Symbolism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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.

The epic “Sir Gawain and the Green knight” uses a lot of symbolism to create deeper meanings throughout the story. The Green knight himself is the main example of symbolism the writer used to depict something much greater then what it appears to be. The author, who is said to be Pearl Poet (although not confirmed) uses the green knight himself, the color green, the holly branch, the battle axe, the journey, sir Gawain’s shield and his wound to symbolize that the story is based off of and Christian beliefs.

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

In the poem “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight,” a protagonist emerges depicting an Arthurian knight named Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew, takes initiative by accepting the challenge requested by the Green Knight in place of his uncle. He undergoes a perilous adventure, seeking for the Green Knight to receive the final blow. Although Sir Gawain is not viewed as a hero for his military accomplishments, he is, however, viewed as a heroic figure by the Knights at the Round Table for his knightly characteristics.

In his book The Discarded Image C.S. Lewis states that “the Middle Ages depended predominantly on books…reading was one way of the total culture.” To illustrate, imagine a young heroic knight, holding his sword in one hand and his shield in another. Standing in confidence, with a determined look upon his face before confronting his next challenge. Bravery is found in many interesting stories throughout the medieval ages. It is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “courageous behavior or character” (Oxford Dictionaries). The use of bravery in medieval times can be determined as a sort of motivation for the people during Protestant movement in Britain. Bravery was also used as an example to people of a moral standard. Below, quotes by C.S. Lewis and from the poems of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Beowulf, and Judith predominantly showcase the theme of bravery in medieval concepts.

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.

Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Franklin’s Tale are set in a world where the laws of nature and order are turned upside down through the use of magic. In this Medieval world, death is escaped, men have the ability to shapeshift, and the impossible becomes entirely possible. What the Christian God set as earthly law, magic, created by the devil himself, subverts into illogical manifestations. Through their works, the authors of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Franklin’s Tale portray magic and the devil, whose ultimate scheme is to separate humankind from the Christian God by, as being inextricably intertwined. In both texts, magic is used to engage a faithful vassal and/or Christian in a supernatural demonstration in order to incite doubt or fear, thus subverting the power of their lord and/or the Christian God and tricking the faithful into abandoning faith and virtue.

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is an excellent work to reference when examining different relationships within Arthurian legends. The author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is unknown, but he is sometimes referred to as the “Gawain Poet” or “Pearl Poet” because of his additional works: “Pearl,” “Purity,” and “Patience.” All four poems were part of the Alliterative Revival of the Middle Ages of Northern England, containing mostly religious content. This may be the origin of Gawain’s exaggeratedly religious portrayal in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is organized in a stanza arrangement. Each stanza ends with one short line and four longer lines, called the bob and wheel, which “knits” the story together. It may important to note that the work was most likely written in the fourteenth century. The work is set in sixth-seventh centuries, but includes modern advances in armory, dress, and décor from the time the poem was written. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” exhibits many different types of love and relationships in which they are demonstrated. Familial love, spiritual love, erotic love, and courtly love are demonstrated within families, friendships, marriages, and Godly relationships.

People have many definitions of being a good citizen. It can relate to many different themes in one's life. In the epic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we see a couple of different examples of people acting as good citizens. Being a good citizen is translated into knighthood in this story but they both have the same meaning. A knight is supposed to be loyal, brave, and honest. A good citizen can be explained in many ways but being loyal, brave and honest are three of the main characteristics needed. Some would explain being a good citizen is being a good person, or having a good attitude and helping out. While some may explain a good citizen as one that does good acts or makes good things happen. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain

Temptation exists everywhere and for everyone, yet for everyone temptation exists in oddly different ways. For some temptation could be that delicious ice cream cone on a hot summer afternoon, conveniently while dieting. For others temptation could exist in a six-pack of beer or bottle of liquor. The point is anything could be a temptation to someone. However, for Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight temptation existed around every corner while he was playing the game of the Green Knight. Temptation existed every day and each day it existed in a new way. Gawain never knew what was coming his way throughout the grand scheme of the game, but one thing was for certain he was being tested. Without his reliance religious faith and dedication to his reputation, Gawain would not have been able to make it through the game of the Green Knight alive and resist the temptations put in his path. Temptation was a huge part of the Green Knights game with Gawain, but because of his impeccable reputation Gawain was able to resist the temptation put before him the majority of the time.

I believe that the color green represents wealth, nature and growth. To me, the story symbolizes wealth, not only in the color of money and tangible objects, but the knowledge of knowing and realizing that no one is perfect. Wealth is seeing that we all make mistakes and learning to accept and grow from them is what makes life worth living and provides the wealth of true happiness. Nature plays a large role, because Sir Gawain starts off on this journey not knowing where to search for the Green Chapel. With the bitter and ruthless ways of nature, the changing seasons can mimic Sir Gawain’s frame of mind, as well as, the circle of life. Gawain seeks Christ by asking him to “be near me in my need” (743). No sooner than he prayed, he stumbled

As we all hope for peaceful outcomes, so does Sir Gawain; throughout The Green Knight narrative, the hero’s symbolic touchstones suggest peace and nature that foreshadow amicable outcomes. The Green Knight is introduced as an intimidating giant, who’s appearance is “monstrous a mount” and “his eyes, like lightning, flashed, and it seemed to many a man, who clashed with him would not long stand” (L. 20). yet king Arthur had been calm and collective. He reacts with “Sir, you are welcome in this place.”

Themes Motifs and Symbols in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Throughout the story of Sir Gawin and the Green Knight, themes, motifs, and symbols helped to give the story a deeper meaning, and bring another dimension into the story. One of the many themes is Gawain’s struggles against the elements and his human nature. Gawain struggled against the elements in his search for the Green Knight.

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

In the most general sense, the Green Knight is an anomaly to the story of " Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," the only supernatural element in what is otherwise a very believable and wholly real rendering of a specific length of time. Gawain is momentarily tricked into believing‹or, rather, hoping‹that the garter is magical in nature, but both his fear and the Green Knight dispel him of that heathen notion. Thus on the one hand the poet warns us of the danger of accepting the supernatural qua supernatural, while on the other he demands that we understand the Green Knight to be an expression of the "power of Morgan le Fay," who is "well taught in magic arts."