--- title: I have shown elsewhere[a] that the beheading challenge is an inciden… — Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Middle-Englis… · tree and pragmatics description: I have shown elsewhere[a] that the beheading challenge is an incident of very early occurrence in heroic legend, and that the particular form given to it in the English poem is especially interesting, corresponding as it does to the variations of the story as preserved in the oldest known version, t --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66084/1/16/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Mid…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66084/) / [Opening, part 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66084/1/) / 16 # Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Middle-English Arthurian Romance Retold in Modern Prose, Opening, part 1, sentence 16 I have shown elsewhere\[a\] that the beheading challenge is an incident of very early occurrence in heroic legend, and that the particular form given to it in the English poem is especially interesting, corresponding as it does to the variations of the story as preserved in the oldest known version, that of the old Irish \_Fled Bricrend\_. **Who acts:** I, beheading challenge, particular form, challenge, that, story · **What happens:** show, be, give, correspond, do, preserve · **To what, where:** incident, particular form, form, English poem, story, oldest known version This is a sentence of «Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Middle-English Arthurian Romance Retold in Modern Prose» by Jessie L. Weston, Opening, part 1. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (I, beheading challenge, particular form, challenge), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree. **Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong. ## The tree {#tree} ```conllu # sent_id = book:pg66084:1:16 # text = I have shown elsewhere[a] that the beheading challenge is an incident of very early occurrence in heroic legend, and that the particular form given to it in the English poem is especially interesting, corresponding as it does to the variations of the story as preserved in the oldest known version, that of the old Irish _Fled Bricrend_. 1 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 3 nsubj _ _ 2 have have AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 3 aux _ _ 3 shown show VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 0 root _ _ 4 elsewhere elsewhere ADV RB _ 3 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 5 [ [ PUNCT -LRB- _ 14 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 6 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 14 det _ SpaceAfter=No 7 ] ] PUNCT -RRB- _ 14 punct _ _ 8 that that SCONJ IN _ 14 mark _ _ 9 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 11 det _ _ 10 beheading beheading NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 compound _ _ 11 challenge challenge NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 nsubj _ _ 12 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 14 cop _ _ 13 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 14 det _ _ 14 incident incident NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 parataxis _ _ 15 of of ADP IN _ 18 case _ _ 16 very very ADV RB _ 17 advmod _ _ 17 early early ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 18 amod _ _ 18 occurrence occurrence NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 nmod _ _ 19 in in ADP IN _ 21 case _ _ 20 heroic heroic ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 21 amod _ _ 21 legend legend NOUN NN Number=Sing 18 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 22 , , PUNCT , _ 37 punct _ _ 23 and and CCONJ CC _ 37 cc _ _ 24 that that SCONJ IN _ 37 mark _ _ 25 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 27 det _ _ 26 particular particular ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 27 amod _ _ 27 form form NOUN NN Number=Sing 37 nsubj _ _ 28 given give VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 27 acl _ _ 29 to to ADP IN _ 30 case _ _ 30 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 28 obl _ _ 31 in in ADP IN _ 34 case _ _ 32 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 34 det _ _ 33 English English ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 34 amod _ _ 34 poem poem NOUN NN Number=Sing 28 obl _ _ 35 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 37 cop _ _ 36 especially especially ADV RB _ 37 advmod _ _ 37 interesting interesting ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 14 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 38 , , PUNCT , _ 39 punct _ _ 39 corresponding correspond VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 37 advcl _ _ 40 as as SCONJ IN _ 42 mark _ _ 41 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 42 nsubj _ _ 42 does do VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 39 advcl _ _ 43 to to ADP IN _ 45 case _ _ 44 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 45 det _ _ 45 variations variation NOUN NNS Number=Plur 42 obl _ _ 46 of of ADP IN _ 48 case _ _ 47 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 48 det _ _ 48 story story NOUN NN Number=Sing 45 nmod _ _ 49 as as SCONJ IN _ 50 mark _ _ 50 preserved preserve VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 48 acl _ _ 51 in in ADP IN _ 55 case _ _ 52 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 55 det _ _ 53 oldest old ADJ JJS Degree=Sup 55 amod _ _ 54 known know VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 55 amod _ _ 55 version version NOUN NN Number=Sing 50 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 56 , , PUNCT , _ 63 punct _ _ 57 that that PRON DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 63 nsubj _ _ 58 of of ADP IN _ 62 case _ _ 59 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 62 det _ _ 60 old old ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 62 amod _ _ 61 Irish Irish ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 62 amod _ _ 62 _ _ PROPN NNP Number=Sing 57 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 63 Fled flee VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 14 parataxis _ _ 64 Bricrend Bricrend PROPN NNP Number=Sing 63 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 65 _ _ PUNCT NFP _ 63 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 66 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **show** | present · perfect | I | | | | | elsewhere *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 2 | **is a** | present | the beheading challenge | a incident | | | | of early occurrence in heroic legend | tree rules | | 3 | **give** | participle | | the particular form *not said here* | form | the English poem | | | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to it=Recipient | | 4 | **is** | present | the particular form | | | | | especially, interesting *property* | tree rules | | 5 | **correspond** | gerund | the particular form *not said here* | | | | | | vn correspond-36.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 6 | **do** | present | challenge | | | | | to the variations of the story | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 7 | **preserve** | participle | | the story *not said here* | | the oldest known version | | | vn defend-72.3 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent | | 8 | **know** | participle | | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | | 9 | **flee** | past | that of the old Irish \_ | Bricrend | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme bricrend=Initial\_Location | | 10 | **vary** | | the story | | | | | | nom variation «event intransitive»: of=agent | One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree. **Text:** «Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Middle-English Arthurian Romance Retold in Modern Prose» by Jessie L. Weston, Project Gutenberg book 66084 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order. - ← previous: [sentence 15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66084/1/15/) - next →: [sentence 17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66084/1/17/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66084/1/)