Commentary
The poem is significant as a retelling of the loathly lady episode, which hearken back to a common motif in earlier literature, attested earliest in Irish. The closest analogue is the medieval The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. A similar bride is found in "King Henry", Child Ballad 32.
The positive view it expresses of Gawain, who is willing to marry the woman who saved King Arthur despite her hideous looks, is not a common feature of Arthurian literature at the time. It is often noted that Sir Gawain breaks the spell by giving her her own way, as in the riddle.
Read more about this topic: The Marriage Of Sir Gawain
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