ed there together, Saving Christ's self, the most celebrated knights,
The loveliest ladies to live in all time,
And the comeliest king ever to keep court (23).
The next irony is the arrival of the Green Knight in the midst of these festivities to offer a challenge to Gawain with respect to his worthiness as a man and as a warrior. The horror of the decapitated Green Knight follows, putting a certain end to the festivities, and making necessary a second meeting between Gawain and the Green Knight at the Green Chapel. Severity is intermingled with the joy of the celebration. The battle done and the battle to come are seen not only as a possible source of further joy, but as a great severity as well, with the possibility of grief: "Now Gawain give a thought,/ Lest peril make you pause/ In seeking out the sport/ That you have claimed as yours" (39).
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