Milena Vasquez Vasquez 1
Professor Derkan
English DC
10/17/14
The Ambivalent Perceptions Of Chastity During the middle ages, chastity was well known issue passed down from the earlier concepts of Anglo-Saxon England. The religion of Christianity was a big part of their everyday lifestyle, it influenced their actions, thoughts, and beliefs. Men and women who practiced chastity were thought to be virtuous people who followed the steps of Christ and the Virgin Mary. It is through the christian church that these ideas were impose on society to follow. Sexual denial demonstrated their commitment to christianity specially for women because
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This person was represented by the character of Sir Gawain in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” At the beginning of the story we learn that Sir Gawain is a great knight who everybody respected because he was a noble person who exercised honesty, loyalty, and chivalry. As the story progresses Sir Gawain makes a deadly promise with a green knight that they would cut each others heads. This initiated a long journey for Sir Gawain that would show and challenge his strength as well as show his weaknesses. When sir gawain arrives at a castle where he is welcome he makes another promise with the owner of the house of exchanging everything they earned during the day. This is when Sir Gawain's true challenge that would test his chastity,and honor began. The test initiates the very first day when they offer him the companionship of the master’s young wife who Sir Gawain at first sight becomes enchanted by her, “ ...fair hues of her flesh, her face and her hair and her body and her beaming were beyond praise, and excelled the queen herself, as Sir Gawain thought.” The next morning Sir Gawain is woken by an unexpected entrance to his bedroom by the master’s wife. She tries to seduce him through her physical appearance as well as intellectual words in order to make Gawain sleep with her. She immediately offers herself to him by directly telling him, “My body is here at hand, your each wish to fulfill; your servant to command I am, and shall be still.” The master’s wife tries this technique for three mornings. However, Sir Gawain maintain his composure and tries to reject her in the most kindest way in order to not insult her. He tries hard to keep his chastity and honor because as a man the temptation of being with the lady was enormous. He knows that if he were to give in to her he would be dishonoring his title as a knight as well as
"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a poem written by a poet (name unknown) approximately 6000 years ago in the late 1300's in the medieval times. This story was originally written in medieval literature with a real unique rhyme scheme, but was translated later in time to regular English for high school students and researchers to study and read.
In a the story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is faced with many challenges. Many of the challenges have to do with him trying to maintain his chivalry. Part of him maintaining his chivalry is to stay loyal; he should not give in to Lady Bertilak, who is constantly pursuing him, but should also listen to what she tells him to do. During Gawain 's stay at Bertilak’s castle, Lord Bertilak suggests they play a game in which they will have to exchange the winnings they gained that day. In the end, the story tells us that Lady Bertilak had been following the instructions her husband had given her to try to trick Gawain into not staying true to his word during the game they played. However, Lady Bertilak did many unnecessary and sexual
Women were always viewed as weak, dependent, and powerless in the Middle Ages. Not only is it a common view during that time period, but this also is often stereotyped labeled to women today as well. In the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hatred of women is portrayed throughout. However, while women are certainly looked down upon, they also are influential to the knights. This romance also portrays how a woman having different characteristics, could change the way she was viewed as well. Although women in the Middle Ages appeared to lack power, the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have a hidden influence over the men and actually drive the action of the medieval romance.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline: Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be the least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355).
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the greatest fourteenth century text. It was written by an unknown author between 1375 and 1400. The story begins at Christmas time, and there are many symbolic elements. The Green Knight is a color which symbolizes Christmas. Also, changing seasons and the coming of winter symbolize the passing of life and reminds us that Death is unavoidable. The author also skillfully illustrates human weaknesses in the descriptions of Gawain's temptations.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the fourteenth century in Northern dialect by an anonymous author who was a contemporary of Chaucer. The story begins in King Arthur's court. The Green Knight, a green monster who challenges the court to a Christmas game, Sir Gawain, a brave, loyal knight of the court, and King Arthur, the lord of the court, are the main characters. Lines 279 through 365, which deal with the Christmas game, also known as the beheading game, foreshadow the Green Knight's supernatural powers, Sir Gawain's victory over the Green Knight, and his bravery and loyalty to King Arthur. The events surrounding the proposal of the game foreshadow what will happen next.
