Archetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance about the adventure of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's Knight of the Round Table. This great verse is praised not only for its complex plot and rich language, but also for its sophisticated use of symbolism. Symbolism is a technique used in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give a significance to the plot. The Green Knight, the Green Sash, and Sir Gawain's Shield are three of the most prominent symbols given to us in this verse.

The archetypes that are prevalent in many different stories all have have common origin in Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces. More specifically, in the medieval story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there are distinct archetypes that are especially necessary to the theme of the story.An understanding of three key archetypes—the temptress the magic weapon, and the task—reveal the essence of Gawain’s role within the archetypal quest motif.

A particular archetypal character in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight who plays a central role in creating the conflicts that help to develop Gawain’s character and the ultimate theme of this medieval romance , the Green Knight. The Green Knight deals with different archetypes, the evil figure… ultimately good, the trickster, and can also convey a type of mentor. In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, at the end once Sir Gawain finds the green chapel the green

Archetypes are universal symbols used in literature to represent fundamental human motifs. In the medieval romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hero must undergo archetypal situations to succeed in his quest to redeem the honor of Camelot. Gawain embodies the transcendent hero as he further goes into “The Zone of Magnified Power” (Campbell 71) then faces conflict resulting from the threat placed on the society. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single character can play many archetypal roles.

A number of several different archetypes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are what makes the hero’s journey so successful in many ways. The journey sends the Hero in search of some truth that will help save his kingdom. Sir Gawain goes on a journey to find the Green Knight as per his request. This journey ultimately leads to the knowledge that he seems truly chivalrous. As Sir Gawain approaches the castle, the men of the castle were begging him to cross the bridge. The bridge

The Green Knight plays many archetypal characters throughout the whole story. For example, one of the archetypal character the Green Knight plays the Evil Figure. The speaker states “Then the Green Knight swiftly made him ready, and grasped his grim weapon to smite Gawain.” (Weston 8) This conveys that since Gawain had beheaded him the year before, it was now his turn to return a blow to Gawain's head. Although throughout the story the Green Knight is seen as the evil figure, he ultimately ends up being a figure of good by discipline Gawain from his acts of dishonesty Another character that the Green Knight plays is the Trickster. No one knew the identity of the Green knight since his appearance was very abstract. Gawain later finds. that the Green Knight was the host of the castle in which he spent days before he had to go and face the Green Knight. A third character that the Green Knight plays is a minion. Later along in the story, the Green Knight reveals that

Throughout the poem, the Green Knight plays various roles as an archetypal figure, for example he serves as both a herald and a mentor to Gawain. The poem begins at the Round Table, with a challenge being presented to the knights by the Green Knight. No one budges to accept the challenge so Gawain steps up and accepts it, knowing Camelot’s honor will be at risk. Gawain is told by the Green Knight that they must meet at the Green Knight Chapel in one year so the Green Knight can return the blow that Gawain gave to him. At this point, the Green Knight serves as the “announcer of adventure” or the “herald” (campbell 48) since he approaches the knights at the Round Table. As Gawain begins his journey to the Green Knight's Chapel, he meets a Host of a castle, who makes a deal with Gawain to stay there for three days. Although it is unknown to Gawain, the Green Knight is the Host, just in disguise. As the Host, the Green Knight mentors Gawain with their deal as a means of training Gawain for his upcoming challenge. Their deal was “we will make a covenant. Whatsoever I win in the wood shall be yours, and whatever may fall to your share, that shall ye exchange for it. Let us swear, friend, to make this exchange, however our hap may be, for worse or for better.” (Weston 20) and it provided a way for Gawain to prove himself and his worth to the Host, which is exactly what he did. As stated before, the many roles of the Green Knight each aid in Gawain’s development as a character and prepare him for his awaiting challenge.

