Sir Gawain initially was a man who had a strong reputation of being the most chivalrous and gallant knight in all of the British Kingdom. With this reputation, Sir Gawain could never relax and had to always elevate himself to hold that reputation, even if it seemed impossible. During the Green Knight 's test, Sir Gawain maintained his chivalry and his reputation for the most part, but with everything getting thrown at him and Sir Gawain reaching a peak pressure point, he breaks the code of chivalry that brings out he is in fact human and will not be perfect. Sir Gawain from the Green Knight 's test essentially showed that he is in fact a chivalrous and gallant knight, but he is still flesh and blood prone to mistakes just like any other human
Sir Gawain appears, as a real hero and a noble knight, almost from the very beginning of the poem when he is accepting the challenge of the Green Knight. No one is brave enough to accept the beheading game proposed by the Green Knight, and if no one of the knights will accept the challenge, then king Arthur has to accept it, so that he and his knights will not be regarded as cowards. Sir Gawain, as a noble knight who truly serves his king, takes the challenge upon himself when he says to the Arthur, " Would you grant me the grace"
In Gawain and in all the knights thoughts, if the King’s words were not followed, they were not worthy of having the privilege of being a knight. Knights had to be chivalrous, brave, gallants, intelligent, risky and all it took to keep the honesty and respect with their King. This shows how much respect and power King Arthur had. When a king is not respected or powerful, there were no such thing as loyal knights willing to fight and be killed for their king. By all these factors we can conclude that King Arthur was very powerful and was very respected by all his people and in particular by the Knight Sir Gawain.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Sir Gawain Faces Temptation Sir Gawain was known as a noble and honest man who was willing to stare death in the face to protect King Arthur. However, the courtly Sir Gawain is submitted to the unexpected—not to the test he expects, but to one he does not expect (qtd. in Spearing). The underlying theme throughout the entire poem is temptation, which, is Sir Gawain’s greatest challenge because he is not aware of it. He faltered not nor feared But quickly went his way, His road was rough and weird, Or so the stories say.
His intent to take the challenge from the king Arthur does not seem as selfishness or pride that he wants to show off the other knights. The fact that none of the other knights want to take a challenge reflects Gawaine as the most courageous knight. After Gawaine gets the quest to chop off the head of Green knight, he should leave for the adventure for one year to seek for the Green knight. When Gawaine leaves,... ... middle of paper ... ...strong appearance as a great knight, but he does not show mercy and courteousness to ladies. Even though he has many virtues to be a great knight, his weakness prevents him from being worshipped and respected as a great knight from other people.
Hotspur is a very valiant warrior who has won a great reputation for himself on the battlefield. He is young and impetuous as his name suggests. Henry IV has more admiration for Hotspur than his own son Hal, and is envious of Northumberland for having such a son: 'a son who is the theme of honours tongue'. ' in envy that my Lord Northumberland should be father to so blest a son'. The King feels that Hotspur reminds him of himself, when he challenged Richard for the throne.
God shows grace to King Arthur and his knights by giving them life. The Green Knight could have challenged the men to a duel or fought to the death but instead challenged their courage and nobility. “ That he dares to stoutly exchange one stroke for another… And I will abide the first blow, bare-neck as I sit” ( The Gawain Poet 67,70.233). The Green Knight was testing the men seeing if all the gossip about how great King Arthur and his men were was true but, no knight took the challenge until King Arthur stepped up. That’s when Sir Gawain politely asked the king if he could take his place.
He then turns to become a fiend with immense evil intentions which are foiled by the hero’s bravery abetted by a benevolent deity. The last gift that the Green Knight gives to Gawain requires double image significance. Gawain would wear the girdle given to him for the rest of his life.
From childhood, we learn about gallant knights in shining armour who heroically save the damsel in distress on their brilliantly white horse. We believe these men to be good-hearted, moral, and emotionally sound. It is nearly sacrilegious to merely conceptualize a knight who is corrupt or evil in any way. Many of these ideals stem from the Knights of the Round Table, who withheld many of these beliefs and embodied all of these characteristics. Perhaps the sole creator of this "ideal" knight is King Arthur, for it is he who first laid down a set of marked commandments that he expected his knights to embody.
"The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell." In Middle English Verse Romances. Ed. Donald B. Sands. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1966.