Dualism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the poet describes the shield: “With the pentangle painted on it in pure gold./ That the mild Queen of Heaven found in her child./ Her image depicted on the inside of his shield,” (620,647,649). The pentangle, five-pointed star, that is on the front of Sir Gawain’s shield is a symbol commonly associated with pagan culture. The Pythagoreans used it to represent perfection, the Sumerians used it to represent the five known planets, to the Greeks it represents the goddess of the underworld. There are many other cultures that use that pentagram to represent aspects of their culture. The pentagram is representing the pagan culture while the Queen of Heaven on the inside of the shield represents the Christian culture. The queen of heaven is another name for the Virgin Mary. Mary is on the back of the shield with the pentagram on the front. The shield is a perfect representation of the cultural duality because it has both pagan and Christian symbols upon

Sir Gawain is quickly established in the poem as a man with a great sense of honor and devotion to his ideals, which are firmly established on his shield. The shield bears a pentangle, and each of the five points of that shape represent some aspect or ideal of Gawain. The five points represent: his five fingers, the five joyful mysteries, the five wounds of Christ, the five knightly virtues, and the five senses (Gawain 640-653). On the interior of his shield is simply a picture of the Blessed Mother of God. The combination of all of these ideals and attributes which Gawain holds dearly illustrate just how noble he perceived himself, and was perceived, to be. However, when the Green Knight approaches the Knights of King Arthur with a challenge to the beheading game, Gawain’s nobility and courteousness are put to the test.

Throughout the daily routine of our lives, we use and uphold symbols. Some people wear crosses on their necks and have them tattooed on their bodies; others hold certain numbers in high esteem for good luck. Despite whatever symbol a person chooses, each symbol specifically means to demonstrate a certain point or action in his or her life. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the green girdle, which is also a chastity belt, pinpoints Sir Gawain’s weaknesses and illustrates the superficiality of King Arthur’s court.

“Sir Gawain, think on this when you go forth among great princes (Gawain poet.373-374.243).” The Medieval Age had a general literary focus about Romance; the stories in that era consisted of imaginative adventures containing faraway places following the chivalric code, similar to fairytales. Writers often use symbolism to give significance to the plot and reference a deeper meaning. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the poet uses symbolism to represent a whimsical world and to highlight mankind’s faults.

Through the use of symbolism the unknown author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight depicts a clear connection between the pentangle and the constant repetition of the number five. The author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight emit a detailed description and interpretation of the pentangle which Gawain wears on his red shield. Through the clear description of the pentangle, the symbol becomes a key aspect towards understanding the poem and creating connections between Gawain’s journey and its virtues. It is in this stage where Sir Gawain is given his armour and shield to be fully protected against the Green Knight after his 12 month waiting span has come to an end, leaving him with only 3 months to locate the Green Chapel.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a wonderful example of how context can change the way a story is accepted and interpreted. In the time of this poem, there was power in the idea that Gawain blundered and was not perfect. And this imperfection showed his subservient nature to God and his court, further instilling his heroic characteristics. However, in today 's society, perfection is idealized; therefore, Gawain’s mistakes allude to him being less of a hero and in a greater sense a regular human.

Symbolism plays a major role in all stories and especially plays an important role in the plot of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem written by Pearl Poet published in 2007. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English chivalric romance. It is one of the best known Arthurian stories, and is of a type known as the ‘beheading game’” (“Sir Gawain” 1). Some people see the Green Knight as an allusion towards Christ and others interpret it in other ways. Symbolism and the understanding of archetypes allow for a deeper meaning in a story and allow for the reader to ponder the meaning of symbols especially in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around the notion of true knight, that the English society in the middle ages strove towards. In the poem, Solomon’s Pentangle etched on Gawain’s shield, embodies the chivalric code of knighthood, which creates pluralism between human behaviour and divine truth. Therefore, a failure in the fulfilment of knightly code is a failure in divine truth. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight portrays that human fallibility is inevitable. Gawain’s fallible humanity constraints him upholding the premises of the pentangle in his quest to maintain the paragon of knighthood.

