blow for one blow. He tells Gawain he has God's blessing and that he'll return victorious.

1. This version lacks anything distinguishing it from the others.
2. .In this version, Arthur admonishes Gawain "if you've learned your lesson, you'll be okay."
3. Similar to version 2; in this version Arthur says "if you remember to follow your oath and only swing your sword once, you'll come back just fine."
4. In this version Arthur seems a little more bloodthirsty. He tells Gawain "if you kill him in one blow, you won't have to worry about him hitting you back."
5. In all four versions, Arthur's advice is some form of "be brave and remember your vow."