Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

One of the poems we read this semester was the anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This folklore poem combines two plots: the contest of the beheading between Gawain and the Green Knight and the attempt of a lady to seduce Gawain. The longest section of the poem combines the scenes of Bertilak's hunt with those of Gawain and the lady in the bedroom. It seems we are meant to draw some sort of connection between the two events. There appears to be some kind of parallel between the hunt during the day and what happens in the bedroom that same day.

First I think Bertilak is testing Gawain to see if he can be truthful and live up to the chivalry of the Knights of the Round Table. He sends his wife into Gawain's room every day to kiss him and he receives the same amount of kisses back. The Lord might be trying to see how truthful Gawain will be when faced with the decision about keeping his promise with the Lord and exchanging the day's gifts and protecting his own life against the Knight. It appears that Bertilak's wife is the bait that he is using to snare the hero, the moralistic Gawain. Perhaps it is because of his lustful reputation that Bertilak employs such a plan. Gawain tries to be truthful because every time the lord comes back with the hunt, in keeping his promise Gawain kisses the lord on the cheek. But he deceives the lord on the last day because Gawain receives the girdle (ironically it was green) from the lady yet does not exchange it with the lord when the Bertilak brings him the fox. It is like there is two hunts going on: the lady hunting Gawain in the bedroom and Bertilak hunting the animals in the forest.

Concerning the connection between the hunt and...

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...reen, like a plant, and arrives holding a holly bob, which is an evergreen; a common symbol of nature's survival through the winter. Also, the green chapel (which is covered in vines) is actually a burrow under ground that can be seen as both a place of natural worship and a symbol of the knight's link to earth. So the constant referral to green can be seen as a conflict between Christianity and Paganism.

Since the scenes of Berilak's hunt and those with Gawain and the lady in the bedroom are the longest sections of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it seems obvious we are mean to draw some kind of connection between them. The hunt being seen as a reflection of the occurrences in the bedroom, and each animal representing Gawain each day seems clear. Plus the color green being interpreted as a conflict between Christianity and Paganism is important part.