Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an anonymous author some time during the fourteenth century, reflects many of the religious, political and social aspects illustrated in other literary works of the time. The author, a contemporary of Chaucer, lived during a time when gallantry, loyalty and honor defined a true man. During this period, Christianity was prevalent, and inherent human weakness was commonly accepted.
The author begins the poem with the mention of the siege and destruction of Troy, said to be a result of the traitorous acts of the "knight that had knotted the nets of deceit" (Norton 3), Aeneas. The knights who survive this destruction go on to build the great empires of that time:
Great Romulus to Rome repairs in haste; / With boast and with bravery builds he that city / And names it with his own name, that it now bears. / 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 (8 - 15).
The author focuses on Britain, and the worthy knights bred here, saying: "Bold boys bred there, in broils delighting, / That did in their day many a deed most dire / More marvels have happened in this merry land / Than in any other I know, since that olden time" (21 - 24). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is just one of many stories surrounding these "bold boys" from the original land of the Arthurian legends. "The story is set in Camelot, the court of the legendary King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, during an extraordinary Christmas celebration. The court is relatively new, and the nobles of the land are still young. During this celebration, a st...
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...eemer of an imperfect humankind seem to be emphasized throughout the literary works of this century. The religious and moral values are summed up by the final lines of the poem: "May He that was crowned with thorn / Bring all men to His bliss! Amen. / Hony Soyt Qui Mal Pense" 2524 - 2531). "Shame be to the man who has evil in his mind," might very well be the lesson the author wanted to relay to his or her audience.
Works Cited
"THE CHURCHILL SOCIETY LONDON." The Most Noble Order of the Garter. Online. Internet. 20 November, 2000. Available http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/garter.html
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Seventh Edition. Volume 1. New York: 2000.
Zhong, Vivian. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Online. Internet. 20 November, 2000. Available http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs993d/main.htm
8[8] Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Marie Borroff. Norton Anthology of British Literature Vol. 1, New York: WW Norton, 1993.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the fourteenth century by an anonymous poet who was a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer. The story was originally written in a Northern dialect. It tells the story of Sir Gawain's first adventure as a knight.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a fourteenth-century tale written by an anonymous poet, chronicles how Sir Gawain of King Arthur’s Round Table finds his virtue compromised. A noble and truthful knight, Gawain accepts the Green Knight’s challenge at Arthur’s New Years feast. On his way to the Green Chapel, Gawain takes shelter from the cold winter at Lord Bercilak’s castle. The lord makes an agreement with Gawain to exchange what they have one at the end of the day. During the three days that the lord is out hunting, his wife attempts to seduce Gawain. At the end of the story, it is revealed that Morgan le Faye has orchestrated the entire situation to disgrace the Knights of the Round Table by revealing that one of their best, Sir Gawain, is not perfect.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the story of a knight of Arthur’s round table who unbeknownst to him begins a supernatural game that will test his commitment to the chivalric code. The story written sometime around 1400 is an example of a medieval romance with a noble knight venturing forth to maintain the honor of himself and his court. Knights are supposed to be examples of chivalry and since chivalry is largely based upon the church, these same men must be examples for other Christians. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, while entertaining, also teaches readers one of the hardest lessons of Christianity, that to give into the temptations of this world is the one of the shortest ways to death.
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight has prompted scholars to examine and diversely interpret the medieval narrative. One of the underlying questions that has been proposed embodies the analysis of the relationship between Christian and Pagan ideals and how knightly chivalry is influenced by religion during the Arthurian Romance period. It is no mistake that the two varied religious ideals are intertwined throughout the poem due to the nature of classical antiquity. Amidst the overlap between superstitious rituals and Orthodox- Christian beliefs it is clear that Sir Gawain has a sense of personal integrity guided by a moral compass.
"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.
It is easy to read _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_ as a romantic celebration of chivalry, but Ruth Hamilton believes that "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains a more wide-ranging, more serious criticism of chivalry than has heretofore been noticed" (113). Specifically, she feels that the poet is showing Gawain's reliance on chivalry's outside form and substance at the expense of the original values of the Christian religion from which it sprang. As she shows, "the first order of knights were monastic ones, who took vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity. The first duties th...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Keith Harrison. Medieval English Literature. Ed. J.B. Trapp, Douglas Gray, and Julia Boffey. New York: Oxford UP, 2002: 356-416.
Norton. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." The Norton Anthology English Literature. New York : W.M. Norton and Company, 2006. 162-213.
In the opening scene Sir Gawain faces his first trial when the Green Knight proposes his “Christmas game.” The room falls silent for “If he astonished them at first, stiller were then/ All that household in hall, the high and low;” (lines 301-302). The Green Knight begins to mock the court; and then boldly, King Arthur accepts h...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Sixth Edition, Volume One. General Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 1993.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume A. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 162-213.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem which tells the tale of a knight who undergoes trials-testing the attributes of knighthood-in order to prove the strength and courage of himself, while representing the Knights of the Round Table. One of King Arthurs most noblest and bravest of knights, Sir Gawain, is taken on an adventure when he steps up to behead a mysterious green visitor on Christmas Day-with the green mans’ permission of course. Many would state that this tale of valor would be within the romance genre. To the modern person this would be a strange category to place the poem in due to the question of ‘where is the actual romance, where is the love and woe?’ However, unlike most romances nowadays, within medieval literature there are many defining features and characteristics of a romance-them rarely ever really involving love itself. Within medieval literature the elements of a romance are usually enshrouded in magic, the fantastic and an adventure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows Sir Gawain over the course of one year, from one New Years to the next, as was the deal he and Bertilak, the green knight, struck.
Fitzgerald suggests that fantasy never matches reality by looking at the consequences of Gatsby’s confusing dreams and reality. Gatsby creates a high illusionary Daisy, therefore, these expectations of Daisy cannot be met. This can also be seen by noticing how as Gatsby approaches the end of this journey of acquiring Daisy, the journey becomes pointless, and the outcomes in his fantasy differ from those in reality. Countless individuals today make this same mistake of confusing dreams and reality, and looking to Jay Gatsby as an example, this mistake may harm them in the future.
Over the last few decades, the use of cell phones has become a very common tool. Furthermore, Technology has certainly advanced, and the cell phone is becoming the most preferred mode of communication. The demand for a cell phone is growing every day. In addition, the use of wireless technology is affordable, and anyone can buy a cell phone at a reasonable price. They come in all shapes and sizes. They range from black to bright metallic white. American public use of cell phones is increasing everyday. As the number of people using cell phones increase, the use of cell phones while driving will also increase on our streets and highways. At the same rate, motorists still converse on cell phones and write text messages while driving. Motorist will also engage in other activities apart from driving. For example, drivers will text when driving, and they will dial numbers. Drivers will receive calls and converse with the recipient for long periods. Again, driving demands your full attention, and your concentration needed when talking on the phone. However, it means that the driver has to divert his attention to the conversation, which leads to less concentration on the road. On the contrary, one can therefore connect motorist’s accidents and cell phone usage while driving.