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Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Analysis

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Proposed Additions to the Current Syllabus
The story I chose was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I chose this story because it had a little bit of each of the stories that we have read in class already. I also liked the plot twists in the story especially at the end. I feel that it would fit perfectly with our current syllabus.
During one Christmas, during a time when King Arthur ruled the Britons, there was an amazing feast and the most famous knights in the history of Christendom jousted and sparred. A few days later on New Year’s Day, a stranger entered Camelot. A knight decorated entirely in Green, the size of many men, rode in on a green horse. He wielded a mighty axe and demanded to speak with the noblest among the crowd. King Arthur …show more content…

As they drew nearer, the guide hopelessly attempted to persuade the knight from his doom. Gawain politely refused, as his code of chivalry and honor would curse him if he were to make that choice. He continued alone, until he reached the green chapel. The Green Knight is there, ready to honor their agreement. Sir Gawain bravely kneeled and requested his death. The Green Knight brought the axe down once, and Gawain flinched, and the axe stopped above his neck. The Green Knight disapproved of his cowardice, and Gawain begged that he offer another blow. The Green Knight swung again and deliberately missed. Gawain angrily asked why he held back, and asked if it was not him who had fear in his heart. A third time the axe swung down, and this time the blade made a slight cut into Gawain’s neck. Sir Gawain jumped to his feet, put on his helmet and reminded the Green Knight that the pact was for one stroke, instead of three. The Green Knight laughed and threw off his fearsome disguise. He applauded Sir Gawain’s chivalry and declared him the most honorable man alive. He revealed himself to be the lord of the castle where Gawain stayed, and that it was he who tasked the lady with attempting to seduce him. Gawain was honest with him on the first two days, but on the third he did not offer the silk girdle to the lord. Gawain was punished with the wound on his neck. Sir Gawain was overcome with shame and humility, and prayed to God for his forgiveness. Gawain returned to Camelot, where he told Arthur that he would bear the green girdle as a sign of his failure to keep his promise with the lord. The Knights of the Round Table, declared that they would all wear a green silk girdle, to honor Sir Gawain. The moral of the story warned us of the price of straying from the good path and the value of keeping one's

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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

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Deceitful people can be taken as harmful and evil or wise and necessary. Sometimes it takes a little tragedy or harmful situation to make a person realize a change is needed. Deceitful people have reasoning behind their ways, and it is usually so the other person learns something about him or herself they would have never seen without being hurt. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we see a heavy example of deceit for a reason. Lord Bertilak’s reasons for deceiving Sir Gawain exhibit fruitful ideals distributed throughout the text.

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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).

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The Green Knight raises his ax three times over Gawain's neck to almost scare him to test him, like a sign of strength to intimidate. 4. Gawain does very well with the Green Knight's challenege except when Gawain finally succumbed to the lord's wife's pleas for taking the green sash. He is just as guy who tries his best, so he can make a mistake.

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“And he showed them the scar at the side of his neck, confirming his breach of faith, like a badge of blame… though this I suffered a scar to my skin… So that slanting green stripe was adopted as their sign, and each knight who held it was honored forever, all meaningful writings on romance remind us: an adventure when happened in the era of Arthur, as the chronicles of this country have stated clearly.” (187-189). Through this journey, Sir Gawain’s fall became the knights pride. They honored him for all he had done while Gawain instead soaked up all of his shame and surrounded his life around his one major flaw.

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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.

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In the lines above it is seen that the Green Knight’s head had completely been severed yet he remains unshaved, it is clear now that Gawain has been deceived. Gawain continues to keep his word even though his journey is lonely and dangerous. “ […] Sir Gawain, Gods servant, on his grim quest, passing long dark nights unloved and alone […] With no friends

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Gawain, who had struck a deal with the lord to surrender all things he received during his stay in the lord’s dwelling, fails to do so in the name of self-preservation. The lord’s wife gifts Sir Gawain a green sash rumored to protect its possessor from physical harm. Gawain, recalling his inevitable meeting with the Green Knight, decides to contradict his agreement with the lord and “hid[es] it away from all hands and eyes” (Line 1875). His decision blatantly violated the chivalrous code, “failing a moral test in agreeing to hide the girdle from the husband, with whom he has the prior arrangement to exchange winnings” (West 9).

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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.

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Which led to the Green Knight explaining to Gawain that he is actually the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The first two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as an honest man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawain’s failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because Gawain’s failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not because he's just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him. He leaves Gawain with only a scar and a girdle as a reminder of his very human sin.

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On Christmas day Arthur and the knights gathered together to have a feast, and a strange man walked into the festival. The green knight arrived while the king was celebrating with the knights. The green knight was rich and well taken care of, he had gold around his body and his skin color was green. He challenged anybody at the festival, the challenge was to let him strike three times with an axe. If they let him swing the axe, that person will keep the axe forever.

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As an Expert states, “Critics consider the puzzle of the theme a major asset of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and they continue to debate whether the real test was what happened at Castle Hautdesert rather than the exchange of blows, as well as whether, finally, Gawain passed or failed the tests” (Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism). The reason the critics say this is because they see that the real or possibly the real test was when Sir Gawain was in the castle getting tested by the king which turns out to be the king rather than getting swung at with an axe. Although Sir Gawain was not aware that the king was testing him under these circumstances he did want he had to do even if it meant he was a bit disloyal when taking the green sash. As Sir Gawain states, ‘“There, there’s my fault! The foul fiend vex it” (line 389)!

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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.

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The Green Knight says he "know of the courtesies, and conduct, and kisses" (line 2360). He acknowledges that he 's aware of the kisses he received from his wife, for that is the reason he receives kisses from Sir Gawain. Despite Sir Gawain kissing the Green Knight 's wife, he goes on to say he is "the most faultless fellow on earth" (line 2364). The Green Knight continues to show he 's content with Sir Gawain 's continuous wrongdoing, since he was only acting this way to save his ow

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The tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—a well-known, late 14th century Middle English romance—embodies significant themes. These themes are successfully fulfilled by the influential characters in the story. One of these characters, Sir Gawain—the protagonist of the story and one of King Arthur’s knights—proves to be the hero of the story. Although he humbly denies it, Gawain has a repute of being a distinguished knight and loyal subject. In the story, Gawain is portrayed as possessing the acme of all knightly characteristics, yet, still has several attributes to master.

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