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Sir gawain and the green knight nature
Analysis of sir Gawain and the green knight
Analysis of sir Gawain and the green knight
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English romance poem written by an anonymous West Midlands poet. Sir Gawain, survives two tests: the challenge, to behead the fearsome Green Knight and to let him retaliate a year later at the distant Green Chapel; and the temptation to commit adultery with the wife of Lord Bercilak,whose castle he stays in when headed to the chapel. this story of Sir gawain follows closely with Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. The start of the story takes place in King Arthur’s great hall.
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
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the hero, which in this case is Sir Gawain, must undergo multiple situations
Experiences in life often connect with characters and events in literature. These connections give readers a deeper understanding and comprehension of the text. Such a pattern is Archetypal Pattern which consists of three stages of a journey that the reader can identify in works to further the meanings in the stories. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Y. R. Ponsor, Sir Gawain undergoes such a journey. A specific aspect of this pattern highlighted in this poem is the initiation and trials of Sir Gawain.
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).
Gawain’s Journey What makes a hero? A cape? A villain? A sidekick?
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.
The classic tale The Beauty and the Beast conveys an excellent lesson on how one should never judge a book by its cover. In the story the Beast is an outcast who is judged solely on his physical appearance and unjustly declared to be a menacing monster by society. Due to the way he looks, people automatically assume that he is dangerous and a threat to society. Similar to the Beast, the Green Knight from Gawain and the Green Knight by the Pearl Poet is thought to be a dangerous, supernatural being on the basis of his outward appearance and intimidating persona; nonetheless, In spite of his threatening appearance and other seemingly antagonizing characteristics, the Green Knight is a respectable character with a numerous amount of redeeming qualities that are portrayed throughout the story. On the surface, the Green Knight is an ostensibly dangerous being.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late fourteenth century Arthurian Romance Poem. During the time of Sir Gawain, society was dominated by males with women receiving little power. Women were treated with chivalry, but not respected as beings of their own rights. Knights were prided in having the code of chivalry yet were under the assumption woman could not attain much for themselves.
Canto four almost resembles Canto two in the very beginning, especially in terms of themes. That recurring theme of man and the natural world appears yet again in this Canto. The more recurring part having to do with the fact that Gawain has to reenter the forest, but instead of him being scared and alone like he was the first time, he is confident and with an escort. Aside from this, the main focus of this Canto is on the theme of chivalry. The Green Knight praises Gawain for carrying out his quest like a true knight, but he still broke the chivalric code because he wanted to live.
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.
Literary Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The selection of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows the basic format of the adventure. The author emphasizes communion to show the loyalty and community between King Arthur and his knights. The symbolism behind the relationship between Sir Gawain to humans and the Green Knight to the merciful God further shows the relations of this medieval romance to the Bible.
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.
In "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," the hero's journey enhances the theme of the nature of chivalry. The protagonist, Sir Gawain, is presented as the epitome of a chivalric knight. As he embarks on his journey to confront the Green Knight, he faces a series of trials that test his adherence to the code of chivalry. Through these trials, Gawain learns the true meaning of chivalry - not just outward displays of bravery and honor, but also the internal qualities of humility, honesty, and selflessness. One of the 12 stages of the hero's journey, the "Meeting with the Mentor," plays a particularly important role in Gawain's development as a knight.
A brave person fights their own battles, but a hero helps fight everyone else’s in addition to their own. Beowulf, a character from an epic poem, has the attributes of a hero, while Palamon and Arcite behave in a manner of self seeking benefit, finally Sir Gawain possesses every feature required to make a hero. A hero’s qualities include selflessness in the midst of danger, staying determined to finish the task at hand, and practicing integrity even if no one will notice. Beowulf possesses all the attributes needed to be a hero. As the old king, Beowulf, fought with the dragon his sword shattered and, “The bold fire-dragon.rushed on the mighty man, when a chance offered, hot and fierce infight; he clutched his whole neck with sharp teeth; Beowulf
