...Britt 1 Sarah Britt Kristin Henderson English Literature 14 October 2008 “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” a poem written by an unknown poet in the late 1300’s also considered the medieval times. Sir Gawain, King Author’s knight is known as the noblest and more willing to face death for King Author and he inspires young knights. Throughout his trials in his journey to the Green Chapel, Sir Gawain’s actions give valuable lessons to young knights. In his quest, Sir Gawain demonstrates his knightly virtues such as, bravery, courtesy, and honesty. First, Sir Gawain shows bravery during the New Year’s feast in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” During the feast the Green Knight enters the court and offers all the knights in the court to a play a game. The game is he will allow one knight that accepts the challenge one swing, with an ax to try and cut off his head, but in order to play the knight must agree to meet him one year later at the green chapel if he fails to chop off his head for his chance to swing at the knight. The brave Sir Gawain accepts this challenge saying, “ Would you grant me the grace” (Line 343). Sir Gawain shows he is brave enough to take the challenge and protect his king. Another way Sir Gawain proves his bravery is one year later at the green chapel. Sir Gawain meets the Green Knight because of Britt 2 his promise for his chance to swing at him. He demonstrates bravery when he states...
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...Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains many themes. Some of these themes are more obvious than others. Love, lust, loyalty, deceit, trust, courage, virtue, and righteousness are most of the themes within the poem. There are some more that are hidden within the concepts of the ideas that the poem presents. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by John Gardner, many different themes are addressed throughout the story. The translation by John Gardner portrays these themes by using specific characters, medieval symbolism, and various settings within the story. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a great work of medieval literature. The story is considered to be verse romance. There are not many solid facts on the story. The story was composed in the second half of the fourteenth century. It is likely that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written around 1375. The author of the piece remains unknown, but we do know of the northwestern dialect of Middle English with which he wrote the poem. The unknown author also consciously wrote in an old-fashioned style. The author is usually referred to as the Gawain poet or the Pearl poet. Three poems were included with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. "Pearl", "Patience", and "Purity" were all with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the same manuscript. This is the reason the author is named as the Pearl poet, in addition to the Gawain poet. All four poems were uniquely named Cotton Nero A.X. This is due to the manuscript's...
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...The final element represented in the story is chivalry. Throughout the story Sir Gawain’s chivalry is constantly being tested. The ideals of chivalry come from the Christian concept of morality. When Sir Gawain sets off on his journey his morality is tested at the castle. He agrees to give the lord whatever he wins but his morality fails him and he does not live up to his word. He was tempted by the lord’s beautiful young wife and succumbed to her. However, it wasn’t just that he was kissing the lord’s wife but he also kept the green girdle from the lord, going against their agreement. “When the lord returns from the hunt, Gawain gives him the kisses but keeps the sash a secret.” Although Gawain was un-chivalrous in kissing his wife he still maintained some morality by not sleeping with her. Sir Gawain now posses the magical green sash and also a guilty conscience, though he is able to redeem his earlier actions by confessing to the Green Knight, who was lord of the castle. Sir Gawain shows this time that he is truly chivalrous by admitting his wrongdoings; he has regained his sense of morality, and asks for the knight’s forgiveness. “I can’t deny my guilt; / My works shine none too fair! / Give me your good will / And henceforth I’ll beware” (256-259). From this Gawain learns that he is just a physical being who is concerned above all else with his own life. Chivalry provides a valuable set of common ideals towards which one strives to achieve, however, a person must still remain...
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...Once upon a time in a far far away place there was a young knight who wanted fame, glory and honor. So he set out on a quest, but before he could set out he had to go to the castle and ask his king if he could go on a the quest and thus the story begins. The knight's name was Sir Mcbride and he was the most courageous in the land. He grew up in the castle keep and was and was born a knight’s son. He excelled at tracking, horseback riding, and swordsmanship. He loved the outdoors and liked to go around the keep and the castles surrounding grounds when he was younger. He had two friends whose names were Fruit and Xenos. Fruit was a young plump fellow who loved to be in the kitchens and wanted to be a cook. Xenos was the outsider who loved the survive off of nature and do all things himself. He was an excellent scout and spy and later became a ranger of the forests. You may be wondering, I thought this story was about a knight and you’d be correct but we have yet to get to that part. When young Sir Mcbride went to the castle to seek out the king he said “You may go on said quest, but only if you bring two people” so he set out and found his friends to ask if they would help go on this quest and help. They said yes because Fruit the cook wanted to travel the lands and meet and experience different cooking styles and Xenos abilities would surely...
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...differences between the lead characters in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf—Beowulf is able to save many people during his battles and is more spiritual, while Gawain’s battle was with himself and he pays more attention to his morals—there are also similarities between the two. In fact, many fail to recognize that both characters share similarities throughout their individual stories. These similarities come with human error making each knight memorable and more realistic. Sir Gawain and Beowulf are very similar in that they both display heroism and feel a need to prove their worth, ultimately showing that one can prevail even when mistakes are made. Sir Gawain and Beowulf, both feel the need to prove themselves,...
