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Compare and contrast beowulf and gawain
Role of literature in personality development
Compare and contrast beowulf and gawain
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Gawain and Beowulf: Heroic Traits
Gawain and Beowulf are heroes from different time periods, and it explains their varied traits. Gawain is intently focused on a chivalric code, and Beowulf is just worried about getting recognition as a good hero and keeping it. These traits are ideal within the separate texts, and there is little crossover between them. Gawain’s ideal traits are represented by his pentangle, and Beowulf’s ideal traits are represented by his actions. The poets both show these traits (or lack thereof) through the heroes’ actions, so it’s apparent whether the heroes are living up to these ideals or not. The poets are questioning the heroic codes using the poems as their medium. Gawain’s shield with the pentangle encompasses all the traits that Gawain idealizes: “Watz fraunchyse and felaghschyp forbe al thyng, His clannes and his cortaysye croked were never, And pité, that passez alle poyntez: thyse pure five” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 652-654). The terms used for the purpose of this essay will be generosity, fellowship, chastity, courtesy, and compassion. Gawain embodies generosity when he partly honors Lord Bertilak’s exchanging of their gains for the day game, whole bunch of smooching but no girdle. Gawain shows chastity by not sleeping with Lady Bertilak during
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Gawain displays this ideal trait by getting his king out of the zero sum game with Lord Bertilak, and Beowulf displays the trait by riposting Unferth’s accusations with his deflective boast. They are similar actions, but they are embodiments of different idealized traits. Beowulf is staying true to his idealized traits of honor and pride; Unferth is threatening Beowulf’s reputation as a hero by calling him out publicly like that. However, Gawain’s speech isn’t for self-benefit. He is focused on being the dutiful servant to his lord and allowing him to save face, i.e., adhering to
In the poem Beowulf, the protagonist is portrayed as a heroic figure who strives to spread his name and glory out across the land in order to be remembered. Although his acts may not entirely be for the right reasons, Beowulf does express his heroic qualities of bravery, arrogance, and brute force.
...or a chivalric Knight embodies the battle of the righteous self against corruption. Gawain’s strength comes from his discovery of his own flaws. Beowulf’s ideals concerning honor and nobility exist only within the context of his society. Remove him from other people, and his life would be meaningless. This is the true flaw of Beowulf, which the character of Gawain, by the end of his story, comes to realize. The notion of "winning" can be applied at all times to the personality of the chivalric Knight. The battleground becomes the mind, which is separate from the realm of reality. Beowulf does not have the capability to win, without the recognition of his fellow warriors. Within the mind, all sorts of battles are waged. The true winner is the person who can learn from that struggle, and who is able to apply that knowledge within both solitary and societal venues.
Both of these poems tell about two different stories and many different people in those stories, but that does not make the characters any different. Beowulf and Sir Gawain proved their courage by either clashing with a monster or choosing a deadly game. They both also showed their desire to help and save the people they care about by battling the supernatural. Despite the different journeys that Beowulf and Sir Gawain went on and the people they meet both characters share courage, the desire to save the people they love, and conquering the supernatural which are the qualities that make them an epic hero.
Although Gawain's actions are not chivalrous and makes the court appear foolish, he learns a lesson from his actions. He realizes the disgrace in his actions, calling his own heart "cowardly and covetous" (2374). By taking responsibility for his actions, Gawain allows the reader to forgive him. This forgiveness is allowed because the conflicts within Gawain force him into situations that will result in unavoidable disaster. By showing the reader that even the best of knights is not perfect, the poet reveals that the balance between knightly morals, courtliness, and thoughts of selfishness is able to be breached.
Initially, Gawain’s strongest trait is humility, Beowulf’s is pride. In the beginning of Gawain and the Green Knight, a mysterious warrior enters King Arthur’s court to extend a challenge. Although he knows others in the court would handle the challenge better than him, out of respect, when King Arthur attempts to accept the challenge Gawain comes forth and suggests he takes his place. Gawain presents himself as “the weakest of them, I know, and the dullest-minded/ so my death would be least loss, if truth should be told/ only because you are my uncle am I to be praised/ no virtue I know in myself but your blood” (Broadview Analogy 269). Instead of bragging about his bravery, Gawain acts modestly and states that his death would be of little loss during this challenge. He is not self-absorbed and gives off the impression that the only reason he is a knight is because of his relation with King Arthur. By stating this, he gives off the impression that his self confidence is quite weak; this is astonishing for a character of this era. Although King Arthur has at least one of his knights to be proud of, it seems as though
The Green Knight takes a blow from an ax at the hand of Sir Gawain, and in one year and one day, the Green Knight is to reciprocate the action to Sir Gawain. While Sir Gawain was heroic in his deed, Beowulf shows a certain selflessness in his bouts makes him a better hero than Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain was heroic in seeking out the Green Knight to finish the challenge that was brought to King Arthur’s men. “Said Gawain, ‘Strike once more; /I shall neither flinch nor flee; /But if my head falls to the floor /There is no mending me!’” (lns.
