Sir Gawain's The Symbolism Of The Color Green

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.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a religious allegory full of Christian symbolism with the central message of sin, forgiveness, and redemption. The poem is a great story of virtues, trust and honor. It's an Arthurian romance in which Sir Gawain carries a shield on his chest in his quest for Green Knight. Gawain's shield has two images, a picture of Virgin Mary on the inside and "Painted upon his shield is a five-pointed star (pentangle). He is a perfect knight who realizes that it is important to be a good Christian The image of Mary inside this shield conveys that Gawain never loses heart and the detailed description of the pentangle is a key for proper understanding of the poem's message.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a very wonderful story that has many symbols that have an important meaning and lesson to it. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is written anonymously. This story is very unique in every way because some of the circumstances and games are very different compared to how some people see them today. There are many symbols that are embedded into this story. Items that seem simple and irrelevant in real life are important in the story and embrace special lessons. The green belt, nature and the color green are important symbols in the story.

In addition to his unnatural size and presence, his magical nature is further hinted at as he appears “completely emerald green” (Sir Gawain l50) and later affirmed when he picks up his severed head and reminds Gawain of the rules of the agreement they made. This imagery of a seemingly omnipotent figure that a mortal man enters into an agreement is an allusion to the spiritual promise that individuals of the Christian faith enter with God. Ironically, the idea of the Green Knight acting as a metaphor for a supernatural power is part of a larger paganistic culture that stretches across the world and includes such figures as the Aztec “Corn King”, a “vegetation spirit representing fertility and involved in a sacrificial beheading (Benson 67). The supernatural is being appropriated to connect to the growing Christian culture of medieval Britain and make the narrative resonate with the general populace. Sir Gawain’s journey to fulfill his covenant with the Green Knight is fraught with supernatural perils, disorientation, and temptations but it eventually leads him to a chapel to fulfill his promise to the Green Knight: “See, Gawain, that you carry out your promise exactly,/ And search for me truly, sir, until I am found,/ As you have sworn in this hall in

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

Throughout literature, colors are used to represent feelings, emotions and actions of characters. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the color green is used to represent the love story between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. As he grew up and worked for his immense fortune, Gatsby transformed his life into one he felt would impress her the most. Fitzgerald uses the color green to represent Gatsby’s perfect image of Daisy, and the greed that engulfs the couple throughout the entire novel.

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

What I noticed at first while reading the story is that, the story is focused mainly only on Gawain’s point of view. Another thing that comes out of the story is that there is some sort of conflict between a civilized world and a natural world. The civilized world is the one ruled by codes of love. On the other side, the natural world is a more chaotic one, where the “animal instinct” dominates. The major conflict that we see, besides the one between Gawain and The Green Knight, is the one that Gawain has with itself, which is the struggle to decide whether his virtues are more important than his life. We also see, another huge theme treated in the story, which is the one that talks about “reputation”; reputation has a big impact in Gawain

Green is the last large color imagery in The Great Gatsby. The color green is a tremendous thing for Gatsby. He almost worships the green light at the

The story’s rising action begins with the beheading of the into New Year’s Day representing Gawain’s personality during this time. He is told to meet the Green Knight a year and a day later which is significant to medieval literature which is expressed. Gawain’s psychological state is dying, while in the warmer times he is triumphant. The Green Knight amplifies the significant of the seasons throughout the story with the holly, ax, and the color green. While the Winter is a time of death, Christmas is seen as a time of birth where Jesus was born. The fertility god is another significant aspect that is represented through Sir Gawain. He is the God that coexists with the death and rebirth of the seasons just as we see Sir Gawain’s emotions. We see the earth’s cycle of seasons portrayed through Sir Gawain’s emotions and in the end he prays to Jesus, one who is dead in the Christian faith, but will come

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is about Sir Gawain’s journey to meet the Green Knight and the stop he makes at a castle of an unnamed host. The tale is largely about morality but it can also be read as the need for one to be loyal. The confrontation scene between the Green Knight and Gawain pushes the importance of loyalty and the consequences of not being loyal.

Sir Gawain deals a savage blow to the Green Knight’s neck severing his head, only

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the speaker uses green imagery to suggest to the reader that all challenges end in death and rebirth. Green is mentioned a lot in this story. But why? Green is the color of a new start.

The wager between the Host and Gawain is that both folks must exchange what they win throughout the day with each other. Gawain must acquire something inside the castle to exchange with the Host’s hunt; likewise, the Host must find a good hunt. On the first day, the Host hunts down a deer. While the huntsmen are away, the beautiful lady attempts to entice Gawain with her flattery and sweet words. Gawain is reluctant towards the lady’s advances.

In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain brings two very different items to face the Green Knight. The pentangle on Gawain’s shield and the green girdle he ties around himself are both complex symbols with many contrasting meanings. One of the ways the Gawain-poet uses these items is juxtaposing them to develop Sir Gawain’s character. The pentangle represents the ideal human perfection and the green girdle causes Gawain to fail to teach him about his lack of perfection. At the same time the pentangle represents security and the girdle is a trap, used to show Gawain that things are not always what they seem.