Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an organic work because the poem has an inscape development. The poem has been developed from its inner nature outwards to reveal the objects of the poetry work. This inscape art is efficient in that the subjects of the piece of literature are clearly described from their inner core. This brings out the themes in the poem and gives the reader a deeper understanding of the context. For instance, part 1, lines 1 to 490 begins with a mythological narrative of King Arthur at Christmastime in Camelot court. Knight enters the court asking to see the one who was in charge. Knight then demands someone to strike him with an axe on his head, something that astonished everyone in the court. This part then leads to …show more content…
The poem has clearly brought out the themes of the mankind society versus nature. He employs objects like the green knight to display the nature. He also uses the winter landscape and contrasts this with his sexual needs. These are the themes that he tries to exploit in bringing out the real meaning of his poem. The author has also brought out the theme of trust and believe in God. This is because; he constantly humbles himself before God for assistance and guidance. He acknowledges that God is powerful and provides guidance to human beings. This theme is clearly shown by the way the author has faith in God. He also employs the theme of Chivalry to show the morality of the society. This theme is clearly brought out in the manner he displays the morality that should be attached in Christianity. The author of the poem is concerned with the values of the behavior of the society. He has a strong attachment to the morality and the way the society should behave. Imagery has been well employed through the use of the supernatural characters in the poem. This is the use of symbolism in the poem. Gawain has used the green knight in a supernatural way. All this symbols are used to represent some supernatural figures in the poem. The green knight is used in a way that man cannot confront and be equal to. It has some powers that the humans cannot understand. There is also the use of color in the poem. Gawain has used the symbol of green …show more content…
One of the lessons is the self belief and confidence. Gawain was an insignificant character in King Arthur’s court. He had to believe that he was the weakest individual and work towards that so that to achieve what he wanted. He struggles to prove his worth in the court. Another lesson is that of reverence and accomplishment in the poem. After Gawain learned that he was the weakest, he acknowledged that fact and humbled himself. He respected the king and had to follow all his rules and his regulations. He learned that humility leads to him gaining knowledge and wisdom. He has a belief in his armor and accepts the challenge that he is weak. He decides to live the society and he is acknowledged by the entire community for that. He did a very honorable act on leaving. He also has respect for the mortal beings. For example, on the way to the chapel, he consults God and constantly has faith in his
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 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 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.
Though often extensive detail may be condemned as mere flowery language, in understanding Sir Gawain and the Green Knight one must make special emphasis on it. In color and imagery itself, the unknown author paints the very fibers of this work, allowing Sir Gawain to discern the nuances of ritualistic chivalry and truth. His quest after the Green Knight is as simple as ones quest toward himself. Through acute awareness of the physical world he encounters Gawain comes to an understanding of the world beyond chivalry, a connection to G-d, the source of truth. He learns, chivalry, like a machine, will always function properly, but in order to derive meaning from its product he must allow nature to affect him.
Symbolism is used throughout literature to give deeper meaning to a variety of literary works. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight symbolism is seen through the actions of Sir Gawain against the trials he faces. The poem is first set during Christmas time at Camelot, showing that they were Christian for they were celebrating Christmas. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world. Symbolically, one can see Sir Gawain holding true to Christian values: first, by standing up for what he believes in; second, by staying true to a future mate; and thirdly by repenting from sins due to a broken promise.
