A Comparison Of King Arthur In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

gender role. The Lady’s role questions traditional presumptions of the roles of women in medieval literature. Women of the Middle Ages were generally dependent, inferior, and many female portraits in medieval texts did not fare better. While men of the Middle Ages were generally chivalry, valiance, noble and honest. Throughout the poem I began to see gender roles being reversed between Lady Bertilak and Sir Gawain.

A close reading of the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reveals a very antifeminist view. The poem, told in four parts, tells of common medieval folklore. The stories seem to be of different plotlines, but start to intersect in interesting ways – that is, the character of Morgan Le Fay begins to frame the stories together. The half-sister of King Arthur, she holds intense hatred for her half-brother and his court. It is her thirst for the downfall of Camelot that makes this character infamous, and, surprisingly, her success and the strength of her ability that give a bad name to women. Through the examination of Morgan Le Fay’s character, it is clear that a successful woman is always an illusion.

In two stories there is a code that knights follow. Chivalry is the code that they follow. The code says that a knight should be a brave warrior, a good christian, and selflessly fighting for justice. The knights are supposed to fight for their king and queen. In the stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and from Morte d’Arthur they show the idea about chivalry.

“The Middle Ages designates the time span roughly from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance and Reformation” (“The Middle Ages”). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the thirteenth and fourteenth century, along with Morte D’Arthur. Both medieval epics exemplify bravery and courage as their themes. “The only universal European institution during the Medieval Era was the Catholic Church which had all the local power within the local bishops” (Sagona). The church saw itself as the only spiritual place of Christian believers, thus it had a large amount of influence on Medieval people, including knights. Christian roles and the act of chivalry played a part in becoming a knight in the Medieval Era that can be seen in

     An act of chivalry is described as the qualifications or character of the ideal knight. Knights were expected to uphold this code of conduct. In the English literature Le Morte d?Arthur, French for ?The Death of Arthur?, by Sir Thomas Malory, the characters display acts of chivalry from beginning to end. Though the code of chivalry contains many qualities or acts, nevertheless bravery, loyalty, and courtly love are demonstrated more throughout this literature.

King Arthur and his knights are having a Christmas feast which lasted until New Year’s Day. The feast is in the castle of Camelot where the people of the Round Table gather. Sitting next to Arthur is his Queen Guinevere who is seated by Sir Gawain. A nephew of the king. Not long when everyone is sitting down to eat, the Green Knight shows up. He is massively big with entirely emerald green from head to toe and elegantly dressed in embroidered cloth and jewels. On one hand he carries a sprig of holly and the other hand an axe that’s at least 45 inches in length while riding on a green horse from hoof to mane. Refusing to join Arthur’s feast, the Green Knight challenged King Arthur to a duel. However, Sir Gawain stops the King from accepting

When talking about a morally ambiguous character, many ideas may float to mind. Perhaps a Dr. Jekyll type of person will pop up in your mind, or maybe just simply a person who doesn’t let morality get in the way of their ambitions. For a character to have a sense of evil present in them, it is not necessary for them to walk around with an ominous laugh, or anything comical in those lines. Similarly, for a character to have a sense of good, it does not mean they have to be perfectly correct either. In order to put the morally ambiguity into perspective, it is necessary to analyze the presence of both good and evil into a real character, and how it affects the story as a whole. From the Pearl Poet’s chivalric romance, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, Sir Gawain is an excellent example of a morally ambiguous character. In the poem, Gawain’s purely good image was shattered when he cut off the Green Knight’s head, since he took the game as a challenge. That event could be considered as the event that set the plot into action, as the following events are all resulting from Gawain’s action. However, Gawain symbolizes good by initially embracing the knight's moral code in accepting the challenge and then, agreeing to the terms of the Green Knight. Gawain still symbolizes goodness by demonstrating proper knightly actions at times. The Pearl Poet uses Gawain as a morally ambiguous character to set up the plot. He firstly sets up Gawain as a good character, then uses a series of

Several fictional works set in Arthurian times contain numerous similar elements, whether that be in the structure of its plot or encounters with mythical beings; however, one particular element of these tales stands out among the rest, that being the knights in the stories. Both chivalrous and virtuous, knights are the very embodiment of Arthurian mythology, and are a staple in many Arthurian legends. Their courageous acts of selflessness and loyalty to their lords only add to their reputation, inspiring many authors throughout the ages to capture their likeness in various texts; however, only one author has been able to truly capture what it means to be a knight, that author being the “Gawain Poet.” Also known as the “Pearl Poet,” the “Gawain Poet” is most known for his chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story revolves around a central conflict in which the protagonist, Sir Gawain, must fulfill an agreement with a mysterious knight. Gawain’s “debt” must be repaid exactly one year after their agreement, and if Gawain should fail to do so, his honor and reputation would be tarnished. It is through his struggles that Gawain not only grows as a character, but also shows what it means to truly be a knight. Sir Gawain is the epitome of a knight because he is not only chivalrous and virtuous, but also stays true to his word in the face of danger.

