More handpicked essays just for you.
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” Literary Analysis
Symbolism in sir gawain and the green knight
Symbolism in sir gawain and the green knight
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In “Gawain and the Green Knight”, and “Morte D'Arthur”, two knights disobey a grand code which was followed in the middle ages, this code was called chivalry, this behavioral code was mainly followed by knights and nobles who showed; honest, loyalty, and a well-known code for courtesy to women, and respectful nature as the most important is to not have an romantic affair towards married woman. This code was highly valued to the people of England, but the two knights, Sir Gawain and Sir Bedivere both went away from tradition for the their own good and the moral good, but they also shown their good share of chivalry. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” a knight of the round table was challenged by the Green Knight who disrespected his King and the Kingdom on which they reside, after completing the challenge he went in search of the Green Chapel where he would complete the other part of the challenge. Instead, he found lord who gave him refuge inside he’s on castle with one unusual proposition he gave to him, which was to exchange what
The poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, handles the theme of the story “courtesy”; in a very open manner. Courtesy is the showing of politeness in one’s attitude and behavior towards others. Throughout the story, courtesy is displayed many time, at different levels, and in different forms. The main character Sir Gawain, is the best representation of courtesy. Sir Gawain is were polite and friendly towards the other characters that he interacts with in the story.
Knights have always fascinated people with their daring deeds and good manners. In the Pearl Poet’s “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” the Green Knight arrives at King Arthur’s castle to Challenge his Knights, but no one accepts the challenge until finally, Arthur stands up. Eventually, Sir Gawain accepts the challenge and has his reputation challenged along the way. When Sir Gawain became a knight, he promised to live by the Code of Chivalry just like I live my life by a set of rules. My code of honor shares similarities with the Code of Chivalry.
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
During the 3 swings from the axe of the Green Knight, we are able to view several parts of Gawain’s true character. During the first stroke, Gawain flinches and shrinks his shoulders back slightly; clearly fearing the pain his natural instincts tell him accompanies the blade. The Green Knight scoffs at this display of cowardice, exclaiming, “You are not Gawain the glorious, the green man said…and now you flee for fear and have felt no harm” (58. 2270-2272) mocking the brave Gawain’s momentary lack of courage and pointing out the cracks in his character that illustrate his true lack of perfection. During the second stroke, Gawain remains resolute and shows no weakness through the Green Knight’s second feint and Gawain survives the final stroke without so much as a slight nick from the great blade. Gawain proves that although many men strive to live by virtues that allow them to be unfaltering in the face of impending adversity such as the act that Gawain attempts to fulfill unwaveringly.
After Gawain comes clean and acknowledges his sin, the Green Knight praises him for being an honorable and chivalrous knight. He then invites Gawain to a great feast, but Gawain humbly states that he must return to his duties and continue to defend and protect King Arthur and his subjects. Sir Gawain even thanks the Green Knight and wishes him well after this frightening test of honor. He says, "I've reveled too well already; but fortune be with you; May He who gives all honors honor you well," (401-402).
This scar from the Green Knight helped Gawain to realize his faults and the things that make us human in life. As he realizes these imperfections it says, “Gawain stood their speechless for what felt like a century, so shocked and ashamed that his stomach churned and the fire of his blood brought flames to his face and he wriggled and writhed at the other man’s words.” (179). The Green Knight had tested Gawain and by being honest two-thirds of the time, Gawain was allowed to live, even though he would always live in shame from that moment on. Others believed that he was brave and stood up, but Gawain was ashamed while the knights thought he was honorable.
Even though he knows that the consequence of the action is severe, he is ready to face them. The pact that the Green Knight suggested is that whoever cuts his head is going to face the same thing in a year, and most likely encounter his death. Despite this, Sir Gawain moves ahead to demonstrate his commitment through his generous act of saving the King (Beauregard, 146). Friendship is demonstrated in the poem also as Gawain
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.
The Green Knight applauded Sir Gawain for living up to his end of the bargain. The Green Knight swung twice at Gawain’s neck and the first time Gawain flinched and the second time the Green Knight stopped right before his neck. The third time the Green Knight swings the axe and breaks the skin but doesn't decapitate Gawain.
Canto four almost resembles Canto two in the very beginning, especially in terms of themes. That recurring theme of man and the natural world appears yet again in this Canto. The more recurring part having to do with the fact that Gawain has to reenter the forest, but instead of him being scared and alone like he was the first time, he is confident and with an escort. Aside from this, the main focus of this Canto is on the theme of chivalry. The Green Knight praises Gawain for carrying out his quest like a true knight, but he still broke the chivalric code because he wanted to live.
The lines 1550-1553 from the Pearl poets epic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight epitomizes two of the most important virtues of a noble knight, and Sir Gawain, the man the story follows, defines what is a true knight. He holds a place next to King Arthur and the queen as well as exemplifying two of a knights most important virtues. The first being chastity and the second being courteousness, both however, are very much entwined in this tale. Throughout this epic and many other Arthurian legends praised these traits in the knight and as we shall see, Sir Gawain although still very much human, is a master of both. The virtue of chastity is extremely important in Arthurian legend and we can see this from examining Gawain’s shield.
Consider how the theme of courage is treated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a story that celebrates courage in a positive light in the majority of situations but we see that courage can have a negative impact on some of the characters in the story and it questions knighthood. Courage is an honourable term defined “The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery:” (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/courage) and for Gawain to be called this term defines him as a knight. His actions throughout the story makes it difficult to analyse how courage is treated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
While the code of chivalry is intended to reflect concepts created by Christian morality, the real world applications of this code often end up setting the chivalrous at odds with the ideals they seek to uphold. Few stories exemplify this concept more than Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In the beginning of the poem, Sir Gawain is able to act both chivalrously and in accordance with his Christian code of morals. However, as the poem progresses, he is forced to make choices between the code of chivalry, and Christian ideals. Although in the beginning of the poem Gawain is able to satisfy both his chivalric duty and Christian ideals, he is later forced to compromise his Christian values for the sake of chivalry.
To be Chivalrous means that a man must stick firmly with christian values that go far beyond the rules of combat. To be that certain type of chivalry, a knight must be honourable, courteous, and brave. This includes not straying from the belief that God will always bless you and help you in your hour of need. While it is true that Sir Gawain does, through most of the story, exhibit that he is a chivalric knight, it towards the end when he shows the most weakness in faith and code. When he takes the “girdle of immunity,” something belonging to the Pagan side, is when he demonstrates that his faith is not as strong as his armour makes him appear.