The characteristics of heroism, magical elements, and the supernatural, just to name a few, are all shown in the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. First, we see the supernatural when the Green Knight speaks even though he has been beheaded. Next, we see magic and larger than life characters when the Green Knight reveals he is both Lord Bertilak and the giant knight. Lastly, heroism is shown when Sir Gawain stands up for his King and takes his place in battle. It is these characteristics that place Sir Gawain and the Green Knight into the genre of medieval

Archetypes can be found in most literary work, especially in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight most characters or objects served to aid in the development of the hero by being either a situational, character, color, or a symbol archetype. The poem begins with a challenge being presented to the knights of the Round Table by the Green Knight. While seeing that no one else will accept the challenge, putting Camelot’s honor at stake, Gawain accepts and then realizes that in a year they must meet again and the Green Knight will return the blow that Gawain gave to him. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single character can play many archetypal roles.

With every corner we turn in today’s culture, we become more and more aware of the archetypes that surround us. Archetypes are the works of a typical character, situation, setting, or symbol that can be found in fantasy and reality. An example would be the renowned medieval story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Pearl Poet. The author permeates the story with situational, symbolic, and character archetypes that illustrate the profound life of Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain was apprehensive of his journey at first, but as time passes, he began to make choices that unveils to the audience the true flawed knight that he was.

In almost any story, whether novel or poem, lies a hero. Depending on the path, a variety of archetypes usually accompany the hero. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “archetype” as “the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies.” Joseph Campbell’s A Hero With A Thousand Faces introduces the common archetypes often found in various pieces of literature, explaining “The parallels will be immediately apparent; and these will develop a vast and amazingly constant statement of the basic truths by which man has lived throughout the millenniums of his residence on the planet,” in his preface to the 1949 edition. To summarize, after learning of the different archetypes found in a story, one

Even in the middle ages of literature, a story such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight had many aspects of Joseph Campbell’s view of the hero’s journey. In the story of our character Sir Gawain accepts a “Call to adventure” (Campbell 45) and goes on a quest that will go through many of the archetypes. Likewise, there lies one character, The Green Knight, that can be many of the archetypal characters in the cycle of the hero’s journey. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single character can play many archetypal roles.

In this instance, the Call to Adventure (Campbell) challenges the integrity of Camelot itself, brought forth by the Green Knight, which Gawain stands to protect. This archetype adds meaning to the story by making Gawain realize that he must be the one to defend the honor of Camelot, leaving in order to fulfil the challenge presented to him and beginning our story. The characters in our story fall within certain categories, known as character archetypes, and interact with our hero to enrich the story and lend meaning to the conflict, character development, and theme. The Green Knight initially acts as both the Herald in our tale, introducing the conflict to Gawain; he challenges any member of the Round Table to attack him with an axe, but the attacker must honor the challenge by allowing himself to be swung at in a year’s time.

Stories all over the world involve the concept of the monomyth. Stories that involve an evil villain, a horrifying creature that goes through a dramatic change, a magical hero with superpowers, or even a story with an average person living an average life all involve and follow Archetypes. The concept of Archetypes presents itself in Joseph Campbell's’, Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell’s book goes the extra mile describing/explaining how Archetypes come into action throughout the journey of the hero detailing how “The archetypes to be discovered and assimilated are precisely those that have inspired, throughout the annals of human culture, the basic images of ritual, mythology, and vision”(Campbell 41). One story, in particular a poem,

The character of the Green Knight, Sir Bertilak, wholly opposes the Christian, honorable characterization of Gawain. When Gawain comes to meet the Green Knight, he exclaims: “‘Can this be the Chapel Green?/Alack!’ ...Here might/The devil himself be seen/Saying matins at black midnight” (2185-2188). The Green Knight is a fairy, who resides in a parody of a church. His pagan figure contrasts sharply with this characterization of Gawain, who is strongly connected with his Christian faith. Gawain is also a foil to the Green Knight in that Gawain epitomizes courtly manners, whereas the Green Knight lacks courtesy. He traipses into Camelot and acts as though he cannot tell Arthur is king (224-231), and later refers to the courtiers as “beardless children” (280), showing a great lack of manners. Later, as Sir Bertilak is hosting Gawain, it seems that the Green Knight does actually possess courtesy. However, boarding Gawain is revealed to be a part of a grand scheme to shame prideful knights of the Round Table (2456-2459). The illegitimacy of his courtesy toward Gawain shows that the Green Knight lacks the honesty attributed to truly courteous knights. The Green Knight, a pagan figure that shuns the manners of the court, is inverted by the character of Gawain, who epitomizes honorable knighthood in this