Different Dimensions Used in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by J.R.R. Tolkien

​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

    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.

Throughout the poem, Sir Gawain, and the Green Knight, the audience discovers that the green girdle is a symbolic object that plays a significant role in developing Gawain’s character. In the beginning of the text, the green girdle represents security to Gawain, but by the end signifies dishonor. The symbolism of Lady Bertilak’s, girdle changes throughout the course of the poem, when she tells Gawain that the green girdle has the power to keep whoever wears it, protected from harm. Gawain views the girdle as his chance at survival and decides not to exchange the girdle with Bertilak, thus breaking the terms of the men's agreement. This symbolizes Gawain’s ambition to stay alive, even at the expense of his code of honor. Gawain realizes his fault, after he fails the Green Knight’s challenge, “for this is my belt you are wearing, that same woven girdle, my own wife gave it to you, I know well in truth...I sent her to test you, and to me truly you seem One of the most perfect men who ever walked on the earth” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 2358-2363). Once the Green Knight reveals to Gawain that he is the host, Gawain curses the green girdle and views it as something that resembles cowardliness and dishonor. Gawain goes back to court and is completely honest about what had happened, then he promises himself that he will wear the girdle as symbol of his dishonour as well as a reminder to himself that

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

With the power of the green girdle by his side and his mind set forth on his destiny, Gawain heads out with the guide to find the Green Knight. About half way through the ride the guide asks Gawain whether he would decide to slide out of his scenario with the Green Knight. As they reach the border of the forest, the guide promises not to tell anyone if Gawain decides to give up the quest. Gawain refuses, determined to

Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem about of honor, courage, and knightliness. Gawain had to go on an adventure to face the Green Knight after cutting off his head. He faced many challenges to his honor and his faith. The section that showed his faith and honor the most was the hunting scene and the courtly scene. Gawain and the Lord’s scene were very similar because they both had main ideas connected to them, such as fate, courage, and deceit. The hunting scene and the courting scene portrayed Gawain and Reynard escaping their fate for a while. Reynard escaped the hunt for a while by hiding before dawn. Gawain rejected the ring the lady gave him but could not reject the girdle. Reynard’s fate was to die as Gawain’s fate was to accept the

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is about Arthur and his knights having a New Years Eve party. Suddenly, a stranger walks in on his horse with his green skin and a challenge. He challenged king arthur to play a game but his nephew stepped in his place. Gawain was to hit the Green Knight as hard as he could with the axe and he would return the favor. He struck a blow, the knight’s head rolled to the floor, the Green Knight got off his horse and picked it up and rode off so fast they thought sparks had flew off the horses hooves. The challenge of the green knight challenged Gawain's honesty and bravery. Later on in the story, Gawain finds out that the Green Knight was really Lord Berkilac and he was testing him. The tests of Lord Berkilac will question both his and Sir Gawain’s character, nobility, and bravery.

Gawain, a knight of the famed King Arthur, is depicted as the most noble of knights in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Nonetheless, he is not without fault or punishment, and is certainly susceptible to conflict. Gawain, bound to chivalry, is torn between his knightly edicts, his courtly obligations, and his mortal thoughts of self-preservation. This conflict is most evident in his failure of the tests presented to him. With devious tests of temptation and courage, Morgan le Fay is able to create a mockery of Gawain’s courtly and knightly ideals. Through the knight Gawain, the poem is able to reveal that even knights are human too with less than romantic traits.

In stanza 74, fit III, the lady of the castle offers a magical, green girdle to Sir Gawain and explains to him that the wearer of this corset "cannot be killed by any cunning on earth." Sir Gawain, amidst an ethical dilemma, accepts the gift and chooses to conceal it from Lord Bertilak. This passage contains three of the main themes of the story – the inner and outer conflicts between Sir Gawain's ethics and desire to live, and the test of religion.

In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Gawain is “the most perfect paladin ever to pace the earth” (109). So when the Green Knight arrives at Arthur’s court, Gawain is the only knight brave enough to make a deal with the Green Knight. The deal states that “in twelve months’ time [Gawain] shall take the return blow with whatever weapon you wish, and with no one else shall I strive” (35). When Sir Gawain rides out to find the Green Chapel, he lodges at Lord Bertilak’s castle and stays for three days. Gawain also makes a deal with Bertilak: “Whatever I win in the woods will be yours, and any achievement you chance on here, you exchange for it”(62). On the first day the lady of the house kisses Gawain. Later that night he keeps his agreement and gives

As Sir Gawain presses on in his search for the Green Chapel, he faces numerous physical challenges. Yet he overcomes them all to the point that "to tell but the tenth part would tax my wits" (1719) as he has countless battles with serpents, wolves, and the like. The true challenges come after he arrives at Bercilak's castle. There, he is tempted three times by Lady Bercilak's advances--yet he does not give in to her advances, nor spurn her completely in an uncourtly manner. Further, he does not accept her gift of the ring which she offers as a remembrance. However, when she offers her green girdle, proclaiming its properties of protection:

Upon first Reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I noticed that it comes off as a romantic normative poem about chivalric ideals and traditions of the ruling class with covertly Christian Images. The protagonist character Sir Gawain stands out as the role model of the chivalric ideals of the 14th century while displaying Christian images on his armor. The combination of Gawain’s armor and actions throughout the poem exemplify his characteristics of Christian perfection and chivalric ideals. The very first scene with Bertilak of Hautdesert known as the Green Knight begins to mold your perception of how chivalrous Sir Gawain is by portraying him as valiant, humble, and virtuous knight to Arthur. I felt that the interruption of Arthur

On the way to the Green Knight, Sir Gawain stumbles upon a castle and stops to take a rest. He becomes acquainted with the lord of this castle and two women, one named Lady Bertilak. The Lord strikes a deal with Gawain; he will go out hunting with his men every day, and when he returns in the evening he will exchange his winnings for anything Gawain receives for staying behind at the castle. Gawain agrees to do this and goes to bed. The Lord leaves each three mornings to go hunting and while he is gone Lady Bertilak sneaks into Sir Gawain’s room.

Thesis Statement: The hunting scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight serve as parallels for the scenes of Lady Bertilak’s seduction of Sir Gawain and work to show Gawain’s character progression.

Part Three of the tale is the peak of Gawain’s obstacles in the form of the Lady Bercilak. He is repeatedly tested in a psychological game of chivalry against courtesy. To Gawain, the Lady Bercilak is even “Lovelier than Guenevere” (line 945), his own queen, so it is no doubt that the challenge imparted upon him by her attempts at seduction is a great one indeed. In addition, Gawain also must compete in Lord Bercilak’s game of trading each day’s winnings for the winnings of the other