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Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Vs Beowulf Essay

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In the writings of English literature both attributes and imperfections reflect the heroes values in culture. Along the hero's journey they gain knowledge from wrong to right, where the reader also follows along the quest of reinforcing proper cultural values. In the Late Middle Ages for instance, their honorable deeds and religious beliefs, pagan and Christianity, were highly practiced as an importance to their lives. In Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight both reflect these beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons and Middle-English while others stand in firm contrast, which can be viewed clearly through an archetypal study of the heroes in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf travels to Heorot because …show more content…

Gawain’s resemblance of Christianity portrays his honor towards Camelot he was willing to fight for. On the journey to the Green Knight, Sir Gawain’s mentor is actually the beast who teaches Sir Gawain the importance of chivalry and honesty through a series of tests and trials. Beowulf departs on his journey to Daneland to prove his strength to defeat Grendel to Hrothgar (Beowulf, lines 210-228). While on his journey to Daneland a guard stops him asks, “What kind of men are you who arrive rigged out for combat in coats of mail, sailing here over the sea-lanes in your steep-hulled boat?”(Beowulf, lines 236-240) where Beowulf replies,”We have arrived here on a great errand to the lord of the Danes”(Beowulf, lines 270-271). Hrothgar, Beowulf's mentor, accepts Beowulf's request to defeat Grendel, however teaches the importance to resist being boastful because it will lead to a life that is not gracious (lines 1419-1420). The writings of the Anglo-Saxons in Beowulf, portrays pagan religious beliefs that fate will unwind as it must (line 455), compared to the Middle English writings which conveys Christianity beliefs connected to

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According to the hero’s journey there must be a theme, a message the author is trying to get across through the hero’s trials and experiences. The characters in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight play the largest role in getting this theme across to the reader and to Gawain. The idea that being honest and chivalrous is the best way to lead

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Take what I leave, Wiglaf, lead my people, help them; my time is gone.” Sir Gawain shows that he has loyalty by stepping in for King Arthur in the Green Knight’s challenge, instead of Arthur risking his life. This is stated when Sir Gawain says “ I beseech you, sire, let this game be mine…… and let it fall to me.” This is just one of the two heroic qualities that Beowulf and Sir Gawain share. The other trait that they both share is courage.

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The idea of a hero is explored differently in the ancient Anglo-Saxon text Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel. During the time period of both of the stories being a hero is very important to everyone. Beowulf is not a true hero, even if he tries to make himself out to seem like a true hero, based on modern ideas of the Hero. In the poem Beowulf being a hero is very important to the main character Beowulf.

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Beowulf shows a fair amount of bravery in his titular epic. The difference between Beowulf’s bravery and Sir Gawain’s is how his antagonist was already well known and he knew what he was facing, while Sir Gawain’s is not well known and he was going into the situation blindly.. Knowledge prior to battle is relevant because it is less daunting to go into battle with a beast that is well known and predictable, rather than an unpredictable green giant that shows up out of nowhere. In “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” the author states “Amazement seized their minds, no soul had ever seen a knight of such a kind— entirely emerald green” (Armitage 242). Sir Gawain stepped up to participate in the beheading game with the Green Knight not knowing what he was capable of.

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Writers of every era and every culture have always been influenced by their surroundings, whether that be the landscape itself or the deeply held beliefs of the people living there. These elements come across in their writings, one of the most commonly seen belief or value that can be found in Early British Literature is Christianity. While most of Britain was once occupied by pagans, after the conversion to Christianity these Christian themes can be found penetrating through every era of literature. The Old English epic poem, Beowulf, draws on Christianity to rationalize some of its supernatural elements, turning the pre-conversion myth into a lesson on faith. The Middle English romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, uses mysticism and

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whose author is unknown, is an Arthurian Romance/Epic that holds a degree of Christian symbolism. These Christian symbols are intermixed with Britannic Pagan traditions and themes in order to appeal more to the common British people at the time of the early Christianization of Britain. This can be supported by the stories of kings being created in the earlier centuries throughout history. In this particular story, this symbolism is important since all the knights of King Arthur’s Court were supposed to follow a certain chivalrous code of conduct, whether present in the courts or away on some other venture. The chivalric code being the embodiment of Christian virtue and valor, which was expected to be personified

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Based on my findings, I can hypotheses that the Anglo Saxons and the people of the Middle Ages hoped for protection by their royalty, feared the unknown, valued the code of chivalry, and had a hard everyday life. “Beowulf” introduced the idea of the Anglo Saxons hope for protection as the hero of the story be the King of the Geats, and the people of the time, hoped their king would protect them just as Beowulf did. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” introduced the value of the code of chivalry and a hard everyday life when Sir Gawain took King Arthur's place to play the Green Knight’s game, along with no other knight for the fear of the unknown giant, and then later told Sir Gawain’s daily work at the King’s home. Based on my findings, I can

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Beowulf took place in the sixth century, in times where “rank and ceremony, human solidarity and culture” were key components of social culture. Glory also played a huge role: “veterans with their tales of warrior-kings and hero-saviours from the past [rubbed] shoulders with young braves,” influencing the latter to strive for greatness (Heaney). Heroism and sacrifice are part of what “gave drive and sanction to the Germanic warrior-culture enshrined in Beowulf” (Heaney). Christianity played a large part in both Germanic society and the poem Beowulf.

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Beowulf risked his life multiple times by battling Grendel and Grendel’s mother to save the people of Denmark. He also embarks on a battle with a dragon as an old man ascending on the Geats Throne. Each battle Beowulf fought has all been for the safety of his people. Although the Knight did not battle as a deed for his people, he also is viewed as a humble person his battles were for a purpose greater than himself. The knight never talks about his brave and valorous deeds.

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