King Arthur, Sir Gawain and Superman Essay

Arthur’s knights were his most trusted friends and family, but ironically, he is betrayed by the best of them. The most reputed of Arthur’s knights are Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristram. Sir Lancelot was the leader of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur’s most trusted friend, but he was involved in an illicit love affair. This affair was with Arthur’s

Not only does this outburst cause Lanval to lose his lover, but now, he must also prove to King Arthur that he did not insult his honor by demeaning the Queen during his fit of rage. If Lanval had not acted this way, he still could have been a successful knight, yet the

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is different from other pieces written because it starts out mentioning the historic events that happened before it. This is to give you an idea of where in the timeline Arthur and Camelot are. In the story of Sir Gawain our champion experiences different trials and each one is a test to see if he is a true knight. The major theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the passage to maturity for our hero, Sir Gawain.

This woman, came all the way from her land in search for this man in my opinion is something that a man would instead do. She gives him gifts, “horse had been saddled,” “Lanval was richly served.” The woman tells him after confessing her love that he would lose her for good if he ever spoke of their love. Lanval, who you’d think would be a “Brave manly knight” has no problem being demanded and agrees.

In Arthurian romances, the knight Gawain fulfills a central role as a member of the legendary Round Table. Alone or accompanied by other chivalrous knights, Gawain traverses the land of Logres, searching for adventures and achieving great feats of heroism. To those he encounters on his quests, Gawain often represents the epitome of chivalry and knightly valor. However, Gawain’s actual characterization is not constant in every tale where he is present. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Chretien de Troye’s Perceval, and Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Gawain’s character vacillates from being the paragon of chivalry to the antithesis of heroism, and these characterizations serve as a foil to the figures of

Once discovered in the meadow by the fairy queen’s maidens, he is taken to meet her where he is immediately awestruck by her incomparable beauty as well as her lavished castle. Ireland describes this seen as the “Court of Love” where Lanval and the fairy queen establish a comitatus amongst each other (Ireland 134). Lanval’s love for the fairy queen is infact so great he claims to her “I shall obey your command; for you, I shall abandon everyone. I want never to leave you. That is what I most desire.” As described earlier, knights displayed the utmost respect and admiration for women, especially, as in Lanval’s case, a lady is was trying to court. The only stipulation is that Lanval my keep their relationship a secret or he will “never see [her] again possess [her] body.” Promptly after their comitatus takes life, Lanval becomes seduced by his King’s wife, Queen Guinevere. During his encounter with Queen Guinevere, sir Lanval acts chivalrous in every way except one (much more then sir Launcelot can say). He responds the Queen’s advances by emphasizing his loyalty to the King. His only misstep and lack of judgement comes from insulting the queen: “any one of those who serve her, the poorest girl of all, is better than you, my lady queen, in body, face, and beauty, in breeding and in goodness.” Admitting this single instance of failure to the code, the more important aspect details his insistence of protecting his pact with the fairy queen. As seen with other Knights in the tales of King Arthur and the knights of the round table, some fail to retain perpetuate the virtue of chastity, while sir Lanval yet again displays why the fairy queen chooses him over other

Part of the essence of drama is conflict. A man cannot be considered a hero unless he has overcome some form of opposition. In many cases, this opposition comes in the form of another character. Typically, the conflict is simplified as a malignant character with wicked intentions committing acts which would be characterized as evil; the protagonist opposes this villain and usually overcomes that character, winning the day and the admiration of all. Sometimes, the main character becomes a hero by overcoming some force within his or her own self. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this is ultimately what Gawain must do in order to be considered a hero.

