What Are The Similarities Between Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, both Arthur and Bertilak serve as hosts. The positions they have been put in mirror each other. The author mirrors Arthur and Bertilak which ultimately creates a deep comparison of their maturity. At the beginning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Arthur is having a party that Sir Gawain attends. After the Green Knight walks in and offers the game he wants to play, Arthur starts to question the game. He asks “‘you request,’ he countered, ‘is quite insane’” (323). Arthur shows no confidence that he can win the game. Gawain steps in, trying to be polite as possible, and says that he will play the game instead of Arthur which shows that Arthur isn’t a good king. Being a good king takes bravery, intelligence, and likability. Because Arthur didn’t accept the game fairly quickly, it demonstrates that he doesn’t contain a few qualities it takes to be a good king. Also during the party, Arthur was drunk, which again isn’t something to do while hosting a party. The host shouldn’t be drunk while at their own party because that shows his guests he doesn’t care.

Arthur displays a liking for amusement and games when he does not want to eat until he is entertained. The author says,

Arthur exhibits childish qualities because he wants to get drunk at his own party and play games, instead of being respectful and polite. Arthur, not playing the Green Knight’s game, shows he isn’t a good king and that he doesn’t have the maturity to be a good king. Bertilak demonstrates that he has a mature state of mind when he invites Sir Gawain in and says his house is at Sir Gawain’s disposal. He also shows that he wants to entertain his guest with a game before he leaves. Arthur did want to play a game, but he wanted it because he wanted entertainment. He didn’t really care about his