In the Medieval Romance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight imagery reinforces the five basic rules that are fundamental to the “Quest”.
Fantasy literature is often used as a template for authors to showcase their personal views on things like sexuality and race. When it comes to homosexuality in fantastic literature, it has always been present. In early works, however, homosexuality was often masked with innuendos. The texts Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Huntress by Malinda Lo (2011) are two prime examples of fantasy, both past and present, that use homosexuality as a way to further their plot line. It is appropriate to compare these two stories, because they follow a somewhat similar storyline that uses homosexuality/ homoeroticism to enhance the story itself, albeit they each do it in a vastly different manner. These differing presentations help to showcase how the representation of homosexuality in fantastic literature has changed over time as well as how male versus female same sex relationships are presented in fantastic literature.
In the Middle Ages, a time of brave knights and fair maidens, chivalry was alive and well, and honor meant much more than just pride. A man could be expected to be as good as his word, and God was an integral part of his life. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the title character sets off on a month-long quest for the Green Chapel in fulfillment of a promise made a year earlier, knowing full well that it could mean certain death. After the knight's final days at the court of King Arthur are recounted, he sets off in "country wild" where he is "far off from all his friends" (lines 713-14). This lonely road on which he rides reflects the nature of his quest--Gawain's conflict is within himself, and is something which he must deal with on his own.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a story full of tests and inner challenges, was written by an unknown author somewhere in the late 14th century. The poem begins the same as it ends: with the mentioning of the fall of Troy. After the fall of Troy, the Trojan survivors ventured to Europe where each began a new kingdom. "Ticius to Tuscany, and towers raises, Langobard in Lombardy lays out homes, and far over the French Sea, Felix Brutus on many broad hills and high Britain he sets, most fair." (Norton p. 202) In the same lines in the original text, "And fer ouer the French flod Felix Brutus On mony bonkkes ful brode Bretayn he settez wyth wynne" Britain is described as a land that is settled "wyth wynne" or, with joy.
overlook the fact that Gawain kissed another man's wife, hid the truth about the green
In the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," Gawain is a guest at Hautdesert Castle. During his stay at the castle, three separate hunts take place. These hunts also parallel temptations aimed at Gawain by the wife of the Lord of Hautdesert Castle. In each hunt scene, a characteristic of the prey of that hunt is personified in Gawain's defense against the advances of the Lord's wife.
No matter where we go in the world, we will always be surrounded and tempted by sin. These temptations test our character and morality, and they prove that our human nature inherently causes us to fall to the sins that encompass us. Even though the world is a dark and immoral place to live, we all value our lives and are prepared to do almost anything to protect ourselves from harm’s way. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the green girdle serves as symbol that highlights Gawain’s incessant love for life that tempts him to stray from his knightly code of chivalry.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the late fourteenth century. To this day, no one knows the name of the author of the poem. The poem was written in a dialect that is very hard to understand. Alliteration and rhyme are combined to create unique stanzas, called "Bob and Wheel." The term "Bob and Wheel" means that a poetic stanza has long alliterative lines; then, there is a two syllable line followed by a quatrain. The poem has several plots. One plot or theme is temptation. "The poem is a medieval comedy of manners told from a distinctly Christian viewpoint." In the lines from 366 to 443, the poem shows how Sir Gawain is chivalrous and brave. In this passage, there is action and symbolism that cause the characters' reactions.
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is an example of medieval misogyny. Throughout Medieval literature, specifically Arthurian legends like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the female characters, Guinevere, the Lady, and Morgan leFay are not portrayed as individuals but social constructs of what a woman should be. Guinevere plays a passive woman, a mere token of Arthur. The Lady is also a tool, but has an added role of temptress and adulteress. Morgan leFay is the ultimate conniving, manipulating, woman. While the three women in this legend have a much more active role than in earlier texts, this role is not a positive one; they are not individuals but are symbols of how men of this time perceive women as passive tokens, adulteresses, and manipulators.