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 pentangle, also called the “endless knot,” (630) is a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle, worn as an amulet to “avert evil from or bring fortune to the wearer” (Talisman, OED). Writer Eliphas Levi says that when the pentangle is pointing up it represents spiritual dominance over the material. Presented the other way, the physical world rules over the spiritual -often associated with dark magic (Pentagram, Wikipedia). This parallel foreshadows the trickery played on Sir Gawain by the Green Knight. The Green Knight challenges Gawain to a “Christmas game” (283) in an attempt to humble Gawain, tempting him with worldly pleasures and proving that even the greatest of knights are not perfect. Upon finding the Green Chapel, Gawain suggests that “Here might / The devil himself be seen / …at black midnight” (2186-8). Comparing the Green Knight to the devil proves accurate because at the end of the play, the Green Knight confesses that “the count of your kisses and your conduct too, / And the wooing of my wife—it was all my scheme!” (2360-1). Describing the midnight as “black” (... ... middle of paper ... ...ain as an imperfect hero makes him an interesting character and allows the reader to see his human qualities emerge in a moralistic story. The tension between two sides of a character trait is represented through contrast with the perfection of the pentangle symbol. God and material possession, fidelity and seduction, and knight and human are all parallel to the two interconnecting triangles depicted in the pentangle. It is impossible to have one without the other. The interconnectedness of our senses, our bodies, our spirituality, our love and emotions, and our personality create a pentangle, binded by a circle: life. The pentangle perhaps places too high an expectation on perfection and does not allow room for human flaws. Such flaws lead to the downfall of Sir Gawain because he was unable to live up to the expectations of the symbol displayed on his shield.
The poem’s intricately balanced structure challenges the reader to seek out a resolution coherent with his or her own ethics. An admirable knight of King Arthur's renowned court, Sir Gawain is directed by a complex set of ethos, a collaboration of principles symbolized by the mystical pentangle. A five-pointed star composed of five interlocking lines; the figure represents a multitude of guiding tenets, representing both religious and knightly ideals. One can recognize that “the pentangle cognizance is explicated by the poet to signal Gawain’s complete Christian perfection, and for the reader to be aware of contemporary concerns about magical protective practices, hinting at human frailty” (Hardman 251).
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.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale that was written in the fourteenth century. It is an intriguing tale including romance, magic, action, and betrayal. The story opens with a Christmas celebration in which King Arthur refuses to eat until he hears a knightly tale or receives a challenge. The Green Knight enters the scene, and King Arthur receives his challenge. The challenge is a strike for a strike, and the prize is the Green Knight's axe. Sir Gawain is the noble knight who accepts the challenge, so at the same time the following year, he must find the Green Knight and keep his word. Throughout the tale, there are a number of mystical references that foreshadow the ending of the poem. The mystical aura of the Green Knight is the first hint of magic in the poem, but there are also other events suggesting that there is more to this tale than meets the eye.
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.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight uses symbols to explore a deeper message. The medieval time period is influenced by the code of chivalry. This code led many knights to attempt perfection such as Sir Gawain. However, Gawain, the representation of mankind, fails to be flawless. The Green Knight forgives him because of the remorse in Gawain's actions. The poet heeds that perfection is near impossible to reach fruition without God's grace and one's repentance of sins.
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...
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, the pentangle reflects five traits of a knight and demonstrates its importance throughout the story. The shield depicts many qualities for knights to recognize is fidelity, compassion, friendship, etc. In fact, the pentangle resembles these features on Gawain’s shield as he carries it on his journey. These ideal aspects are significant because it binds to a knight’s reputation and honor to his king. In terms of the pentangle, faithfulness is a refine trait to characterize also. In this case, whenever a knight is disloyal or unfaithful to his tribe, it destroys the chivalry code and his dignity. The shield is also prevalents to Christianity as well. Christianity plays a crucial role because it mainly relates with the pentangle and the Old Testament. The number “five” is a repetitive device
The pentangle as described in the story represents the virtues he wishes to have. The first one is that he’s perfect in his five senses, his five fingers never fail him, he’s faithful to the wounds of Christ, and he draws his strength from the five joys Mary had with Jesus. The last one was codes that the knights followed such as friendship, brotherhood, purity, politeness, and pity. Another object that’s very important is the green girdle, that helps Sir Gawain cheat death. Sir Gawain describes it as “...the symbol of sin...a sign of my fault and offense and failure, of the cowardice and covetousness I came to commit” (Sir Gawain 2506-2508). The green girdle can be compared to “Adam and Eve’s” forbidden fruit. For Adam and Eve it was temptation and disobedience that got them banished from the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden can also be compared to the castle in which Sir Gawain stayed. Adam and Eve had everything with the condition of not eating from the forbidden tree. On the other hand, Sir Gawain was to give Lord Bertilak his winnings, but ended up lying to him that he
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance about the adventure of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's Knight of the Round Table. This great verse is praised not only for its complex plot and rich language, but also for its sophisticated use of symbolism. Symbolism is a technique used in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give a significance to the plot. The Green Knight, the Green Sash, and Sir Gawain's Shield are three of the most prominent symbols given to us in this verse.
...eas in one symbol is critical to the theme of morality and overall meaning of the poem, because it comments on the nature of morality and what moral behavior for a knight really is. Even court life need not be washed completely of human sin and the natural instincts all animals rely on, for being godly, as Gawain is, should not be viewed as the primary characteristic of being moral. There should be a balance between humanity and godliness, similar to Aristotle's idea of a golden mean, that all these knights seek. By showing that knights should achieve this balance, the author extends his message to the common people, who looked to knights as role models of morality. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight challenges the contemporary ideals of morality, presenting instead a golden mean that the common people would not have associated with their knightly role models before.
This means a knight must obtain all the qualities to be a perfect knight and a knight with all of the qualities is unbeatable. Gawain’s determination to stick to these virtues was tested throughout the poem, but the poem examines more than Gawain’s personal virtue, 1) he is perfect in the five senses; 2) his five fingers are unfailing; 3) his faith is fixed firmly on the five wounds which Christ received on the cross; 4) he draws his strength from the five joys Mary had through Jesus; and 5) he embodies, better than any other living man, the five virtues. Essentially, the Pentangle is meant to signify Truth. Sir Gawain was morally tested by the host of the castle where he attended a Christmas mass, He was treated very well by the host. All he had to do was eat and rest, his five sense were becoming dull. Later the host offered to play a game with Gawain, they are to exchange gifts they have obtained each day. "So good a knight as Gawain as rightly reputed, In whom courtesy is so completely embodied, Could not easily
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 every great work of literature, archetypes appear throughout the story, playing a key role in helping the audience understand the story. Examples of these archetypes are the boon, the magic weapon, and the refusal of the call. Archetypes like these help us capture what the story seems to really be about. In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a knight of Camelot must go on a quest to keep the value of his home, Camelot. During this quest, he seeks a green knight to chop off his head; however after this quest, he discovers that the green knight was not really his enemy but, the one that would change him. Through the Archetypal Analysis we are able to see how the hero changes thought the story. An understanding of three key archetypes—the magic weapon, the boon, and the refusal of the call—reveal the essence of Gawain’s role within the archetypal quest motif.
No matter where we go in the world, we will always be surrounded and tempted by sin. These temptations test our character and morality, and they prove that our human nature inherently causes us to fall to the sins that encompass us. Even though the world is a dark and immoral place to live, we all value our lives and are prepared to do almost anything to protect ourselves from harm’s way. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the green girdle serves as symbol that highlights Gawain’s incessant love for life that tempts him to stray from his knightly code of chivalry.