Symbolism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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.

Near the end of the battle, when Roland realizes his uncle Ganelon has betrayed them and is helping the enemy, he begins to get more and more injured. Even while continuing to fight like a true warrior, Roland understands that they will lose and finally sounds his olifant to alert Charlemagne. In this moment, “his pain is great, and from his mouth the bright blood comes leaping out, and the temple bursts in his forehead” (Roland 258). In the aftermath of the battle, the sheer force of this blow is enough to kill him. As a near representation of this powerful horn, I used shell-shaped noodles, which resemble the horn. While an olifant looks more like an elephant tusk than the conch shape of the noodles, the similarity to a horn is still clear. The Kalamata olives, which add a necessary salty bite to the dish, also sound similar to olifant and Oliver, who also dies a warrior’s death in the battle. While this dish is simple and light on symbolism, it was one of my favorites to eat.

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.

 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.

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is the classic tale of a knight of the round table who takes up the challenge of the mysterious Green Knight. The poem begins with the Green Knight’s sudden arrival and his declaration of his proposition: a knight may strike him, and then a year and one day from then he will return the blow. This tale is most well-known for dealing with the themes of a knight’s code of chivalry, loyalty, resisting temptation, and keeping one’s word. While the whole poem is full of great lines that beautifully deliver the message, one of the best passages come at the end of the poem after Sir Gawain has managed to survive his second encounter with the Green Knight. This passage perfectly encompasses the various themes of the poem, as it deals with all of the trials Gawain has faced up until that point and also explains how he deals with the shame he feels for surviving the game in the way he did.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, many archetypes can be found, like in most works of literature. This literary work included situational and symbolic archetypes as well as character archetypes and color archetypes. Each archetype in the poem aided in Sir Gawain’s development as a character. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single character can play many archetypal roles.

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

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.

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

Examples such as the Green Knight, a product of Morgan le Faye and Morgan’s castle and everything that lies within it support this idea. Although, not only can green represent the envy that makes the story, it can also represent a connection to nature, perhaps even other-worldly. The fact that the Green Knight made up of green demonstrates a very important relation between him and the world, revealed through his weapons of choice such as his holly branch and axe. Meanwhile, red and gold, strongly associated with Gawain, contrast the Green Knight’s green and gold. The color red represents love and life (blood) while gold represents wealth and prosperity. The colors serve as a wonderful visual to Gawain’s character— very noble.

In Borroff Howes's, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ambiguity is a major theme referring to something having multiple meanings leaving it up the readers to interpret the story in different ways. Ambiguity is used to look at the different views of the problem, leaving them mysterious and able to ponder, like the relationship between the pentangle and the green girdle. The pentangle is used throughout the story as a shield for Gawain in his journey until it is replaced by the green girdle. Does this show similarity or difference? The writer leaves this up to the reader to decide. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the relationship between the pentangle and the green girdle help signify one of the core ambiguities helping to show the poem's multiple meanings.

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.

Upon first Reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I noticed that it comes off as a romantic normative poem about chivalric ideals and traditions of the ruling class with covertly Christian Images. The protagonist character Sir Gawain stands out as the role model of the chivalric ideals of the 14th century while displaying Christian images on his armor. The combination of Gawain’s armor and actions throughout the poem exemplify his characteristics of Christian perfection and chivalric ideals. The very first scene with Bertilak of Hautdesert known as the Green Knight begins to mold your perception of how chivalrous Sir Gawain is by portraying him as valiant, humble, and virtuous knight to Arthur. I felt that the interruption of Arthur

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

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval poem by an unknown author, written in Middle English in the 14th century. This poem is uncanny to most poems about heroism and knightly quests as it doesn’t follow the complete circle seen in other heroism tales. This poem is different to all the rest as it shows human weaknesses as well as strengths which disturbs the myth of the perfect knight, or the faultless hero. The author uses symbolism as a literary device in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give the plot a deeper and more significant meaning. Symbolism is used to emphasise the difference of this heroism story against others and therefore symbolism is of great importance in this poem. The importance of the following symbols will be