Symbolism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

The feast scene in Part One of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains one of the most important character-defining moments for the protagonist, Gawain. His intervention and acceptance of the challenge leaves the reader with a lasting impression of his personality. This moment is shaped by the comparison of Gawain the two principle male characters, King Arthur and the Green Knight. The caricatures that the poet creates of these two men—and their confrontation during the Green Knight’s challenge—sets up a picture of masculinity that enhances the ideal qualities represented in Gawain. Arthur is depicted as a young, restless king who craves action and excitement. The Green Knight is a powerful, captivating giant of a man whose strength is seemingly limitless. And Gawain as the ideal figure exhibits restraint, humility, thoughtfulness, and grace. However, the poet does not reject the traits that make King Arthur and the Green Knight who they are. Each of these masculine identities work together to enhance the image of the ideal. In the end, the most important virtue all three men demonstrate is the willingness to accept imperfection.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has an overload of symbolic archetypes, though one of the most symbolic, in my opinion, is Gawain’s shield. This symbolic shield accompanies Gawain on his journey to the Green Knight’s Chapel and has multiple meanings within itself. One is the picture of the Virgin

The inconsistencies in Sir Gawain’s identity become blatantly clear when contextualized within the literary tradition that established Gawain as fundamentally chivalrous.

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.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by an unknown author referred to as the “Pearl Poet,” we are introduced to Sir Gawain. Gawain is a knight of the Round Table and he is also the nephew of King Arthur. As a knight, Gawain is expected to possess and abide by many chivalrous facets. Throughout the poem he portrays many of the qualities a knight should possess, such as bravery, courtesy, and honor among others. Because of his ability to possess these virtues even when tempted to stray away from them, Sir Gawain is a true knight.

The pentangle is Gawain's shield, it is used in battles and it is the shield he takes on his journey in search for the Green Knight. The pentangle contains the five virtues that Gawain is supposed to live by and stay true to throughout his

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.

Medieval literature is literature from medieval times, usually with the same themes of action, saving princesses, chivalry and corruption of the church. A theme can be concluded after reading the whole story. Themes have many underlying meanings and could mean anything. In every literature work there are many themes to discover. Common themes in medieval literature are magic, teaching of morals, and power.

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.

Throughout Sir Gawain we see a few things that reoccur. First is the pentangle (Five Pointed Star) On the shield of Sir Gawain, The color green, and the green girdle. The pentangle has many meanings. Faultless in the five senses, faithful of the five wounds of Christ, but most importantly it stands for the 5 Virtues of knights. Which are friendship, generosity, chastity, piety (devout fulfillment of religious obligations). The Pentangle flows perfectly into each point.

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

The five pointed star is primarily ``a token of truth''; truth is the largest significance of the pentangle (30. 626). Yet this star is no ordinary symbol. Gawain's coat of arms links more strongly to its symbolic meaning than most other knightly symbols, which were often taken from nature and mythology. The pentangle is not an ancestral coat of arms, for it applies to Gawain only. Thus Gawain takes it much more seriously than other knights would consider their own symbols. He defines his life by this symbol and attempts, with much success, to exemplify the traits it represents.

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

Moreover, the pentangles five points create a structure for the poem to follow as ‘its five points fall at significant junctures of the poem” (Derrickson, 11). Therefore, Gawain’s shield fashions an important symbol in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as the pentangles five virtues form the journey that Gawain embarks on in the poem. The use of the literary device of symbolism that is seen here, gives the poem its shape and a structure to follow, and assimilates the events in the poem.

 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.