Analysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Medieval scholars continually inspect the particularities of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK) within the context of the preexisting Gawain literary tradition, and the issue of Gawain’s sudden antifeminist diatribe repeatedly comes to the forefront of these textual investigations. Often, literary critics claim that Gawain’s antifeminist outburst is common for the fourteenth century and that his acceptance to wear the girdle as a sign of shame still epitomizes him as a model of knighthood. Other scholars hesitate to dismiss Gawain’s misogyny as commonplace, they note that this moment is inconsistent with his reputation as an ideal knight. Gawain’s hasty compulsion to blame women suggests ruptures within the essentiality of his chivalric identity and a closer examination of the text reveals that this moment is not isolated. Despite scholars repeated attempts to identify the essential knight within Gawain, there are several examples of Gawain’s unstable identity throughout the text. I will argue Sir Gawain’s knightly identity is performative rather than essential, and his diatribe is the culmination of his failure to perform his own expected social identity.

The items which he holds play a large role in symbolizing the Green Knight’s character. In one hand, he holds a very large and exquisite ax with green steel and green engravings. Attached to the ax, there is a bright green lace with green buttons, “The spike of the green steel, resplendent with gold… With engravings in green of goodliest work…With buttons of bright green”. The interesting dynamic of this passage is the notion of green and gold supplementing each other. This is the second time that gold has supplemented the color green. This is evidence to suggest that the Green Knight believed that these two colors were equally elegant, “Thank green fused on gold more glorious by far” (“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” 236). Alongside the elegance of the green, this passage symbolizes the latter half of the Green Knight’s character. It descriptively expresses the brute and callous aspects of the Green Knight. The Green Knight holds a sharp razor ax that intimidates the reader and introduces the new, natural concept, violence. The color green helps characterize the natural beauty of the weapon and but then relates the weapon to both ferocity and savagery. By one person, the ax can be seen as marvelous and astounding, but by another it may seem violent and

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an Arthurian poem; an enchanting story of chivalry, romance and heroism. With its intricately woven details, parallels and symbols, the reader will often easily overlook these facets in a story of this caliber. Undoubtedly, the author would not have spent time on details that do not add to the meaning of the overall telling of the story. The three hunting scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and in parallel, the three temptations, monopolize a considerable portion of the story. In a comparison of the three hunts and their corresponding temptations, we will see how the poet parallels these circumstances to emphasize the meaning of its symbolism.

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 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, after Gawain ventures “into a forest fastness, fearsome and wild” (Norton, 311), he prays that he will be able to find “harborage” on Christmas Eve (Norton, 312). It is the middle of winter, and Gawain has been traveling in search of the Green Knight whose head he has cut off. After he prays and signs himself three times, Gawain finds a magical castle in the midst of a winter forest. He rides to the castle and is granted permission to enter by the lord. Gawain is attended to in a fashion befitting kings, and he meets the lord who tells his identity to all in the court. There are many significant implications and foreshadowings which occur during Gawain’s

After reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain’s identity is left undecided. At the conclusion of the narrative, the Green Knight restores Gawain’s knightly virtues of the pentangle and continues to praise Gawain for his virtue. But Gawain returns home unsatisfied with his restoration only to find his court full of admiration for his return home and victory, even though he now wears the green lace (4.2489-505). The physical journey Gawain to the Green Knight demonstrates his outward courage and devotion, but what is truly going on in his heart? Gawain’s moral character is at stake because he must decide between his valued pentangle or his gifted green lace as his true identity. During his encounter with the Green Knight, Sir

Throughout this year we have explored deep into the Golden Age of literature. Whether it was The Middle Ages and works like “The Dream of the Rood, The Elizabethan Age and “Speech to the Troops”, or tales from the 17th and 18th century such as “The Flea” I have learned a lot about classic literature and what makes it great. My favorite tale by far however came from The Middle Ages, and it was called “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” This story puts the main character, Gawain, into several situations that will define him as a knight and a person. This story is great for young readers because it put Gawain through many of the trials and tribulations that youth go through daily.

