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Beowulf vs. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
In the worlds of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the journeys of two heroes, Beowulf and Sir Gawain, are depicted through the form of poems. The two stories have become two of the most important works of literature in the English history. In the two poems, both Beowulf and Sir Gawain face great challenges in their journeys as heroes. Beowulf embarks on a quest to defeat Grendel and his mother while Sir Gawain faces many difficulties on his search for the Green Knight. Although the main characters in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight exhibit many of the same characteristics, the two poems have stylistic differences and differ in societal values.
Written before the tenth century A.D., Beowulf is the oldest surviving English work. It was believed to be composed orally between seven hundred A.D. and nine hundred A.D. and written down by monks in Old English by one thousand A.D. Beowulf tells the story of a Scandinavian warrior and his quest to help a neighboring kingdom. In the epic, the monster Grendel has been terrorizing Hrothgar’s kingdom each night. Beowulf hears about the trouble and gathers a group of men and sails to Denmark determined to defeat Grendel. After defeating Grendel, Beowulf also combats Grendel’s mother and succeeds. Upon his return to Geatland after defeating the monsters, Beowulf is rewarded greatly by his lord, Hygelac. He later ascends the throne after Hygelac and his son die.
Similarly, Sir Gawain and Green Knight tells the story of a hero and his quest. The romantic poem first appeared in the fourteenth century. The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight begins on Christmas day when a mysterious Green Knight rides into King Arthur’s cou...
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...hurian period followed the code of chivalry symbolized by the pentangle. The pentangle was seen on Sir Gawain’s shield, which gave him strength and reminded him of the chivalric code on his quest. The societal values from both time periods can be viewed as honorable, but the poems conveyed the notable differences between the two.
Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight remain two of the most important literary works in the English history. They exhibit many of the same characteristics in their heroes; however, there are a greater number of differences between the two poems. Their style and types and the societal values they reflect are distinctive. Most of their differences are due to the fact that they were written in completely different time periods. With four centuries of growth between them, it is obvious that the two poems would reflect two different ideas
Beowulf is among the earliest surviving works of literature. It was written in Old English and dates back sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem is set in Scandinavia, and tells the story of the heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf was the perfect hero. He fought for his people and defeated evil with his ability to bring on justice. Three of Beowulf’s traits that serve as evidence of this were his remarkable physical strength, his ability to put the well-being of others before his own well-being, and his courage.
"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.
The medieval period occurred during the fourteenth century. It was a dark time that roamed Europe filled with many misfortunes such as the plague and a famine. However, the people emerge from this troubling time and went through a period of renewal and discovery especially when it came to literature, thus medieval literature is created. In medieval literature, storytellers tend to embellish and fantasy to add a dramatic effect to drawn the reader’s attention to allow them to share the meaning of the story or lessons to be learned from them. One of the most famous medieval literature that emerged from this period is, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This story is an example of the type of storytelling that was practiced during this time period.
During the Middle Ages, both “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” were epic stories that were chanted aloud to the public. Each story told about epic heroes who went on a long journey to face or conqueror someone or something. “Beowulf” is a poem about a young man, Beowulf, who slays a monster and his mother with his bare hands to protect the people he loves. As the years go by Beowulf becomes king and a dragon begins to stir. In response to this, Beowulf fights the dragon with a sword and one loyal companion. Beowulf’s life comes to end, but so does the dragons. From this epic poem you can see that good does triumph over evil, but sometimes it comes at a cost. Along with “Beowulf”, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” was another popular poem. This poem was about a squire, Sir Gawain, who chooses to take on a game proposed by the Green Knight instead of his uncle, King Arthur. He took on the game because he believed King Arthur’s life was more valuable than his own and that King Arthur should not risk his own life. As a result, Sir Gawain became a knight because of his loyalty and bravery. Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s and Beowulf’s characters share the same quality of courage, the desire to protect people and the involvement of supernatural beings.
Although Gawain and Beowulf share many similarities, their characters are almost complete opposites. Both aim for some sort of fame, one more than the other; differing in the way they attempt to achieve this success. Gawain remains true and looks to humility to guide him, whereas Beowulf is very prideful and selfish, loving nothing more than boasting about his virtues. Regardless, both go through tremendous changes throughout their quests, dealing with repercussions, and many challenging obstacles along the way.
It does this conceptually, by emphasizing human nature over chivalry, and it does this narratively through Gawain’s failure as a knight, and the Green Knight’s illegitimacy as a true villain. In traditional romance of this time, the protagonist could not have faltered in chivalry; Gawain’s “lapses of courage and honour… are highly untypical of the knightly conduct we find illustrated with such stultifying sameness in medieval story” (Shedd 245). But this occurs because the Green Knight is not the true villain; the real conflict is Gawain’s struggle against his own human nature. While the Green Knight appears to be a classic antagonist in the first part of the poem, he proves himself merciful and forgiving in the final part, stating that he does not blame Gawain because it was only because “[he] loved [his] own life” that he failed the final test (95). Rather than merely taking Sir Gawain’s head, the Green Knight gave him the opportunity to prove himself as “faultless” (95), or above his human nature, to “[purge] the debt” (96). Just as Shedd argues, the shift from external to internal conflict in the poem sets Sir Gawain and the Green Knight apart from other works of medieval romance.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the fourteenth century by an anonymous poet who was a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer. The story was originally written in a Northern dialect. It tells the story of Sir Gawain's first adventure as a knight.
