In Part I of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain presents himself as a chivalrous knight. The poet portrays him as brave and honorable. To start, Sir Gawain demonstrates his bravery when the Green Knight busted through the doors of Camelot on New Year’s Day and announced his game. Sir Gawain stands up and says, “I beseech, before all here, that this melee may be mine” (L115-116). It takes a persona of true bravery to volunteer for such a grievous dare, knowing it could end horribly. To add, Sir Gawain took the challenge in front of his peers, the Knights of the Round Table. He respects his fellow knights enough to have the courage to be a subject in this game while the rest of them continue to stare at the Green Knight in befuddlement. …show more content…
Secondly, and very similarly, Sir Gawain is also depicted as honorable in the first part of this poem. When the dare is fulfilled, King Arthur does not directly say he is proud of Sir Gawain for what he has done. He does something better than words. King Arthur hangs the ax Sir Gawain used on the walls in Camelot as a war trophy- the ultimate honor for a chivalrous knight such as he. King Arthur exclaims “...and over he high dais it was hung on the wall that men in amazement might on it look, and tell in true terms the tale of the wonder,” (L ) suggesting that the Knights of the Round Table and all other men will look upon it, honor him, and be amazed by his honorable deed. Overall, the first part of the text proves Sir Gawain to be an exemplary knight through his …show more content…
The poet portrays him in this section as conscientious and trustworthy. Sir Gawain sets out on a mission; he is dedicated to find the Green Knight so he can return the hit. Along the way, Sir Gawain is faced with a few temptations that require some pondering. As a result, Sir Gawain is first characterized in Part II as conscientious for rejecting temptation. For instance, on his journey, Sir Gawain rests at Lord Bertilak’s castle for three days. Upon resting, Lady Bertilak attempts seduce him. Sir Gawain, fearful of violating the Code of Chivalry, was “afraid of a wound to his honor, if he behaved badly to his host.” Sir Gawain ponders the seducing and is very careful not to be dishonorable to the Lord who sheltered him before he set back out on his mission. He wishes to do what is right, and he listens to his conscience and rejects Lady Bertilak. By the same token relating to temptations, Sir Gawain is also characterized as trustworthy in Part II. Following Lady Bertilak’s enticing attempt to seduce him, one of Lord Bertilak’s squires try to break Sir Gawain once more. When they arrive at the Green Chapel, the squire claims that the Green Knight is a violent man who will kill Sir Gawain. He begs him to leave the country and offers his word to tell everyone how brave Sir Gawain is, though he did not complete the
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 is presented as a noble knight who is the epitome of chivalry; he is loyal, honest and above all, courteous. He is the perfect knight; he is so recognised by the various characters in the story and, for all his modesty, implicitly in his view of himself. To the others his greatest qualities are his knightly courtesy and his success in battle. To Gawain these are important, but he seems to set an even higher value on his courage and integrity, the two central pillars of his manhood.
In the final scenes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain’s encounter with Sir Bertilak allows Gawain to perceive his own flaws, manifested in his acceptance of the Green Girdle. The court’s reaction to his personal guilt highlights the disconnect between him and the other knights of the Round Table. Gawain’s behavior throughout the poem has been most noteworthy; his understanding of his sin, one that many of us would dismiss since it was propelled by his love of life, enhances his stature as a paragon of chivalry.
The Green Knight begins to mock the court; and then boldly, King Arthur accepts his challenge. Sir Gawain realizes that this should not be the king’s responsibility for there are others present worthy of the challenge including him. Symbolically, this scene can be seen as a Christian standing up for what he believes in. Gawain says, “I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest;/ And the loss of my life would be least of any; (354-355). Here, Gawain humbles himself before his lord, just as a Christian should in prayer to God.
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. 2280-2283) There was no physical power that forced Sir Gawain to keep true to his word. Gawain sought out the Green Knight, just as he had promised, and was now about to receive the blow that would send him to his death. This quote shows that Sir Gawain was ready to be dealt his fate, and that he knew there was no way for him to survive as the Green Knight had done earlier in the poem. This shows a very human side to Sir Gawain as he appears somewhat afraid of death, but ready to face it nonetheless. It is this willingness and readiness to accept death at the hand of the Green Knight that makes Sir Gawain a...