An abundance of the literary world’s best and most engaging poems or stories took place during the very fictional reign of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, who most famously, resided in Camelot. The poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, written during the medieval period, is without a doubt one of the best fictional stories to ever come from this era. I found it especially interesting that both Christianity and Paganism intertwine during this heroic story. This encourages whoever is reading it to have a contrasting mindset because the story has not only Christian elements, but many pagan themes as well; it makes you wonder what type of story this really is. Many people speculate, however, whether the Gawain author could

Hollis, Stephanie J. “The Pentangle Knight: ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’”. The Chaucer Review, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Winter, 1981): 267-281. Accessed November 20, 2017. http://0-www.jstor.org.library.hillsdale.edu/stable/pdf/25093761.pdf

While the hype builds for Gawain’s adventure to fulfil his part of the bargain with the Green Knight, the Pearl Poet delves into a 45-line description of the shield he is equipped with. On the front of the shield a golden pentangle was painted, and five sets of five virtues corresponding with each point are expanded upon. The tips of the “endless knot” stood for Gawain’s faultless five senses, his fingers never failing him, all his faith lying in the five wounds Christ received on the cross, his courage which came from the five joys that the Queen of Heaven, Mary, had in Jesus, and a grab-bag of virtues (Pearl Poet

Sir Gawain’s decorated shield reveals a star, pentangle, and a picture of Mother Mary representing moral character and responsibilities. The unknown author introduces this cover piece as” he wore the five-point star on shield and surcoat in plain sight” (Line 636). The faultless personality in sir Gawain shows that he is perfect in his five senses and also represents the chivalric code and the way he responds to it. The Pentangle signifies truth and honesty which throughout the story is shown to be a challenge in the true personality of

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hero Gawain is the model of chivalry and knightly graces. However, the poem is not the typical tale of a knight’s adventures and romance. Instead, the poem is a test of Gawain’s devotion to the ideals of chivalry and the values of the Pentagle. The code that Gawain strives to emulate upholds the values of generosity, fellowship, chastity, courtesy, and compassion. His world is full of the grandeur of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. This “idealistic” existence shapes his actions and decisions as he strives to meet the unobtainable perfection his world demands. Gawain is not a perfect being and must learn to accept his imperfections and challenge himself to become better.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a chivalric romance from the fourteenth century Middle English. The poem was written by Gawain Poet and talks about the story about Sir Gawain and his encounter with the Green Knight. In this poem, the reader can see the journey of Sir Gawain and how he goes through stages of nobility to humility. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight consist of many themes throughout the poem. One of the major themes of this poem is Sir Gawain ability to show the reader his passage to maturity. He shows his passage to maturity by passing three major tests that are thrown in his way.

Kind, loyal, modest, and most importantly chivalrous, Sir Gawain represents the ideal of a Christian knight of the fourteenth century. This Arthurian hero’s moral compass never leads him astray, except on one occasion. Gawain lies near the end of the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an uncharacteristic act for typically honest and just Gawain. In fact it is strange that this paragon of knighthood, after all he goes through, lies right at the end of his journey. Resulting from the conflicting perceptions of perfection in Christianity and the Code of Chivalry. However, in truth it serves as this epics message, conveying the notion that no matter how perfect one may appear, everyone is flawed and in order to better yourself, you must learn from your flaws and mistakes.

At the start of the story Sir Gawain exists as a noble, loyal, and confident figure who accepts the challenge of the Green Knight to protect King Arthur who the speaker introduces to us as his uncle. While preparing for the trip that he has to take to find the Green Knight, the speaker introduces us to Gawain's symbolic shield. This shield represents the five virtues of knights, and also throws in the morals of christianity due to the religious decoration of Mary on the inside of his shield. All these attributes come together to form the basis of Gawain's heroic character. Gawain relies on the religious aspect of his character to guide him on his way to finding the Green Knight. At one point, Gawain has given up hope, prays to