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...The Battle for Courage and Honesty The story begins during the New Year's feast in King Arthur's court. Then a green knight enters asking all of the knights in the court if they would like to play a game. The game is he will allow which ever knight that chooses to challenge him one swing with a battle ax to try and chop off his head, but in order to play the game, the accepting knight must meet the green knight one year later at the green chapel. The brave knight Sir Gawain accepts to the challenge of the green knight. Sir Gawain takes one swing and chops off the head of the green knight. Right after the green knight's head is chopped off he gets up immediately, picks up his head and leaves. Once a year passes, Gawain sets off on a journey to find the Green Chapel. He arrives at a castle in which a lord welcomes him to stay for several days (Gawain only needs to stay there for three). The next morning the lord makes an agreement to share everything he gets during these three days with Gawain, but Gawain must agree to do the same. During days one and two the lord's wife tries hitting on Gawain, but he only allows her to give him a few kisses. At these days Gawain shares what he got to the lord for what he has hunted those days. On the third day, Gawain finally accepts to take a magic girdle from the lord's wife, but he didn't share it with the lord. This magic girdle helped Gawain survive the three fatal swing's of the green giant's ax, only leaving him with a little nick. After...
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...“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” follows the classic tale of a knight accepting a challenge and the journey that the challenge takes him on. While on this challenge Sir Gawain is tested and finds about the price of pride and sin. Throughout the story there are repeated references to the color green and the girdle that he uses to hide from his fate. The color and the girdle are symbolic, with the green representing man’s connection to nature and his primal instincts, and the girdle representing man’s sin, as well as his desire to redeem himself of that sin. The color green is mentioned throughout the course of the story. When the mysterious knight interrupts Arthur’s feast on New Year’s Eve, “he was clad all in green…hose had he of the same green…and all his vesture was verily green” (“Sir Gawain”). When this is combined with the fact that he carries a holly branch in one hand and an axe in the other, this large green knight is closer to an element of nature than a regular man. Green also comes into the story in the later meeting place. The Green Knight tells Sir Gawain to meet him in the Green Chapel. The chapel is described as being in the wild, “all overgrown with grass,” clearly another connection to nature, and the fact that the grass is taking over can be seen as symbolic as Gawain’s survival instinct increasing (“Sir Gawain”). The more he is in this setting, the stronger his desire to escape becomes and he has to use all of his courage to stay and search out the Green...
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...Hunter Powell Prof. Rufleth English 210-002 24 January 2013 Gawain’s Test of Chivalry The code of chivalry plays a big role in shaping the values and actions of Sir Gawain and the other characters in the poem. Throughout the poem, Gawain’s main focus is staying true to the chivalric code, even if it means he will die honoring it. Christian beliefs also have a significant impact on knightly conduct, and they are both brought together in Gawain’s symbolic shield. Gawain’s chivalry is constantly tested throughout the entire poem, and overall he does a pretty good job of staying loyal to the code. Although he does fail at one point in the poem, it only reveals his imperfect human nature. When reading “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, one should keep in mind the various moral aspects of chivalry in order to acquire a better understanding of the text. Loyalty, courage, honesty, honor, and courtesy are all some of the traits that a knight of chivalry embraces. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” tells the story of Gawain’s test of his chivalric attributes. The test administrator in the poem is the Green Knight. He wants to test the courage and integrity of Arthur and his court. When Gawain, the only knight who steps up to the Green Knight, accepts the challenge, he displays great courage and loyalty to his king. After Gawain strikes his blow unto the Green Knight, this is when the true test begins. To maintain his honor, Gawain will have to journey to the Green Chapel...
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...When one thinks of youth, it can be associated with joy and freedom, but being young can also have its disadvantages. No one fully believes in young people capabilities or trust that they can handle responsibility. Many people might even believe that being young makes one oblivious to the troubles of the world. Because of Sir Gawain’s youthfulness, he faced opposition from the fellow knights and even criticized himself. He feels as though he lacks in both the mental and physical department compared to other knights. Just like any other young individual, Gawain does not quite realize his full potential, but as he grows and exemplify chivalry he becomes more confident and no longer let his youthfulness define him. As the poem begin, we learn...
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...Sir Gawain Versus Beowulf Strength can be described as the audacity to fight until the last breath. In the case of both Sir Gawain and Beowulf these were the ideals that these men followed. In the poems Sir Gawain and The Green Knight and Beowulf, the main characters, Sir Gawain and Beowulf, show the physical attribute of strength and valor. However, Sir Gawain and Beowulf are different in the form of strength and qualities. One represented a king who fought for the people and the other who showed loyalty towards the kingship. Beowulf was regarded as an ideal hero by the Anglo Saxon community. The main trait that regards him as the perfect hero was his courage and strength that he shows at the very end of his life. Beowulf shows his physicality throughout the story. "Beowulf, Higlac follower and the strongest of the Geats - greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in the world"(Beowulf 46). This quote exemplifies the fact that Beowulf is considered the best warrior in the region. He is also considered by many people to have superhuman abilities and superhuman strength when he ferociously rips the arm off of Grendel in the poem. Beowulf portrays the ideals of an epic hero as well as the elements of Germanic tribes which gave him super human strength and super human qualities. He is also " A man of great strength " (Helen web). This also reinstates the detail that shows the agile nature in Beowulf and also physical toughness of him as a whole. As a result, Beowulf is a sign...
