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Use Of Satire In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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The Aurthian legends of chivalry and courtly love are archaic. Chivalric code includes being a courageous knight that is willing to sacrifice himself for his king; to be strong during all battles and have integrity in all situations. Courtly love refers to an unattainable love between a knight and a married woman. Although polite and courteous, the knight may only win a kiss from the lady in the end. With that, satire is used today as a way to make fun of these outdated themes. Olden times like the Medieval Era began around 476 A.D. and ended between 1400 and 1450. Although that period ended over 6,000 years ago, we still see these ideas in the literary and film industry today. In both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and in the film, First …show more content…

The idea of chivalry shown in both SGGK and First Knight is satirized in Monty Python. In the beginning of SGGK, the Green Knight challenges King Arthur to a beheading game. Sir Gawain, one of his knights, says to him, “let this adventure be mine” (3). Sir Gawain does not hesitate to volunteer to take the king’s place. He does not think King Arthur should accept any challenges while there are many courageous knights beside him. His willingness to sacrifice himself for his king proves he is a brave knight. These chivalrous acts of courage are satirized in Monty Python. A few knights bring their king to a cave to show him a bunny that they believe to be dangerous and deadly. When the bunny starts to brutally murder some of the knights, the rest of them run away, as an attempt to save themselves. This satirizes chivalry since the knights do not want to sacrifice themselves for their king. In addition, it shows that they are not …show more content…

The king and his knights wake up early one morning to go on a hunt for a boar. While they are gone, the lady of the castle goes to Sir Gawain’s room. On her way out, “she kissed him,” (12) and then was on her way. Because the lady of the castle is married to the king, the love shared between her and Sir Gawain must stay a secret. Although they just met, he is very polite to the lady and wins a kiss from her in the end. Monty Python makes fun of these ideas, satirized by Lancelot and a bride. Lancelot discovers a note that explains that someone is imprisoned and needs help escaping. He completes deadly tasks in order to reach the lady. After arriving at the castle, Lancelot rapidly looks for the lady, only to kick a bride in the stomach. This mocks courtly love because knights are supposed to be very polite towards the lady they love. In the film, the queen, Guinevere, is in danger because of the villian, Malagant. Lancelot goes to battle with him to help protect her and save her. Lancelot hardly knows Guinevere because he just met her. He was completing a dangerous act to get her to notice him. These acts of courtly love are ridiculed in Monty Python. Lancelot performs several dangerous acts after reading a letter from an imprisoned person. He is committing these acts as an attempt to win the lady’s heart. When Lancelot makes it to Camelot, he discovers a man. This

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However, what some people don’t really realize is that though calling a certain time Camelot sounds pleasant and fairy tale like, it really wasn’t as wonderful in the time of Arthur as it seems. Though King Arthur was a strong ruler with a beautiful castle, a large kingdom, and a panel of loyal knights, not everything was as fantastic as we would like to think. Mrs. Kennedy meant the term Camelot as a positive, assuring phrase, but as the Arthurian age and Camelot had many issues, so did the Kennedy presidency. First of all, though Arthur’s knights were mostly loyal, two of his most trusted knights committed the highest acts of disloyalty. Sir Lancelot, though one of the most noble and famous knights there was fell in love with Arthur’s wife, Guinevere.

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Pathetic jokes like that were used all along the flick’s storyline. Monty Python ridicules the institution of the code of chivalry in the film with both people and animals. As mentioned before, coconuts were used instead of the knight’s horses. Back in the Middle Ages, for a knight and even a king, the horse was crucial in transportation and defense against enemies.

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In a more accurate depiction of Arthurian lore, Lancelot's individualist qualities and nomadic background would have been down played and his purely chivalric nature would have played up. There is one film, however, that does look to portray chivalry is a more historical light than First Knight and King

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The weakening of the two friends’ relationship leads Lancelot to feel guilt for weakening the friendship, and leads to him asking Guinevere if they should tell Arthur. He tells Guinevere INSERT QUOTE. White shows this mistrust because it how temptation to do wrong can result in the destruction of friendships. Lancelot and Arthur both know that their trust and faith in one another has been broken, but they continue to deny that they have permanently damaged their friendship. Their relationship represents more than the struggle to maintain a strong friendship.