Of all the themes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the one which stood out the most to me was that of deception. With the Green Knight, the “evil” and Sir Gawain, the “good”, we see both forces partake in deceptive practices to achieve the desired outcome they sought. Throughout the poem, Sir Gawain’s moral compass was constantly being tested with deception being used to gage his level of loyalty, morality, and chivalry. The “game” that the Green Knight was hell bent on playing was not an honest one. He utilized a host of deceptions to gain the results that he sought after—there was little to no room for error with him. First, he presented a challenge in which he alone knew that he would not perish. When he asked for a volunteer to strike him with the ax, the Green Knight
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain humbly approaches the King and courageously says, “For I find it not fit… when such a boon is begged… though you be tempted… to take in on yourself while so bold men about upon benches sit” (122-125) “And for that this folly befits a king, and ‘tis I that have asked it, it ought to be mine” (132-133). He, the weakest Knight, sees the injustice of someone challenging the King and instead of acting passively he willingly sacrifices himself for the King’s sake, which shows his loyalty, courage and integrity. However, Sir Gawain becomes a hypocrite even though the Green Knight says, “Friend mine, it seems your word holds good” (333-334) because the Green Knight’s wife “made trial of a man most faultless by far” (452) and he did not remain loyal and honest. The opportunity of remaining secure and safe presents itself and selfishly he chooses this course of action; consequently, he “lacked… a little in loyalty there” (456). In the end, the Green Knight reprimands him for his dishonesty and lack of integrity and in return Sir Gawain, shamefully responds “I confess, knight, in this place, most dire is my misdeed; let me gain back your good grace…” (Line 474-476) so even though he was not noble and loyal throughout the entire course he remains sincere in his apology. His loyalty to the King in the
Another trait of Gawain that is tested in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is his loyalty. While in search of the Green Chapel where he must face the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is tested by the lady of the castle he is lodging at. The lady tries to seduce Gawain, but he does not fall into her trap by sleeping with her. Instead, Sir Gawain remains loyal to the lord of the castle whom he has promised to be honest with, and the lady describes him as the "noblest knight alive.
Some readers of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight may think that the challenges Gawain faces are no more than tests to show off his knighthood. I believe that the Green Knight’s challenges do more than try to test a knight’s might, but instead challenges the institution of chivalry and knighthood. At first, the Green Knight’s proposition appears to be nothing more for him than a game, but the challenges that he sets up a part from the original beheading game alludes to a much more serious goal. These goals I believe are to challenge the court of Arthur and their supposed authority over all that is chivalric and masculine. By the decree of the Green Knight, Gawain and the court pass the tests, but in my view they do not “pass” the tests and instead fail to realize that the Green Knight was exploiting their views on knighthood.
King Arthur himself intends to take up the challenge that has been put forth by the Green Knight because he feels personally insulted, until Sir Gawain intercedes. The knight stands and requests to take his place because he is “the weakest of [the knights], I know, and the dullest-minded, / So my death would be the least loss, if truth should be told” (354-355). This is the most significant example of Sir Gawain’s extreme humility. It is either humility, or the lowest self-esteem of any
If the Green Knight is considered to be a fairy, as Diane Purkiss proposes, then it should be considered that “there are exceedingly strict rules of behavior, but these apply not to the fairies themselves but to human beings,” (Source F). Using this logic, the Green Knight should not be held up to the same moral standards as Gawain. However, Gawain and the Green Knight seem to have traded their traditional roles, as Gawain acts deceitfully in order to complete the quest and the Green Knight acts according to all rules, obvious and assumed. Gawain is expected to act respectfully, bearing a shield decorated with the pentangle which represents the “five fives”: fingers, senses, wounds of Christ, joys of Mary, and the five virtues (640-654). Given the five meanings of the pentangle Gawain wields, one would expect Gawain to exactly follow every rule given to him and to never be led astray. This, however, is not the case which can be seen when Gawain cuts off the head of the Green Knight and when he accepts the green girdle. Gawain’s inability to understand and follow the implicit guidelines of the Green Knight’s challenge show that he not only fails the challenge, but also his knightly
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
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is revealed just how many actions and qualities can be presented for a person to be considered a hero. Unlike Beowulf, Sir Gawain was not born into aristocracy, and is instead a mere knight at the round table of King Arthur. Sir Gawain is certainly quite humble toward himself and his achievements as shown in the quote “I am the weakest, I know, and the dullest-minded, So my death would be the least loss” (Shmoop Editorial Team), which contrasts much to Beowulf’s arrogance. The reason Gawain accepted the Green Knight’s challenge was for the sake of his king’s life. Sir Gawain showed bravery and valor in his decision to accept his fate that the Green Knight had forced upon him. On his journey to find the Green Knight and have his blow returned to himself, Gawain shows his perseverance as well as his undying faith to his Christian saints. Once Gawain finds sanctuary in Bertilak’s Castle, he was faced with the temptation to lie to his savior, a temptation he fell into just before he went to face his demise. When Sir Gawain faces his king he is humiliated at his failure, however, King Arthur is also disappointed in himself for allowing a knight of his table to face such a challenge alone. Sir Gawain shows many different attributes than Beowulf but he is still considered a hero for his humbleness and
The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around the knights and their chivalry as well as their romance through courtly love. The era in which this story takes place is male-dominated, where the men are supposed to be brave and honorable. On the other hand, the knight is also to court a lady and to follow her commands. Sir Gawain comes to conflict when he finds himself needing to balance the two by being honorable to chivalry as well as respectful to courtly love.
He demonstrates goodness at the hand of the Green Knight. He shows courage by accepting what is to come upon him during his voyage. His journey to find the Green Knight is filled with temptations. In the conversation with him and the “Lady”, Sir Gawain showed a Chivalrous code by keeping his loyalty to the king by not kissing his wife. The lady states “if I should exchange at my choice and choose me a husband for the noble I know….would I elect before you”.