Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Analysis

Beauty during the Medieval times was traditionally based upon ultimate values, with goodness, truth and justice. Ugliness just the opposite of beauty. Beauty and ugliness are profound in a majority of Medieval works of literature and are held with great importance because one's physical appearance and dialect indicated one's morals.

An abundance of scholars indicate that beauty was “formal description of persons, particularly of young women” (Ziolkowski pp.1) In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Canterbury Tales, and Morte Darthur different aspects of beauty are shown. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem of a noble knight who proves his nobility by facing all odds when challenging the Green Knight in the beheading games at

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ugliness in one aspect is demonstrated by the change in scenery. “They scrambled up bankings where branches were bare,/ clambered up cliffs faces where the cold clings./ The clouds which had climbed now cooled and dropped/ so the moors and mountains were muzzy with mist/ and every hill wore a hat of mizzle on it's head./ The streams on the slopes seemed to fume and foam,/ whitening the wayside with spume and spray” (Sir Gawain 2077-2083). The scenic is changing from open beautiful colors to dimness that is cold and dreary. The change in scenery is providing the reader a foreshadowing of what the Green Knight's castle holds, it is unforgiving and not second guessing. Another aspect that ugliness is initially spotlighted is when Gawain dons the green girdle. ‘“Regard,” said Gawain, as he held up the girdle,/ “the symbol of sin, for which my neck bears the scar;/ a sign of my fault and offence and failure,/ of the cowardice and covetousness I came to commit./ I was tainted by untruth. This, it's token,/ I will drape across my chest till the day I die”’ (Sir Gawain 2505-2010). This fragment merely proves that the girdle is a representation of shame for breaking troth, the ugliness source comes from the meaning behind wearing the girdle. Both the change in scenery and the

Cinderella is a tale about when Cinderella’s cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball. She gets some unexpected help from some mice and a Fairy Godmother. Cinderella is a beautiful young girl who is put in grime and rags, her evil stepmother and stepsisters are ugly. They are ugly inside and out, they talk down to Cinderella and require ridiculous tasks from her. Cinderella is beautiful not only because of her lovely ball gown but her strong, loveable personality. The other tale that demonstrates beauty and ugliness is Beauty and the Beast. The title in itself is exactly what one would think the tale is about a beauty and a beast. It's about an arrogant young prince and his servants that fall under the spell of an enchantress, who turns him into a ugly beast until he learns to love and loves in return. Belle begins to bring the cold-hearted Beast out of his funk. Belle is a beautiful young girl, her face shows passion and sweetness, she stands out among the crowd. Her beauty and personality plays a large role in bringing the Beast out of isolation and into a warm-hearted place All of her actions prove she’s altruistic The Beast on the other hand is self-centered in countless encounters, he blames others for his failures He is so ugly he stays hidden in his castle locked away from all socialites. Although