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Symbolism in sir gawain and the green knight
Symbolism in sir gawain and the green knight
Symbolism in sir gawain and the green knight
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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.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight In the Pearl Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an epic story emerges to reveal a man’s journey of honor, honesty, valor, and loyalty. Throughout Gawain’s adventures in the poem, he discovers and demonstrates his own chivalric qualities. Although he makes a few mistakes along the way he strives to be an honorable man.
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 form of government that takes place during Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is feudalism it’s a cast system that was made up of kings, nobles, knights and peasants. The way feudalism worked was by exchanging land for military service which was then passed down to the peasants who would cultivate the land in return for living on it. In medieval times the knights were expected to be honorable, brave and fight for justice. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is considered a masterpiece that was written back in the fourteenth century. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated by John Gardner talks about the lesson learned by Sir Gawain such as honor, keeping ones word and learning form ones past mistakes.
Ones character is easily established through ones actions. From the opening of the poem Sir Gawain appears to be a brave and noble knight. As it is, Sir Gawain is the one who eagerly leaps up to take on the Green Knight’s challenge thus showing his courage and nobility. Furthermore, he stays true to the agreement with the Green
Courage in her opinion is “A Virtue central to Knighthood” (ALLEN). In the 14th Century, there was a huge public recognition of courage, people wanted to be recognised as possessing it. The Character who possesses the most courage in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is most definitely Sir Gawain
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 was motivated by self-ambition in proving his courage, strength, and heroism through the challenge. The Green Knight’s offer is appealing for Sir Gawain because even if he dies it will be heroic and his journey will become epic. The Green Knight says to Sir Gawain, “that you’ll search me out to the ends of the earth to earn the same blow [and] if you smite me smartly I could spell out the facts of my house and home and my name. ”(lines 395-396, 407-408) The sequence of information that the Green Knight will offer once the challenge is completed foreshadows the journey of Sir Gawain.
Being tested of one’s character. For someone’s character to be truly tested is for something major to happen, that would test one 's honesty, reliability, competence, one’s capability to take blame, one’s ability to persevere, modesty, and one’s ability to control their anger. Gawain was ultimately being tested of his character within the story of “From Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”, through many different aspects that judge one’s character.
The heroic knight in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight manifests many of the characteristics of the chivalric knight and hero. Among them, he proves to have modesty, honesty, commitment, courage, and an even temperament. As the Green Giant said,“You're the finest man that will ever walked this earth./So Gawain indeed stands out above all other knights" (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 335-336). Also, Sir Gawain engages in the activities/plot type that define him as a hero: the call, the journey, the helpers, the final ordeals, and then the life-renewing goal. Although he was almost the ideal model to fit the hero role, Sir Gawain does accomplish a single error while staying in the lord’s household.
Gawain demonstrates courage by accepting the challenge of the Green Knight and taking on a dangerous journey to keep his word “politely take leave of my place at the table and quit without causing offense to my queen” (Armitage 45). For selflessness Gawain puts the needs of his host before his
