Mengru Zhou
Mrs. Speer
English 4 Period J
1 Oct 2015 Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is considered not only a most brilliant example of Middle English poetry but one of the jewels in the crown English Literatures, and sits in the British Library under conditions of high security and controlled humidity. In the anonymously written story, Sir Gawain And The Green Knight shows Sir Gawain’s chivalry form his loyalty to his King, being testing by Green Knight, and his behavior during game playing. The first chivalric expression of Sir Gawain in Arthur’s court is his loyalty. It was Christmas at Camelot-King Arthur’s court, where all the Round Table knights had gathered. An uninvited guest appeared-entirely emerald green, called Green Knight. For a knight, the most important is to remain loyal to God, King, and Lady Guinevere. When Green Knight challenge the court, Arthur initially was going to accept his challenge, but Sir Gawain stepped forth and said: “ should you call me, courteous Lord.” “ to rise from my seat and stand out your side, politely take leave of my place at the table and quit without casuing off once to my queen, then I shall come to your counsel before this great court.” [1] accept Green Knight’s challenge, which can consider as a mark of his loyalty. And this is particularly significant for Sir Gawain because he is not the best knight to King Arthur, but he is closest to King Arthur. For a knight, the most
Even though the green knight turns out to be good at the end of the story, he still presents Gawain with a variety of difficult challenges throughout the poem that make him seem evil. The green knight is first perceived as evil when he barges into king Arthur’s castle and insults the knights of camelot for hesitating to cut off his head. The moment that Sir Gawain volunteers to cut off the green knights instead of allowing Arthur to do so he is crossing the threshold from the ordinary world into the world of adventure. When Gawain departs on his journey to have his head cut off he is putting the greater good of camelot before his preference of not being decapitated by giant green knights. This choice that Gawain makes marks his first step towards becoming a better knight. Even
Medieval scholars continually inspect the particularities of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK) within the context of the preexisting Gawain literary tradition, and the issue of Gawain’s sudden antifeminist diatribe repeatedly comes to the forefront of these textual investigations. Often, literary critics claim that Gawain’s antifeminist outburst is common for the fourteenth century and that his acceptance to wear the girdle as a sign of shame still epitomizes him as a model of knighthood. Other scholars hesitate to dismiss Gawain’s misogyny as commonplace, they note that this moment is inconsistent with his reputation as an ideal knight. Gawain’s hasty compulsion to blame women suggests ruptures within the essentiality of his chivalric identity and a closer examination of the text reveals that this moment is not isolated. Despite scholars repeated attempts to identify the essential knight within Gawain, there are several examples of Gawain’s unstable identity throughout the text. I will argue Sir Gawain’s knightly identity is performative rather than essential, and his diatribe is the culmination of his failure to perform his own expected social identity.
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
Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The
Gawain’s first portrayal of being a true knight comes when the Green Knight makes his appearance in Camelot. The Green Knight first speaks to King Arthur and proposes that they play a “game.” Arthur will strike the Green Knight with his axe, and in return the Green Knight will return the strike in a year and a day. King Arthur agrees to this game and its terms, but as he steps up to accept the challenge, Gawain comes forward and offers to participate in the “game” in place of King Arthur. Sir Gawain says to King Arthur, “I implore with prayer plain that this match should now be mine” (341-342). Gawain goes on to strike the Green Knight, cutting off his head. However, the strike does not kill the Green Knight; he picks up his head from the ground and repeats to Sir Gawain that he will return the blow in a year and a day. In this moment, Gawain’s bravery is clearly showcased. First, he takes a challenge in place of his king, which he did not have to do.
In the book Sir Gawain And the Green Knight, Sir Gawain faces three major tests. The first major test Sir Gawain must face is when the Green Knight comes to King Arthur’s Round Table and offers the challenge. The second major test was when Lord Bertilak’s wide tried to seduce Gawain. The final vital test was Gawain keeping his word by going to the Green Chapel for the challenge. In conclusion, Gawain is a loyal knight and lives by the chivalry code for the most part.
