Literature Color Symbolism

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.

When Columbus describes the environment of the land they have discovered, he gives it much praise. Columbus gives a vast description of Hispaniola, saying that the mountains and trees are beautiful, but then saying that they were as lovely as the trees in Spain. Speaking of the mountains Columbus said, “They are most beautiful, of a thousand varied forms, accessible, and full of trees of endless varieties, so high that they seem to touch the sky, and I have been told that they never lose their foliage. I saw them as green and lovely as trees are in Spain in the month of May.”

For the longest time, Americans have celebrated Columbus day, commemorating the admiral’s supposed discovery of America. But, in “The Inconvenient Indian”, Thomas King shatters this idea and develops a new thought in the mind of the reader about natives. By using excellent rhetoric and syntax, King is able to use logos, ethos and pathos in his chapter “Forget Columbus”, where he develops the argument that the stories told in history aren’t always a true representation of how it actually happened.

When Columbus and his men arrived to the islands, he noticed that the natives were generous, and accommodating because they willingly traded everything they owned and brought them such things like: food, water, and gifts. Since the beginning the natives offered all of their hospitality to Columbus

The Green Knight is big and of course he is green, which might explain some of the delay in acceptance of the challenge, but these knights are warriors. The color green is not a frightening enough color, even combined with the Green Knight’s size, to scare a true warrior. The possible reason for the hesitation by the knights could lie in the description of the Green Knight’s eyes. The author points them out in line 304, "and roisterously his red eyes he [rolls] all about" (Sir Gawain). The critic Robert B. White Jr. says that "one need not look far to discover the general symbolic significance of red when it appears in early literature; it [is] generally associated with blood, cruelty, and violence" (224). The Green Knight’s eyes display just how sinister he is and provide the reason that the other knights are hesitant to accept the challenge. Gawain’s willingness to accept definitely sets him apart from the other knights. The author uses this symbol to reveal that Gawain is not only loyal, but also courageous, and worthy to have his attributes put to the test.

The long history between Native American and Europeans are a strained and bloody one. For the time of Columbus’s subsequent visits to the new world, native culture has

Colors are used in literature to describe the different emotions of a character. Colorism is a type of symbolism used in literature. Death uses color symbolism in The Book Thief to describe a character's emotion because he is the narrator. Color symbolism in literature is when the author uses a color to symbolize the character's emotion; it occurs throughout The Book Thief. Red, white, and gray or silver are the colors that are used the most frequently and have the biggest meanings throughout the novel.

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

The third most important symbol in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is the colors Guin uses to describe the city of Omelas. Guin uses green and gold the most to describe the city Omelas and its citizens. She also uses red, silver, white, and dark blue to help describe the city of Omelas. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” gold is used as a symbol for power and wealth, while green is used as a symbol for energy. Correspondingly “The horses wore no gear at all but a halter without a bit. Their manes were braided with streamers of silver, gold, and green” (Guin 1). As one can see by this quote green and gold are obvious, yet important symbols. Green and gold as symbols relate back to the citizens and the city of Omelas. Hence green and gold can lead the reader to find many themes they would not think of without these two very important symbols.

The author utilizes colors to aid in the development of Gawain’s character: “Then they brought him his shield, which was of bright red, … gleaming gold” (Weston 12). The red that Gawain wears symbolizes the passion that he shows toward the deal he made with the Green Knight. The gold symbolizes values and nobility two things that Gawain holds to a high standard. Another character whose colors stand out are the Green Knight’s he wears green and gold. The green represents the amount of envy that King Arthur's sister

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the author’s rhetorical purpose is to persuade readers to be open to new experiences and to experiment with new things in different surroundings. A rhetorical pattern that was seen a lot though the story was alliteration. It is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent. An example would be “So monstrous a mount, so mighty a man in the saddle.” This ties into the rhetorical purpose of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” by giving you the ability to make a picture in your head. Another rhetorical pattern that was seen a lot in the story was the use of color. This means to use colors to explain something in your writing. An example would be “Threads of gold interwoven with the glorious

Throughout the story green is the ruling color but on the contrary colors from the tale like

    In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one can discover a variety of reasons why the Green Knight is indeed green.  Some can be found in open text while others one has to search for.  There is possibly another aspect involved in the holly leaf he carries in his first appearance.  The deeper aspect of the Green Knight is how he ties into the beliefs and culture of the Celts.

He appears with no armor to shield him from feeling the world, in fact his green appearance, though brawny in description, does contain undertones of green passivity. He is neither depicted as spiritual blue, nor warm emotional yellow, rather the fusion of the two, devilish green. To live in a state of uncertainty is the antithesis of mid-evil chivalry. It is a knights’ duty to know his place in society and to whom he serves, not to think or feel therefore when Gawain asks the Green Knight for instructions to find his home, the Knight gives no formal address, rather an experiential response. He says “If I tell you true, when I have taken your knock… you shall hear straightaway of my house and home and my own name” (398-399). This statement forces Gawain to live in the reality and emotion of the moment rather then set out on his quest upon social consequences.

The colour green in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is another important symbol used in this poem. The colour green is evident in the character of the Green Knight and in the green girdle that Gawain accepted of Lady Bertilak. The connection between the colour of the Green Knight and of the green girdle can be seen as a symbol of the inevitable failure of Gawain. As Gawain accepted the girdle he failed to keep his word to Bertilak and the Green Knight and also failed two of his knightly virtues, chastity and courtesy. The colour green therefore can be seen as a symbol of Gawain’s betrayal in the poem. “Þis is þe token of vntrawþe þat I am tan inne, And I mot nedez hit were wyle I may last; For mon may hyden his harme, bot vnhap ne may hit” (SGGK, 2509-11). This quote discusses the girdles meaning to Gawain once he arrives back to Arthurs court. It is described as a ‘token’ of dishonesty and Gawain believes he must now wear it