A24’s medieval fantasy The Green Knight features an opening voiceover that’s both poetic and vital in setting the tone for the film – but what exactly does it mean? The Green Knight is a retelling of the 14th-century tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, starring Dev Patel as Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, who accepts a challenge from the titular knight designed to test his courage and his honor. The film is a departure from other modern King Arthur movies, focusing less on the action and more on the magical, mythological, and historical aspects of the tale.
In keeping with this more traditional tone, The Green Knight opens with a brief poetic monologue, delivered as a voiceover:
“Look, see a world that holds more wonders than any since the Earth was born. And of all who reigned o’er, none had renown like the boy who pulled sword from stone. But this is not that king…nor is this his song. Let me tell you instead a new tale. I’ll lay it down as I’ve heard it told. Its letters sent, its history pressed, of an adventure brave and bold. Forever set, in heart, in stone, like all great myths of old.”
For those less versed in Arthurian legend, the voiceover sets up the events of the legend of Gawain and it also highlights that King Arthur is not the focus of The Green Knight. While those points explain the relevance of the opening monologue, its actual importance is somewhat more subtextual.
The mention of “a world that holds more wonders than any since the Earth was born” belies the film’s mythical focus and the use of medieval magic within its narrative, but it also makes no mention of heroics or action, which have long been staples of Arthurian tales. The world that the voiceover hints at is one quite alien to modern audiences, with an emphasis on challenges, games, and visions – something which sets the tone for the film by indicating that it’s a more traditional retelling of the story.
This is immediately evidenced by the titular Green Knight, who refuses to fight Gawain after issuing his challenge. While it may seem like an odd narrative choice, cinematically speaking – forgoing a visually engaging close-quarters battle with an otherworldly being – it actually directly follows the story as set out in the legend, with The Green Knight’s challenge being a test, exactly as it was in the original story. The opening monologue promised to “lay it down as I’ve heard it told“, and it does just that.
Another aspect of the opening scene that proves important is the voice delivering it. The introductory speech is delivered by Alicia Vikander, who actually appears as more than one character in The Green Knight‘s cast. She appears early on as Essel, Gawain’s common consort of choice, but she also appears later on as the Lady, a mysterious, manipulative character who tempts Gawain later in the film. Her dual roles mirror one another – Essel comforts and loves Gawain, while the Lady tempts and unsettles him. Vikander delivering the monologue indicates her characters’ importance to the story – two sides of the same coin that Gawain must overcome in order to complete his quest.
Lastly, the opening scene simply establishes for the film’s audience that the story told has been passed down over generations and that this retelling is both true to, and different from, the original Green Knight poem. Its phrasing, “Forever set, in heart, in stone, like all great myths of old,” manages to explain the film’s roots without becoming bogged down in folklore. It’s a brief distillation of everything The Green Knight is about, and perfectly sets the tone for the fantasy epic, with just a hint of the mythical thrown in for good measure.