As an avid recreational reader I enjoy reading books of all types, however, one of my favorite genres is fantasy. This love began in my reading of George MacDonald's Phantastes, and continued throughout the past year as I have been working my way through C.S. Lewis’ The Space Trilogy. What is so interesting, and simply enjoyable, for me about reading Sir Gawain is that it is a more original and classic take on the typical structure and plot of a fantasy/fairytale. In the beginning you already get a general idea of how the story is going to go, yet the story has its own quirks that keep it interesting.

Gawain’s first portrayal of being a true knight comes when the Green Knight makes his appearance in Camelot. The Green Knight first speaks to King Arthur and proposes that they play a “game.” Arthur will strike the Green Knight with his axe, and in return the Green Knight will return the strike in a year and a day. King Arthur agrees to this game and its terms, but as he steps up to accept the challenge, Gawain comes forward and offers to participate in the “game” in place of King Arthur. Sir Gawain says to King Arthur, “I implore with prayer plain that this match should now be mine” (341-342). Gawain goes on to strike the Green Knight, cutting off his head. However, the strike does not kill the Green Knight; he picks up his head from the ground and repeats to Sir Gawain that he will return the blow in a year and a day. In this moment, Gawain’s bravery is clearly showcased. First, he takes a challenge in place of his king, which he did not have to do.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight along with The Canterbury Tales features impressive knights that all boast a chivalric code. As Sir Gawain and the Green Knight unfolds, we readers are led to look beneath the attractive surface of chivalry and question exactly what chivalry is through examples such as: Sir Arthur , Sir Gawain, the Green Knight, Palamon, and Arcite.

Protagonists also known as the main character or the hero. A protagonist can make or break the story. A hero is defined as a person who goes on a quest to save, restore or heal the community. Most heroes have the same qualities; however, what the character does with the qualities is a different story. For example, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, author unknown and Oroonoko by Aphra Behn are two works where the protagonists are comparable. For example, both men are on a dangerous journey, a woman starts their downfall, and lastly, both put their trust in the wrong people. However, they differ in many factor; the main one however, is that Sir Gawain is a knight and Oroonoko is a prince.

Ideally, a king has an old look, a great amount of power, and naturally rules his domain with an iron fist in literature. In the two works, Le Morte d'Arthur and First Knight see two different versions of how king Arthur is portrayed. Yet the honor and respect that a king should have remains undisturbed, much like how both are products of their time. First Knight is told as a modern retelling of the legend and Le Morte d'Arthur is a minorly altered, much older work. While the depictions of king Arthur are seen as the paramount backbone for arthurian times, these two works have also proven to exhibit differences and similarities, illustrate Arthur’s figure in character, and serve as preservation of the time period.

During the years that King Arthur ruled over England, his reign is always remembered as a time of peace, a golden age, a great era, and a glorious time. However, this all comes to a halt, when two of Arthur’s most noble knights bring an affair into the open, causing his round table and kingdom to fall and bringing Arthur to his death. Written by Sir Thomas Malory in the latter half of the 15th century, books 20 and 21 of Morte D’Arthur (Death of Arthur) describe how over time, the tragic hero, King Arthur slowly loses control over his kingdom due to his ignorance, leading to a few errors in judgement that inevitably lead him to his own demise and to the passing of the great era that was the reign of the legendary King Arthur. King Arthur is a tragic hero due to his ignorance, overly trusting manner, and the careless mistakes that he makes during his time as king.

According to Christopher Reeve, “a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” In today’s culture, the hero is frequently depicted as a knight in shining armor, an image that originates from age-old literature such as the fourteenth-century Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In such literary works, the heroic knight has several virtuosic character traits: friendship, chastity, generosity, courtesy, and piety; however, he must also endure a quest in which his virtues are tested. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, three obstacles challenge the hero Gawain’s morals, including the Green Knight, the seductress, and the threat of death, leading to a further maturity of