The greatest part of these studies have involved the middle-English text Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Extensive work has been done on this alliterative four-part poem written by an anonymous contemporary of Chaucer: feminists have attacked his diatribe against women at the end, or analyzed the interaction between Gawain and the women of Bercilak’s court; those of the D. W. Robertson school seek the inevitable biblical allusions and allegory concealed within the medieval text; Formalists and philologists find endless enjoyment in discovering the exact meaning of certain ambiguous and archaic words within the story. Another approach that yields interesting, if somewhat dated, results, is a Psychological or Archetypal analysis of the poem. By casting the Green Knight in the role of the Jungian Shadow, Sir Gawain’s adventure to the Green Chapel becomes a journey of self-discovery and a quest - a not entirely successful one - for personal individuation.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval poem by an unknown author, written in Middle English in the 14th century. This poem is uncanny to most poems about heroism and knightly quests as it doesn’t follow the complete circle seen in other heroism tales. This poem is different to all the rest as it shows human weaknesses as well as strengths which disturbs the myth of the perfect knight, or the faultless hero. The author uses symbolism as a literary device in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give the plot a deeper and more significant meaning. Symbolism is used to emphasise the difference of this heroism story against others and therefore symbolism is of great importance in this poem. The importance of the following symbols will be discussed in this paper; the pentangle, the colour green, the Green Knight, the exchange of winnings game, the axe and the scar. This paper argues the significance of the use of symbolism as a literary device in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Sir Gawain’s inner ideals and character are adequately tested and thoroughly defined throughout the poem of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. During the course of his journey, Gawain was not only expected to maintain his honor to King Author, Lord Bertilak, Lady Bertilak, and the Green Knight, but was expected to maintain it while still loyally adhering to his chivalric and religious obligations. As a knight, it is important that he is loyal first and foremost to his God and religion just as importantly to his king. However, on his journey, Sir Gawain does not entirely live up to the integrity of a good knight as he struggles with conflicting values between his faith and knighthood. Although his honor appears to be questionable at times, Gawain’s nobility and bravery are shown in his compliance to face the Green Knight while withstanding the temptations and seduction of the lady, proving that he is truly an honorable knight.
Sir Gawain's inner values and character are tested to the fullest and are clearly defined in the text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The unknown author describes Gawain and the other knights as "Many good knights" (Norton 159), and he is referred to as one of the "most noble knights" (Norton 159) in King Arthur's land. This claim by the author is solidified by a challenge presented by the evil Green Knight, who enters the court of King Arthur and asks him to partake in a Christmas game. Sir Gawain, after hearing this challenge, asks the king if he may take his place. This represents that Gawain is very loyal to his king. Sir Gawain is also an honest knight in the text because in a year's time he ventures out in search of the Green Knight to endure a blow with the ax as the rules of the game were stated. He very easily could have not have carried out his end of the bargain by not traveling to the Green Chapel to meet the evil being, but Gawain is an honest knight who is true to his word.
In the most general sense, the Green Knight is an anomaly to the story of " Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," the only supernatural element in what is otherwise a very believable and wholly real rendering of a specific length of time. Gawain is momentarily tricked into believing‹or, rather, hoping‹that the garter is magical in nature, but both his fear and the Green Knight dispel him of that heathen notion. Thus on the one hand the poet warns us of the danger of accepting the supernatural qua supernatural, while on the other he demands that we understand the Green Knight to be an expression of the "power of Morgan le Fay," who is "well taught in magic arts." The effect of this then is to thrust the Green Knight into an even greater shroud of mystery than normal for Arthurian tales, which usually feature a whole cast of impossible characters.
Gawain's actions reflect the social mores of 14th century England, where a good knight was expected to adhere firmly to the code of chivalry. Gawain is the model knight, gallant and valorous, not to mention a devout Christian. Gawain's superb character traits are bolstered by his status as a member of King Arthur's court. The Gawain poet writes of Camelot: "With all delights on earth they housed there together, / ...
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 edited and translated by James Winny is a poem about a knight, Sir Gawain, from King Arthur’s court. In the very beginning Sir Gawain volunteers to take King Arthur’s place upon the Green Knights arrival when he declares that one knight must agree to receive a blow by his axe after having the chance to give a blow to him. Sir Gawain ends up chopping off the Green Knights head and is then declared to meet the Green Knight in one year to accept a blow from the Green Knight and his axe. When the year comes Sir Gawain sets off to find the Green Knight at the green chapel, which where he will receive the blow. On Sir Gawain’s ventures
In conclusion, we can learn many lessons from Sir Gawain and the tests and trails that he endured leading up to his meeting with the Green Knight. Who only have to look for them and ponder how they can apply to us today. For instance, being true to ourselves and what we believe in. Keeping our word, and upholding our faiths even in the face of impending danger, even though the cost may be very great to pay.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fit in with the concept of a romance; it has all the elements that would make one consider the text as so. The tale holds adventure, magic, a quest and an unexpected reality check that even those who are considered “perfect” are also just humans. The author used this story as a way of revealing faults in some of the aspects of knighthood through the use of intertwining chivalric duty with natural human acts; thus showing to be perfectly chivalrous would be inhuman.