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During the Medieval times chivalry was one of the most important characteristics a knight could display. Chivalry was viewed as a moral obligation that involved bravery, honor, respect, and gallantry. Knights were expected to uphold this code or face social consequences for any infractions, with punishments ranging from humiliation to termination of their knighthood. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” presents the struggles knights faced with honoring the chivalrous code at all times. Sir Gawain, while imperfect, exhibits qualities expected of knights and embodies the internal struggle between honoring the chivalrous code and giving into selfish desires.

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Chivalry has many features that shape a knight, however the virtues that Sir Gawain presents the most are courage and honesty. One time when Gawain showed honesty and courage is when he went to fulfill his deal with the Green Knight. The guide leading Gawain to the Green Chapel told Gawain that he should run and that no one would know about his Failure to keep his promise. But Gawain said he must fulfill his deal: “But however heedfully thou hid it, if I here departed,/ faith in fear now to flee, in fashion thou speakest,/ I should a knight coward be, I Could not be excused./ Noy, I’ll fare to the chapel, whatever chance may befall” (85.13-16).

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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.

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The lines 1550-1553 from the Pearl poets epic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight epitomizes two of the most important virtues of a noble knight, and Sir Gawain, the man the story follows, defines what is a true knight. He holds a place next to King Arthur and the queen as well as exemplifying two of a knights most important virtues. The first being chastity and the second being courteousness, both however, are very much entwined in this tale. Throughout this epic and many other Arthurian legends praised these traits in the knight and as we shall see, Sir Gawain although still very much human, is a master of both. The virtue of chastity is extremely important in Arthurian legend and we can see this from examining Gawain’s shield.

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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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“Defend the weak and innocent”(chivalry code), is one of the many codes that Sir Lancelot followed. In the film, Sir Lancelot helped Gwynevere escape from Malagant’s men as they jumped her carriage. From there him and Gwynevere had a spark that they found difficult to hide due to their circumstances, so both of them had to exhibit self control around each other.

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In every good story, there is a brave, daring, noble person, who will do so much for others; and in this story that person is Lancelot. In The Story of King Arthur by Robin Lister, Lancelot, a courageous knight, is always up for a challenge. He is constantly risking his life for others and is extremely loved for that. Lancelot is truly heroic for protecting the people of Camelot when evil draws near and going to the court of the fisher king. Everyone once in a while, trouble arises in Camelot, and Lancelot has always been good with protecting the people while they're facing danger.

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Lancelot is used in a similar manner to Arthur, being the “noblest” and “truest” knight of Arthur (Idylls – Gareth and Lynette), as well as “first intournament” and as such strong and skilled in battle (Idylls – The Coming of Arthur). Lancelot is of high moral character and of high nobility, and thus is a character to be admired and looked up to on a physical and moral level. On the other hand, as his relationship with Guenivere ‘corrupts’ him, he loses these traits and his position of the strongest knight in Arthur’s court (and is expelled from the court as well), leaving behind nobility and honor. In the end this affair is characterized as Lancelot’s fatal flaw and the sole reason why he is not the perfect

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Rather, seeing Sir Lancelot, entices her to look outside where she is to witness reality, what is truly Camelot. Within this castle she is composing art of the idealistic world that displays in the magic mirror, symbolizing the attic, till she is to come outside lying in the boat as an art piece of her own, symbolizing the cellar of reality. Furthermore, Sir Lancelot comprises much beauty through generic necessities. “The helmet and the helmet-feather, burn’d like one burning flame together” (Tennyson 93-94) exemplifies a helmet, a necessity of a knight’s safety ornamented with a feather to create beauty. On Sir Lancelot’s shield lays a picture of a knight kneeling to a lady.

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Lancelot was informed that Queen Guinevere was awaiting him in a nearby castle, which he rode off quickly to meet her. Due to the enchantment, Lancelot saw Queen Guinevere within the castle. Seeing Queen Guinevere, the woman he loved, he made the decision to sleep with her. Lancelot’s decision to sleep with the woman who he thought was Guinevere demonstrates this willingness to attempt to betray King Arthur and commit adultery. Lancelot physically saw Guinevere and chose to commit an adulterous act.

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And so it was. The neighbouring monarch granted Arthur his freedom. And Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding. The honeymoon hour approached and, Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom.

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