King Arthur and his knights represent the pinnacle of bravery, chivalry, and honor. However, when a strange knight, the Green Knight, enters Camelot with a challenge, none of the knights accept it (?). No knights wanted to go blow for blow with the Green Knight for fear of losing their lives. It is not until Arthur rises to face the challenge, to defend the honor of his court, that Gawain steps forward and accepts it. Therefore, the purpose of the Green Knight is to teach Sir Gawain to value his honor and the honor of the king more than his life.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem written in the mid to late fourteenth century by an unknown author. Throughout the tale, Sir Gawain, a Knight at the Round Table in Camelot, is presented with many hardships, the first being a challenge on Christmas by a man in which, “Everything about him was an elegant green” (161). This “Green Knight” challenged someone in Camelot to accept his game which they will chop off his head with his axe and the Green Knight will do the same to the player a year and a day later. Sir Gawain stepped up to the challenge and took his kings place after King Arthur was the only one was willing to agree. On his quest to find the Green Knight, almost a year after he watched the green man pick his head up off the ground and ride off as if nothing ever happened, he found a castle and befriended the Lord and his wife. The Lord offered the whereabouts of the Green Knight, and in return, he asked Sir Gawain to play another game. Both the Lord and Sir Gawain must give each other everything they received throughout the day at the end of each night. The Lord gives Gawain all the animals he has hunted each day and Gawain gives the lord the kisses he gained throughout each day from the Lord’s wife. Before Gawain leaves to find the Green Knight, the Lord’s wife gave him a green silk belt to protect him from the Green Knight’s axe. Sir Gawain did not give the belt to the Lord at the end of the day. In the end, the Lord was the Green Knight and
With King Arthur's approval, Gawain is appointed as the challenger to the Green Knight. The Green Knight then submits some conditional aspects to the challenge, which Gawain eagerly accepts, hoping to impress his king. After what he believes to be an easy
In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Gawain exemplifies all the traits of a noble knight. When King Arthur accepts the Green Knight's challenge, Gawain steps in. He cannot allow the King to put his life on the line. Gawain says to King Arthur:
Loyalty is a continual theme in each novel that both protagonist share and serves Gawain in the Green Knight well. During a new year 's eve feast at King Arthur 's court, there appears a figure named the Green Knight. He challenges the court or any brave knight to a game. His challenge is to whomever accept the game, has to strike him with his own axe, on the condition that the challenger find him in one year to receive a blow in return. Gawain shows loyalty to his uncle, King Arthur,
After the Green Knight humiliates King Arthur and his knights by challenging them, Gawain stepped up to the challenge in their place, asking the King “Uncle, let me stand in your stead and strike the blow” (Thompson, 11). Here, Sir Gawain is following vow two of the Knights Code of Chivalry “to serve the liege lord in valor and in faith" by committing to the challenge himself, he is protecting the king and serving him. Coincidentally, by accepting the challenge, he is also following vow ten of the Knights Code of Chivalry “to guard the honor of fellow knights.” As an effect of, Sir Gawain’s noble act, he stops the embarrassment caused by the Green Knight’s challenge, preserving his fellow knights’
Society expects ultimate perfection of all people. Due to this people are pressured to act a certain way that they would otherwise not act. The journey of obtaining perfection and maintaining it leads to success and failure. But what is considered failing while trying to become a different person? This topic is addressed in the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by Pearl Poet. The main character Sir Gawain finds himself on a journey that will test his knightly integrity and the true nature of his personality. Sir Gawain fails his quest when he responds to the challenge in an aggressive way; by doing so he shows his lack of concern for human life, he fails to uphold his agreement with Lord Bertilak, and succumbs to fear when the
Sir Gawain is reluctant to accept the Green Knight’s challenge. He fears for his life. In the end he only accepts the challenge to protect King Arthur’s life and honor. He knows it is his duty to protect King Arthur, but only volunteers to do so at the last second. Sir Gawain also breaks his oath to the Lord of the castle he is staying in. He broke their vow to trade whatever they had earned during the day when he keeps a sash the Lady of the castle gives him because he believes it will protect him during his battle with the Green Knight.
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.