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...accepted the challenge. But sir Gawain took the challenge instead. He told King Arthur that he shouldn’t take the challenge because he felt that he would be missed but with him he wouldn’t be missed because he’s nobody. After sir Gawain accepted the challenge he prepared to strike the green knight neck. After he did so the green knight head was kicked around as it landed by their feet. The green knight picked up his head and rode off on his horse. After sir Gawain left and went to the green chapel. Once Sir Gawain went to the green chapel where he stay for three night. He met the lord and his wife. On the first night while sir Gawain was sleeping in the chamber the lords wife snuck in and tried to seduce him but he pushed her off and she then stole a kiss. When the lord returned from hunting sir Gawain exchanged a kiss to the lord. On the second day the wife snuck in there again but this time she stole two kisses and sit Gawain exchanged those kisses to the king also. On the third and final day the wife...
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...forthwith. “A hanging rack came off the wall, and we were the unlucky ones to be in the way,” explained one of the head maids. Joan and Pawl immediately assumed healer-mode, and several guests swooped in to help. Perceval appeared at Gawain’s side and gave his arm a gentle shove. “Get out while you can. I’ve got Wallace. Go on.” “I must say goodbye to my boy,” said Gawain. Perceval sauntered over to Wallace’s side and lifted the child up onto his shoulders. Wallace let out an enthusiastic laugh. “Whoa, I’m up high!” “You’re at the very top of Camelot,” said Gawain. “But Wallace, your mother and I must run along now.” “To consummate the marriage?” announced Wallace without a clue regarding what it meant. “That’s fine. I’ll stay here with Sir Perceval and have fun.” “Maybe less talk about consummating marriages, Wallace,” Gawain offered with a grimace. The boy shrugged. “All right. Goodbye.” Perceval took a knee so Wallace could reach Drea. “Let your mam kiss you goodbye.” Drea kissed Wallace’s right cheek, Gawain the left one, and before anyone else had the chance to waylay them, Gawain grasped Drea’s hand and pulled her out of the infirmary. After kicking the door closed, he let out a sigh of relief. “Drea?” “Yes?” “Let’s run.” XXXX Breathless and laughing, Gawain and Drea arrived home. Drea moved as if to open the front door, but Gawain caught her around the waist and lifted her into his arms. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked teasingly. “I am your husband and will...
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...medieval epic, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a poem emerging from the mid to late 14th century, exhibit protagonists that mirror the idealistic persona of their respective ages. Beowulf, in his namesake epic, steps up to face every challenge he is presented and performs a flawless display bravery and strength. Sir Gawain is a flawed, more human character, yet continues to strive for glory and the greater good. As a reflection of the ideal hero of their periods, Beowulf and Sir Gawain differ in their values, noble qualities, and the motivations behind their achievements. Beowulf establishes a clear-cut vision of the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideals- devotion to bloodlines, demonstrating one’s valor in battle, and accepting the spoils of war with...
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...Reading this romance, some may find it tedious or uninteresting. Once you continue to read, you will find the excitement and all the challenges that Sir Gawain faced. Sir Gawain expressed integrity by being the only knight to come forward and take on the challenge the Green Knight requested at the Round Table. Gawain was willing to put his life on the line for King Arthur, although there were many obstacles along the way; However, Gawain did demonstrate traits of a knight. Trying to live up to others expectations, Gawain challenges started when the Green Knight arrived at the Round Table, when he came across the castle while heading to the Green Chapel, and when he finally arrived at the chapel. The Green Knight arrived at the Round Table where King Arthur and his knights were celebrating Christmas and New Year. Unfortunately, the Green Knight came unarmed because he was not there to fight anyone. King Arthur invited him to stay and feast with them, but the Green Knight declined his invitation and told him that he was there because he heard that Arthur’s castle was the best around with the most virtuous men of all men. Furthermore, the Green Knight challenged Arthur and his knights to strike him then, a year later receive a strike in return. Not one stepped forward to accept the challenge so the...
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...In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, two knights encounter each other during Christmas day, in the medieval time period. Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur and did not stand out very much from the rest of the knights. The Green Knight was a supernatural man who wore all green apparel and also had green skin. When the Green Knight entered King Arthur's castle, he challenges anyone to take part in what was known as the "beheadith game". Sir Gawain reluctantly accepted his challenge and with that took a lot of courage. As a part of this game, test was given. Throughout the story, the Green Knight puts Sir Gawain through certain tests in order to see if he was a worthy knight, detecting if he can be trusted in the Lord's house and...
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