Sir Gawain and I share many of the same beliefs, our respect for God is just one of them. My final similarity between my code of honor and a knight’s Code of Chivalry is that we share the belief that you should always be truthful. A knight swears at all times to speak the truth just as I believe that honesty is the only option. Sir Gawain told the truth by giving the king the kisses he had received no matter how embracing it was to him (4).
The main theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the journey to maturity of Gawain, the hero. During the passage, Gawain goes through three tests on his development. First, Gawain shows courage and resourcefulness when he volunteers to take the Green Knight’s challenge instead of Arthur doing so. Second, Gawain shows authority, self-restraint, and integrity when he denies the sexual endeavours of the lady of the house. Lastly, Gawain shows bravery when he faces death by keeping his meeting with the Green
The audience feels a sense of relief for King Arthur because although he possess an adequate amount of skills and knowledge to sever the head of the green knight, he is not the one who has accepted the challenge of slaying the green knight. Conversely, he is the one who encourages Sir Gawain to sever the head of the green
Sir Gawain takes knighthood to a deeper level and continues to see his knightly duties and responsibilities as they blatantly are verses getting hot-headed, dramatizing a situation, and uprooting his
In 2003, the motion picture, Kill Bill Volume 1, debuted in theaters. Set to a backdrop of bloodshed and violence, the film offers 112 minutes of savagery, as the main character attempts to get back at every person who has wronged her in the past four years. Kill Bill is only one of the many films in which violence is the number one attraction. “Kill or be killed,” seems to be the overarching motto, as millions of moviegoers flock into theaters each weekend to watch as characters fight to the death. In contrast, violence portrayed on the silver screen is no longer acceptable outside of the theater.
Sir Gawain shows loyalty and humility when he makes the decision of honoring the promise he made with the Green Knight. This humility drives him to set off to pursue the Green Knight to honor the pact they agreed on. On his arrival at the Green chapel, he calls the Green Knight who emerges to greet him and to fulfill the terms of the contract (Cathell). Sir Gawain presents his neck voluntarily to the Green Knight who feigns two blows (Cooke 4). This is a commitment and a sign of piety that Gawain manifests.
In this time period a knight’s honor was everything, without it the noblemen would become a huge disgrace. Sir Gawain’s honor is immediately tested at the beginning of the poem. He gives his word in the beheading game and intends to keep it even though it’s obvious that the Green Knight had tricked him. “Blood gutters brightly against his green gown, yet the man doesn’t shudder or stagger or sink, but trudges towards them […] gripping his head by a handful of hair. Then he settles himself in his seat with the ease of a man unmarked” (429-439).
During the Medieval times chivalry was one of the most important characteristics a knight could display. Chivalry was viewed as a moral obligation that involved bravery, honor, respect, and gallantry. Knights were expected to uphold this code or face social consequences for any infractions, with punishments ranging from humiliation to termination of their knighthood. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” presents the struggles knights faced with honoring the chivalrous code at all times. Sir Gawain, while imperfect, exhibits qualities expected of knights and embodies the internal struggle between honoring the chivalrous code and giving into selfish desires.
Early on in the tale, Sir Gawain shows courage when he steps up and accepts the Green Man's challenge well knowing of the chance of Death. By doing so Sir Gawain surpassed his fear of death by stepping up to do a mission none of the other knights at the round table wished to do. His reasoning for this was to take the place of his uncle, King Arthur who was originally the chosen participant after none of the other present knights volunteered. After chopping off the head of the Green Man, Sir Gawain is told that he must go to the green chapel in one year and one day to meet the Green Man. Sir Gawain fearful of death debates whether or not he will set journey to the green chapel at that time yet his courageous characteristics force him to go.
In FITT i, the Green Knight mocked and laughed at this “best castle and brotherhood” when no one stood out to accept his challenge. On the one hand, he enraged them to lure them into his “Beheading Game”; on the other hand, he was also “putting their pride on trial.” Soon, Morgan le Fay succeeded for the first time—hearing Green Knight’s words, “Arthur saw red and his men hurt.” At the end of “Beheading Game,” realizing that Bertilak had known the secret of the green girdle, Gawain cried, “But tell me what it takes to clear my clouded name” (2387-2388); the reputation as a Round Table knight was important to Gawain. At last, Gawain realized his sin and he said, “But when praise for my prowess in arms swells my pride, one look at this love-lace will lessen my ardor” (2437-2438).
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK) is full of different symbols that add to the meaning of this paradoxical play. From beginning to end, symbolism used throughout in order to convey meaning. The Pearl Poet, a paradoxical author, uses a contradicting marvel in order to teach the reader a great lesson through symbolism. Bursting through the door, with a holly branch in one hand and an axe in the other, the giant Green Knight presents a game full of paradoxical contradictions to the Knights of the Round Table. The Green Knight says that someone must hit him with axe and if he survives that person must wait twelve months and one day till he returns a blow.
Sir Gawain and the Green depicts this importance of faith by testing Gawain’s moral and knightly code. Gawain is the epitome of what a knight ought to be, with a strong moral code and an unquestioning faith, which he proudly displays on his shield with the Virgin Mary painted on the inside and the Pentangle on the outside. This faith is soon meet with a test the castle of the lord and his once strong faith in God falters. While Gawain is able to remain innocent when it comes to the seductive ways of the lord’s wife, he is unable to stop himself from accepting her magical girdle that would protect him against any harm, even though it is in opposition to both his faith and his loyalties. Gawain comprises his morals due to fear about his impending encounter with the Green Knight and he give into his fear and takes the magical protection the girdle offers.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written by an unknown author the story follows the knight Sir Gawain when he takes up the beheading challenge of the Green Knight. Gawain is to strike the Green Knight with an axe and the Green Knight is to return the favor in a year and a day. This story has elements of chivalry, Anglo-Saxon values, and characteristics of medieval romance. Chivalry is a code of honor that knights are supposed to follow. Gawain knows that he will surely die is he honors the challenge he made with the Green Knight, however chivalry requires that a knight can not refuse a challenge.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, composed by an unknown artist, is a medieval story that follows the tale of a knight who embarks on a journey after being issued a challenge from a mysterious green stranger. During his quest, Sir Gawain, the knight, stays at a castle in the wilderness and is housed by Lord and Lady Bertilak, both of whom test his chivalric code and his Christian ideals. Lady Bertilak is a seductress and tempts Sir Gawain, though he refuses all her advances, with the exception of her kisses. Lord Bertilak is the mysterious green stranger, known as the Green Knight. Once Sir Gawain completed his task, he discovers that Morgan le Faye, a witch scorned by King Arthur, orchestrated the entire challenge in the hopes of causing King
The challenged of the Green Knight confronted the court and Gawain’s reputation in a way that no one could have predicted. The people at the court along with Gawain lived in an ideal world where they know what to expect all the time. However, the appearance of the Green Knight awakened everyone into a new sight as he challenged the controlled space of the court. The people at the court were stunned when they first saw the Green Knight. They noticed his ideal characteristics before they recognized his greenness.
