How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
'Nevertheless you, O Sir Gauwaine, lie,
Whatever may have happened through these years,
God knows I speak the truth, saying that you lie.' (lines 46-8)
What Guenevere says here appears to be contradictory: she says that no matter what "may have happened" in the past, Sir Gauwaine's accusation is a "lie." How can that be true? Whose version of those past events is the "truth," and whose is a "lie"?
Quote #2
'[...] the sick
Sure knowledge things would never be the same,
However often Spring might be most thick
Of blossoms and buds, smote on me, and I grew
Careless of most things, let the clock tick, tick,
To my unhappy pulse [...] (lines 71-76)
Guenevere realizes that the past cannot be repeated. Launcelot's presence at Arthur's court just reminds her that she is trapped in a loveless marriage. Time starts to work differently for her at this point: it flows past her ("tick, tick") without her being truly aware of it.
Quote #3
'While I was dizzied thus, old thoughts would crowd.
Belonging to the time ere I was bought
By Arthur's great name and his little love, [...]' (lines 81-83)
After Launcelot first arrives at Arthur's court, Guenevere is "dizzied" by her memories of the time before she was married – or, as she puts it, before she allowed herself to be "bought."