By portraying Gawain as noble and honorable, the poet is able to shock the reader with actions that are uncharacteristic of a chivalrous knight. The first of these conflicting actions is obvious in the temptation of Gawain by his host's lady. This lady, the huntress, seeks to pursue Gawain in order to fool him into actions that contrast the knightly ideal. She will do anything to accomplish these actions in him, even through sexual temptations. With another man's wife pursuing him, Gawain must be courtly to the lady, but at the same time must deny her advances. This unavoidable conflict creates a fear within Gawain. Upon discovering that the lovely lady was approaching him in bed, Gawain lays a sleep, in order to "try her intent" (1199). This action reveals Gawain's fear that his host's lady is pursuing him. This unavoidable fear causes his failure of courtliness, for Gawain would have claimed a kiss from the lady, but did not. The lady ridicules him for this, even though, the situation was unavoidable. Gawain must abide by his morals and abstain from immoral thoughts, while at the same time being a courteous guest. Moreover, Gawain is forced to make a choice between courtesy and adultery, either of which would result in the dishonor of the lady ,his host, or Gawain himself. By choosing to return each of the following kisses received, Gawain is able

Obedience is another factor that constitutes courtly behavior in the story. Lancelot battles arduous combats and suffers severe wounds for the love of Guinevere. However, once throughout his voyage he falters in his obedience to her love, when he comes across a dwarf, driver of a cart, the dwarf tells Lancelot to ride in the cart in exchange for information on Guinevere’s whereabouts; Lancelot hesitates momentarily before leaping into the cart. Lancelot regrets this moment of hesitation and scolds himself, he argues “…Reason, who does not follow love’s command, told him to beware of getting in and admonished him…Love ordered and wished [he would ride in the cart]…; since love ruled his action, the disgrace should not have mattered.” 2 Lancelot is deeply ashamed and never falters

The stories of Lancelot (The Knight of the Cart) and Perceval (The Story of the Grail) within Chrétien de Troyes’ Arthurian Romances depict a world of Medieval Romance that is somewhat different from one that was depicted in earlier epics. These romances are more focused on the battle between love and honor rather than on war and valor, which were depicted in earlier epics of de Troyes’ time. The tale of Lancelot follows a star-struck knight who undergoes an inner conflict between both the lover and hero inside him. His intense commitment to rescuing the queen causes him to make rash decisions which inevitably restrain him from controlling his own fate. Perceval’s story exhibits a different purpose for love in a knight’s life. Unlike Lancelot, he accepts love only when he believes it can further advance him in becoming the perfect knight. The two heroes’ actions showcase an inner conflict between maintaining their honor as knights and the love for another. Through these two tales, Chrétien de Troyes shows that that idealistic love and conscious chivalry cannot necessarily successfully coexist, yet it is the unachievable idealistic view that these two ideals do coexist.

Gawain is willing to put his welfare on the line to save his king and friend. He says that he would be a coward and without honor if he lets King Arthur die knowing that all he must do to save him is to marry a woman, although she is quite disgusting.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, the author encapsulates chivalrous characteristics in his telling of a battle for love. In its fundamental form, chivalry idealizes a knight’s conduct, both on and off the battlefield (Gregory-Abbott). Chaucer employs this “heroic code [of] bravery, loyalty, and service to one's lord” to illustrate the idillic knight throughout the narrative (Rossignol). Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, exhibits the ideals of chivalry in the form of two knights, desperately in love with the same woman, and a wise Duke who embodies the voice of reason. Each knight upholds honor through compassion, troths, and heroism on the battlefield, despite their afflictions with each other.

If the name of King Arthur is mentioned, I suppose what comes to mind is not so much one person as a whole array of characters and themes, a montage so to speak. Of course we do think first of the King, the magnificent monarch of a glorified or idealized medieval realm. But we think also of his Queen, of the fair and wayward Guinevere, we think of his enchanter, Merlin, who presided over his birth, who set him on the throne, who established him there in the early and traveled days of his reign. There were the knights of the Round Table, vowed to the highest ideals of chivalry, and the greatest of them, Sir Lancelot, who, of course, has a tragic love affair with the Queen. There is another great love story, that of Tristan

(Day 135) She deceived King Arthur with his most trusted knight. (Senior 84) Arthur’s queen, reputedly the most beautiful women in Britain, and the love of Lancelot, Arthurs best knight. (Guinevere) After the last battle in which Arthur and many others are killed, Lancelot comes to find her in Amesbury. (Guinevere)

Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthur's character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthur's character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get better insight into the character of Arthur, the once and future king.