In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the color green is a color that is frequently brought up but not often discussed. The color green was shown throughout the story from the green girdle even the the green chapel. The color green in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight represented the connections that the poem and the characters had to the environment and how the story could be part of another world.
The color green is shown on many occasions. The gigantic man who who interrupted arthur's court was green from head to toe, also instead of having traditional weapons the weapons he held was an axe in one hand and a very large branch in the other. Both of the Knight’s weapons connected him to nature because an axe cuts down trees while a branch is a part of nature. Although his weapons are not green, it still connects because of his connection to nature and nature often being represented by
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The color is also shown when the green girdle is given to Gawain by Lady Bertilak. Gawain rejects the girdle at first but accepts and Lady Bertilak pushes Gawain to accept the gift. The girdle is accepted by Gawain and he wears it when he faces the Green Knight. The girdle brings another meaning to the color green within the story where it represents Gawain’s will to survive at any cost. Once Gawain fails the Green Knight’s test, Gawain decides not to ever where the girdle again as a symbol of his failure. The Green Knight replies to Gawain by saying “a man may hide his misdeed, but never erase it” (2511). This quote from the Green Knight brings an entirely new meaning to the color green. This quote brings the reader to recognize that green also represents a symbol of honor. The reason that this causes the color to bring a new meaning is because once the confrontation is over, all of the men in Arthur's court decide to wear a green belt in honor of Gawain’s