Character Analysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

When you think of a knight what do you picture? Do you picture a fragile, cowardly, dishonorable man? Of course not, you picture a strong man who is willing to give up his life for the kingdom. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” retold by Susan Thompson, a legend is told of, Sir Gawain on his quest to protect his king and fellow knights’ honor. After the Green Knight had challenged them and embarrassed King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gawain took up the challenge in an act of true chivalry. In this legend about a battle of knighthood between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is the better knight. He is a true romantic hero and follows the Knight’s Code of Chivalry, by serving the liege lord, King Arthur, in valor

Sir Gawain was a great knight in Arthur’s court; in many cases, he showed examples of being heroic. This allows people who read Sir Gawain and The Green Knight to remember him because of the ways he portrayed heroism. One example of Gawain being heroic is when he takes on the task by the green knight: “I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; and the loss of my life would be least of any; That I have you for uncle is my only praise; My body, but for your blood, is barren of worth” (Borroff, 12). Sir Gawain shows that he is heroic and someone to be remembered because of how he took on the task presented by The Green Knight instead of letting Arthur go. His heroism is also explained in The Hero and His Adventure: “ He is presented in traditional heroic situations such as being equipped in armour and

​In the beginning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is introduced as a courtly knight with a sense of perfection. The author does this to compare it to his failures, which are later displayed through Gawain’s acts at Morgan le Fay’s castle. Gawain is portrayed to be a chivalrous knight with honor and courage. Gawain is presented with a challenge: accept the game to cut off the Green Knight’s head, and in a test of courage and honor, set out to allow the Green Knight to return the favor to him in a year and a day. This initially shows the knightly characteristics of Gawain which presents him as noble and honorable, which allows the author to shock the audience when Gawain falls under pressure to actions that contradict the chivalrous code. The first of these actions taken by Gawain in opposition to his morals is the temptation

Throughout the Arthurian legends, Sir Gawain seems to be the epitome of a noble knight. He is always putting his king before himself, repeatedly sacrificing his own life in some way for King Arthur. He is an honorable knight that lives up to his word. This is evident in both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell." In these stories, Gawain lives up to the expectations of a knight belonging to the legendary Round Table.

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is the classic tale of a knight of the round table who takes up the challenge of the mysterious Green Knight. The poem begins with the Green Knight’s sudden arrival and his declaration of his proposition: a knight may strike him, and then a year and one day from then he will return the blow. This tale is most well-known for dealing with the themes of a knight’s code of chivalry, loyalty, resisting temptation, and keeping one’s word. While the whole poem is full of great lines that beautifully deliver the message, one of the best passages come at the end of the poem after Sir Gawain has managed to survive his second encounter with the Green Knight. This passage perfectly encompasses the various themes of the poem, as it deals with all of the trials Gawain has faced up until that point and also explains how he deals with the shame he feels for surviving the game in the way he did.

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

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale that takes place in the medieval period. During this time period, knights were considered very common and were expected to follow one main code of law, chivalry. This code mainly stated that a knight must be loyal to his king, honest, modest, and brave. Chivalry is practiced in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the form of tests that are given to Gawain to reveal his true character, and what is valued most to him. Throughout these tests, Sir Gawain proves that he values his honor over his life and will not fall to temptations displayed to him.

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

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by an unknown author referred to as the “Pearl Poet,” we are introduced to Sir Gawain. Gawain is a knight of the Round Table and he is also the nephew of King Arthur. As a knight, Gawain is expected to possess and abide by many chivalrous facets. Throughout the poem he portrays many of the qualities a knight should possess, such as bravery, courtesy, and honor among others. Because of his ability to possess these virtues even when tempted to stray away from them, Sir Gawain is a true knight.

	Sir Gawain shows his bravery the first moment he has the chance to, when the Green Knight enters King Arthur's Court. The Green Knight taunts with "Anyone with the nerve to try it, take this ax, here. Hurry, I'm waiting! Take it and keep it, my gift forever, And give me a well-aimed stroke, and agree to accept another

Heroic stories and epic poems have existed since before written record, being spread orally through storytellers. In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Sir Gawain is our hero in the poem titled with his name. Just like most other heroes he is known as a man of great physical strength and deeds, however there are a few differences.

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.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale of chivalry, faith, and self-respect. In this “short tale,” Sir Gawain is faced with a decision to take the place of his king, King Arthur and uncle, against a challenge presented to them by the Green Knight. The Green Knight is a very mysterious character, literally a green being. He comes to Camelot, during Christmastime, because he has heard great things about the knights there and their heroic deeds. Upon accepting the challenge, which is to behead the green knight in one strike and to then travel to the Green Chapel to receive the same punishing blow, Sir Gawain must travel far in order to uphold his end of their deal.

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

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