Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Symbolism Analysis

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In the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the holly branch, the battle ax, and the green sash are used as symbols to represent life and death. When the Green Knight enters the room he “instead held in one hand a bought of the holly/That grows most green when all groves are bare” (L.27-28). The holly branch is green and it represents peace and the beauty of life and nature. The holly branch also has berries and they are poisonous representing death. On the other hand he “held an ax, immense and unwieldy” (L.29). The ax signifies the complete opposite of the holly branch except for the berries. The ax is a symbol for death or conflict. With the Green Knight representing nature himself holding the holly branch and the ax you know