In 1916, George Lyman Kittredge's ongoing study of the poem contained extremely valuable research of the sources and analogues of the poem. Many other authors focused on the text, language, and possible authors of the work. In the 1930s and "40s there was a rise of mythic criticism of the poem, as many scholars sought to interpret Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with new knowledge of medieval folklore and mythical traditions. Moreover, it was not until the 1950s that criticism of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight became strictly literary. Unfortunately, even then the poem was read incorrectly as a straight-forward and very prototypical medieval romance. Finally, in the 1960s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reached a climax; and it welcomed an extraordinary flow of criticism. Since then, critics have steadily been writing about the poem, maintaining and proving the modern understanding that this intriguing poem is one of the best and most difficult of all medieval works (Galenet). John Champlin Gardner, Jr. was born in Batavia, New York. He was raised right outside of Batavia in Alexander, New York. He went to school through eleventh grade in Alexander but ended up graduating from Batavia High School in 1951. Gardner earned a Ph.D. at Iowa State University and began his influential teaching career. In addition to teaching, John Gardner wrote many scholarly works. He focused mainly on medieval translations and editions. He wrote a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in 1965. This well respected translation is considered one of the finest and most accurate among the literary world. John Gardner was extremely talented and continuously wrote works of all different genres. He wrote plays, novels, poetry, criticism, and fiction, including Grendel in 1971. He won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1976. Unfortunately in 1982, the great and exciting John Gardner died in a motorcycle accident.