In the anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the character of Sir Gawain is portrayed as the imperfect hero. His flaws create interest and intrigue. Such qualities of imperfection cannot be found in the symbol of the pentangle, which he displays on his shield. This contrast between character and symbol is exposed a number of times throughout the poem allowing human qualities to emerge from Gawain’s knightly portrayal. The expectations the pentangle presents proves too much for Gawain as he falls victim to black magic, strays from God, is seduced by an adulterous woman, and ultimately breaks the chivalric code by lying to the Green Knight.
The first symbol in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that I will discuss is Sir Gawain’s knightly shield. On Gawain’s shield is a pentangle, the five points on this pentangle represent the five virtues of the perfect knight; piety, friendship, generosity, chastity and courtesy. Each of the five virtues is tested on Gawain throughout the poem creating an emphasised importance on the shield’s representation and meaning. “Now alle þese fyue syþez, for soþe, were fetled on þis knyȝt, And vchone halched in oþer, þat non ende hade, And fyched vpon fyue poyntez, þat fayld neuer” (SGGK, 656-8). This quote tells of the pentangle’s design, how each line of the pentangles composition is endlessly linked to one another, suggesting that each virtue depends on th...
Though Sir Gawain is brave, Beowulf seems more naturally heroic. He goes to the land of the Danes of his own volition. His king does not order him to go. He tells his king that he wishes to go help the Danes defeat Grendel, because he believes he can and should. His people support him because they know what a great warrior and leader he is. He also wants to help King Hrothgar because his father was in debt to Hrothgar and he wants to pay that debt. He wants to honor his father and his father’s word. Beowulf holds himself to a code of honor when he does not have to do so. He risks his life for a country he is not a part of.
Both characters abided by a code of honor that they were willing to protect with their lives. Today, that trait is at the very least, rare, if not altogether absent from our increasingly materialistic and self-centered society. Both Gawain and Beowulf saw themselves as means by which the end of achieving glory for their society could be achieved. They didn't leech on to society and drain precious resources, as do many of today's corrupt leaders. On the contrary, they gave back to their people and lived up to the ancient notion of the "good citizen" as first advanced by Plato.
In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Poet Pearl, Sir Gawain, knight of the Round Table, acts chivalrously, yet his intents are insincere and selfish. It is the advent season in Middle Age Camelot, ruled by King Arthur when Poet Pearl begins the story. In this era citizens valued morals and expected them to be demonstrated, especially by the highly respected Knights of the Round Table. As one of Arthur’s knights, Sir Gawain commits to behaving perfectly chivalrous; however, Gawain falls short of this promise. Yes, he acts properly, but he is not genuine. The way one behaves is not enough to categorize him as moral; one must also be sincere in thought. Gawain desires to be valued as
The three heroes discussed here, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and King Arthur, are heroes for different reasons. Beowulf, our earliest hero, is brave but his motivation is different than then other two. To Sir Gawain personal honor and valor is what is important. King Arthur, Sir Gawain's uncle, is naturally the quintessential king of the medieval period. Though all men to a certain extent share the same qualities, some are more pronounced than in the others. It is important to see how these qualities are central to their respective stories and how it helps (or hinders) them in their journeys.
When Gawain spurns the lady 's advances, she questions the validity of his reputation: "So good a night as Gawain is rightly reputed / In whom courtesy is so completely embodied / Could not easily have spent so much time with a lady / Without begging a kiss, to comply with politeness / By some hint or suggestion at the end of a remark. " Here we see the first example of Gawain 's values being thrown into opposition: he cannot hope to hold his honor, fellowship, and chastity without calling his chivalry and courtesy into question. Gawain faces a fork in the road in the first bedroom scene, yet it quickly becomes clear that neither road ends with perfection. The perfect, archetypal knight, one who seamlessly, simultaneously embodies all of the qualities so harmoniously unified on Gawain 's shield, cannot exist, as the five points of Gawain 's pentangle cannot fully be kept
In conclusion many poems have different types of people or thing that can harm their society. This goes for heroes and villains. With Grendel in Beowulf he just wanted to want by the human society. They exiled him by the way he looks. With Sir Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight he wanted to show his society braver, representation, chivalry, and nobility. Both Grendel and Sir Gawain societies mean a lot to them and represents them in a major way.
Gawain’s acceptance of Lady Bertilak’s girdle causes him to progressively lose himself internally in order to save his physical life. Gawain appears to be the perfect image of a knight, who exhibits himself as worthy and noble when he accepts the Green Knight’s challenge. Known to be “honored all over the world,” his remarkable valor and devout behavior define his character. He loses his honorable reputation, though, when he disrespects the honor of King Bertilak. Disgracing his knightly code, Gawain fails to exchange all of his gifts with the king and lies, without hesitation, to the king when he claims that “what [he] owed [King Bertilak] [he has] paid [King Bertilak]” (1941). Gawain directly lies to him without hesitation, proving that his conscience does not seem to be effecting his actions. Lying is a common action, but generally, it causes us to feel remorseful and guilty over our wrongs. Gawain breaks the code of chivalry that requires a knight to be loyal and honest, but he is not regretful due to his apparent selfish nature (“Code of Chivalry, 2 and 15”). He makes a deal with the king to “[trade] profit for profit,” yet he dishonestly “[hides] [Lady Bertilak’s] love gift” rather than honoring the king’s wishes (1677, 1874). Gawain makes a promise that he fails to fulfill. The girdle drives him to destruction because it pulls him away from what he knows to be good and