Monomythic Archetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

​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 one of the most intriguing Middle English chivalric romances known today. The poem is a delicately written balancing act between two cultures, clashing in a time of unease between the religion of tradition, (paganism) and the new religion, (Christianity). The poem is also one of the best known Arthurian tales, with its plot combining two types of folklore patterns, the beheading game and the exchange of winnings. The Green Knight is interpreted by many as a representation of the Green Man of folklore and by others as an allusion to Christ. The story is told in stanzas of alliterative verse, ending in a bob and wheel. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an important poem in the Middle English romance genre, because it involves all the typical plot progression of a hero who goes on a quest to prove himself. Yet what sets Sir Gawain apart from heroes of lore is his inability to finish his quest. The aspect which makes Sir Gawain and the Green Knight different is Sir Gawain’s failure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a perfect example of the struggle between enduring Paganism and newfound Christianity.

After beheading the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is depressed by dark thoughts of what lies ahead for him and all while everyone “danced and sang till the sun went down that day. But mind your mood, Gawain, keep blacker thoughts at bay, or loose this lethal game you’ve promised you will play” (485-490). Of course, one would have anxiety of waiting for a year to come. The time has come for Sir Gawain to go through the unknown world to find the Green Chapel. He encounters a serious of dangers in numerous

Every story that has ever been written appears to have the same story line once it is broken down. They all follow an outline that was proposed by James Campbell called the monomyth. The outcomes of the stories may vary, but they all follow a certain story outline that has certain key points within the plot. Each story is also believed to have their character fall into certain categories within the monomyth story line that makes each story have the same structure (Campbell 12). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how the Green Knight’s monomythic roles of the evil figure who is ultimately good, mentor, and herald contribute to the development of Sir Gawain throughout the poem.

A particular archetypal character in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight who plays a central role in creating the conflicts that help to develop Gawain’s character and the ultimate theme of this medieval romance , the Green Knight. The Green Knight deals with different archetypes, the evil figure… ultimately good, the trickster, and can also convey a type of mentor. In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, at the end once Sir Gawain finds the green chapel the green

A number of several different archetypes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are what makes the hero’s journey so successful in many ways. The journey sends the Hero in search of some truth that will help save his kingdom. Sir Gawain goes on a journey to find the Green Knight as per his request. This journey ultimately leads to the knowledge that he seems truly chivalrous. As Sir Gawain approaches the castle, the men of the castle were begging him to cross the bridge. The bridge

The Green Knight plays many archetypal characters throughout the whole story. For example, one of the archetypal character the Green Knight plays the Evil Figure. The speaker states “Then the Green Knight swiftly made him ready, and grasped his grim weapon to smite Gawain.” (Weston 8) This conveys that since Gawain had beheaded him the year before, it was now his turn to return a blow to Gawain's head. Although throughout the story the Green Knight is seen as the evil figure, he ultimately ends up being a figure of good by discipline Gawain from his acts of dishonesty Another character that the Green Knight plays is the Trickster. No one knew the identity of the Green knight since his appearance was very abstract. Gawain later finds. that the Green Knight was the host of the castle in which he spent days before he had to go and face the Green Knight. A third character that the Green Knight plays is a minion. Later along in the story, the Green Knight reveals that

The tale of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” focuses primarily on beliefs of honor, bravery, and chivalry. The main character, Sir Gawain, embodies these qualities. His character is meant to be a model of chivalry. He emanates honor when he offers to fight the Green Knight for King Arthur. Medieval people would admire this courageous act. In his struggles to keep his promise Gawain demonstrates chivalry and loyalty until his honor is assessed, in the end, by the Green Knight’s schemes. This tale also includes a larger-than-life character who commands respect, the Green Knight. This superhuman being defies all laws of nature when his head is chopped off, yet he still remains alive and alert. These characters and their extraordinary actions provide perspective for the values and interests of medieval people.

On his journey Sir gawain comes across a great deal of character archetypes. These would include trickster, the “lord”(The Green Knight), and the supernatural aid (God). These character archetypes ultimately found their place into the stories theme,conflict, and contribution to Sir Gawain’s character development. The first character archetype would be the Green Knight who serves as the trickster/mentor. The reason why the Green Knight’s the trickster is because he discusses himself as the lord to try and trick Sir Gawain into committing adultery with his wife, but he also serves as a mentor because in the end the Green Knight teaches Sir Gawain the theme of the story. We can conclude with this because Sir Gawain states, “I shall look upon it...and remind myself of the fault and faintness of the flesh.” (Weston )This statement ultimately shows that all of the Green Knight’s tricks soon serve as a moral to Sir Gawain, teaching him to humble himself everytime he looks upon his scar. This also shows a small resolution towards Sir Gawain’s conflict,because everyone time he looks at that

An archetypal analysis of Gawain’s quest reveals some significant changes that occur in the hero’s character. We will analyze the progress of the hero, Gawain, as he ventures out to complete his quest. By analyzing the works of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight along with The Hero With A Thousand Faces, and how it completes the Hero’s Journey.

An archetypal analysis of Gawain’s quest reveals some significant changes that occur in the hero’s character. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an Arthurian legend, our protagonist, Gawain, must interact with various character and experience different situations in ways that weave our tale together, alter Gawain’s character, and add meaning behind our story. Gawain must travel from his home of Camelot in order to preserve The Round Table’s honor by fulfilling a challenge proposed to him, In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the author utilizes situational archetypes to further our hero, Gawain, along the story. “The Call to Adventure” (Campbell 45) brought forth by the Green Knight pushes Gawain from his familiar community of Camelot out into the world of adventure. Gawain is no longer allowed to live in his peaceful world, but

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.

Though often extensive detail may be condemned as mere flowery language, in understanding Sir Gawain and the Green Knight one must make special emphasis on it. In color and imagery itself, the unknown author paints the very fibers of this work, allowing Sir Gawain to discern the nuances of ritualistic chivalry and truth. His quest after the Green Knight is as simple as ones quest toward himself. Through acute awareness of the physical world he encounters Gawain comes to an understanding of the world beyond chivalry, a connection to G-d, the source of truth. He learns, chivalry, like a machine, will always function properly, but in order to derive meaning from its product he must allow nature to affect him.

In the opening lines of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Gawain-poet predicates the numerous dualities—which lead the reader through questions of moral seriousness—that exist in the poem. The opening historical recounting, according to Richard Hamilton Green, reminds the reader that “the greatness of the past is marred by reminders of failure” (179). The paradox of triumph and greatness arising out of failure foreshadows Sir Gawain following the same pattern of fate as his predecessors. While the completion of Gawain’s quest reaffirms the historical paradox of greatness, his journey to renown is fraught with situations and symbols that develop the poem’s main concern of moral seriousness. The Gawain-poet skillfully reveals his

Gawain meets many new characters during his quest to save his community from dishonor. One of the main characters who is represented as the green knight who gives meaning to a conflict by telling Gawain why his wife was trying to wou him. With the conflict being when Gawain was going to receive the blow from The green knight, the meaning to the conflict would be that the three blows would represent three days with his wife. This develops Sir Gawain's character by revealing the flaw of not putting loyalty before life, further making gawain more mature about his actions. This is also reveals the main theme of the story with the main theme being loyalty is always before yourself.