Symbolism is a literary technique used in the classic medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that is used to form a more captivating story and construct a deeper meaning to the plot. The color green certainly is a prominent color in the poem, especially with the Green Knight, who is literally green from head to toe. The Green Knight makes quite the entrance on his horse as he rides into Camelot disrupting King Arthur and his knight’s New Year’s Feast. The Green Knight has come to find out if the Knights of the Round Table are as loyal and honest as he has heard. The importance of the knight’s unusual color is obscure at first, but the significance of the color unravels the true meaning behind the peculiar knight. When Gawain accepts the Green Knight’s challenge, he begins a metaphorical journey that incorporates the traits that the color green symbolizes: ambition, growth and harmony.

The poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, illustrates the perfection of a knight throughout his life. Sir Gawain the perfect knight goes on a Christmas game quest provided by the Green Knight which tempts his purity and eventually ruins the ideal knight he used to be. In the criticism, “A Psychological Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, the critic Stephen Manning argues that the poem centers on Gawain’s feeling of guilt. On the other hand, P. J. C. Field a critic who wrote, “ A Rereading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, argues that Gawain’s sin in accepting the lady’s girdle is minimal. The remainder of the criticism portrays the comparison between the two critics mentioned.

The Pearl-Poet’s romantic poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, possesses both Pagan and Christian elements, causing the reader to question what the intended predominant religious affiliation in the poem may be. While the Pagan aspects of the poem, such as the Green Knight’s immortality, the pagan colors or Christmas, red and green, and the mystical characteristics of Morgan le Fey and the Green Knight’s wife may cause the reader to believe that the poem was intended to be primarily a Pagan work, the Christian framework of the poem is more prominent then the Pagan aspects of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. At a superficial glance, the poem may be a Pagan work about a knight who’s honor is tested; however, upon further examination, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight can be interpreted as a Christian poem about the life of a Christian man with Pagan elements incorporated into the storyline to add fictitious interest.

Sir Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by an unknown author, is a knight who attempts to uphold ideal standards of knighthood. The ideal standards of knighthood consist of multiple qualities that ultimately make a knight worthy; those qualities are loyalty, strength, bravery, humility, honorability, a sense of justice, good public speaking skills, and to be of a noble family. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight many, if not all, of those qualities are present in Gawain. His loyalty is shown to the king throughout the book; his strength, bravery, and humility are seen in his battle with the Green Knight, and his other qualities are shown scattered in the poem. Sir Gawain’s journey as a knight and hero are both significantly shaped by Sir Gawain’s loyalty and his ability to speak.

Many people who have high moral standards feel that they have to strictly follow a rule book in life in order to get the rewards in the afterlife. In the fourteenth century, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Pearl Poet, represents a chivalric romance with an epic story that unveils a man’s journey of wrestling with of honesty, morals, and honor. He accepts a challenge regarding his uncle, King Arthur, with hidden tests and possible consequences. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight aligns with the characteristics of Medieval Romance by displaying courtly love/ chivalry, supernatural elements, and athe protagonist who learns a lesson in the end.

In the novel Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated and edited by James Winny, I thought it was a very interesting book. At first, it was hard for me a to comprehend what was happening and a while for me to actually be interested in the book. The setting of the story of took place in medieval England in the ages of the legendary King Arther. The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight takes place around the hunts, and connects them to the bedroom sense between Lady Bercilak and Sir Gawain. After I continued reading and really paying attention to the detail in the book the points started to click. One of the many forms of symbolism in the book was the animals and deer hunt. In the essay, I will discuss how the hunt is parallel to the bedroom scenes, the relation between the mastery of hunting and seduction, and how the element of Gawain resembles the element of the deer.

Between 1100's and 1500's literature has evolved from epic poems written in Old English, like for example Beowulf, to poems about Christian values and courtly love written in Middle English, a new language spoken after the Norman conquest. It's in this time period that the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” was first written. This essay explores the poem's female characters such as Queen Guinevere, Morgan le Fay, Lady Bertilak and the Virgin Mary throughout the text and their marginal and secondary role in the story.