In plot, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has elements which are similar to much modern fantasy. Its emphasis on chivalry (in the values of Sir Gawain's character through the entire poem) is similar to contemporary High Fantasy, a subgenre filled with such present top industry names as Robert Jordan and Terry Brooks. For an even greater glimpse of the popular appeal of King Arthur's court, Marion Zimmer Bradley's retelling of the Arthurian...
Men exemplify heroic qualities in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, however, women are depicted differently in the two stories. In Beowulf, women are not necessary to the epic, where as in Green Knight, women not only play a vital role in the plot, but they also directly control the situations that arise. Men are acknowledged for their heroic achievement in both stories, while the women's importance in each story differ. However, women are being equally degraded in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
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.
The epic poem, Beowulf, coming from the years of 600 to 700 AD has been translated in many different styles. In these excerpts by Burton Raffel and Lucien Dean Pearson, provides a clear understanding of this epic poem. Reading the two different translations, Raffel tends to provide the reader with a better understanding of the evil nature of Grendel and the heroic characteristics of Beowulf.
The title characters in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight were both considered paragons of excellence by their peoples. Yet, upon close inspection of the specific actions of these characters, stark differences emerge. While Gawain is virtuous and exemplifies selflessness, Beowulf's heroism is marred by his pursuit of fame and wealth, which seems to dominate his every action. The discrepancy can be explained by a contextual analysis of both heroes. Gawain's code of chivalry emphasizes perfection and thus he is flawless.
‘Beowulf’ & ‘Sir Gawain And The Green Knight’ Classical literature is replete with the age-old albeit timeless concept of warrior heroes. There have been a number of epics, plays and novels that consist of characters that heroic qualities and thus fit into the literary archetype of a warrior hero. There are of course slight variations to the kind of heroes that can be found in such stories and this is mainly because of the cultural differences that exist among various civilizations. Consider for example Beowulf, which was originally written in the Anglo-Saxon language and is basically a story about the way the brave people of Germanic and Scandinavian origins successfully took control of the Roman Empire. The plot revolves around the warrior hero Beowulf and the manner in which he defeated the horrific monsters that were terrorizing the people at the time, which brings him immediate respect and fame. It must be noted that Beowulf was not a traditional warrior hero i.e. he was immensely disliked by his people initially because they did not think that he was brave enough to do anything (Niles & Bjork, p. 45). However all that changed once he defeated the monsters and thus his status was immediately elevated to that of a hero. Also worth mentioning at this point is that Beowulf was not a mild-mannered, chivalrous knight that could become fierce if the need arose (quite like the conventional English heroes). In fact he was violent to the core and it is this trait that is actually responsible for making him heroic. This is mainly because in the Germanic tradition military prowess was the main way to acquire respect and control in a society. Thus he is not a warrior hero, or simply a hero for that matter, because he was ‘philosophical’ ...
The three heroes discussed here, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and King Arthur, are heroes for different reasons. Beowulf, our earliest hero, is brave but his motivation is different than then other two. To Sir Gawain personal honor and valor is what is important. King Arthur, Sir Gawain's uncle, is naturally the quintessential king of the medieval period. Though all men to a certain extent share the same qualities, some are more pronounced than in the others. It is important to see how these qualities are central to their respective stories and how it helps (or hinders) them in their journeys.
The Canterbury Tales, written by Chaucer, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an anonymous author, are both sophisticated fourteenth-century examples of medieval romance. Medieval romances captured the heart of their audiences as narratives and stories that featured a protagonist, often a knight, and dealt with religious allegories, chivalry, courtly love, and heroic epics. The concept of the knight emerged from the remnants of the Anglo-saxon literature and ideals and influence of the Christian religion and church. There is a distinct difference between the famous pagan heroic like Beowulf and the romantic medieval tales like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight of the Canterbury Tale. The Anglo-Saxon hero Beowulf exemplified qualities expected of warriors who could attain kingship by their heroism and battle deeds. They possessed the qualities of valor, military prowess, generosity, and honor. The hero fights for the survival of their tribe and nation, and it is in battle that the mettle of the epic hero is ultimately tested. The romantic conventions , influenced by Christianity and French ideals, created a new chivalric knight who sets out on a trial or adventure. They possessed similar qualities to their epic hero counterparts – valor, loyalty, honor, and skill in battle – but differed in knowing temperance, courtesy towards women, and courtly skills. The hero is no longer fighting for his people but for his ideals. By the 14th century, The Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales have began to criticize the notion of chivalry which had become old and obsolete in their society; the idealization of chivalry practiced by knights could longer withstand the complexities and indeterminateness of situa...