StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The story of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight was written in the Middle Ages but looks back to an earlier period in British history. The period is in the lifetime of the part historical and part mythical King Arthur, and the setting is his famous court in which the knights of the round table gathered to feast together and show their devotion to the king…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.2% of users find it useful
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight The story of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight was written in the Middle Ages but looks back to an earlier period in British history. The period is in the lifetime of the part historical and part mythical King Arthur, and the setting is his famous court in which the knights of the round table gathered to feast together and show their devotion to the king. A key part of the action focuses on the jousting competitions that the chivalrous knights enjoyed on feast days.

In a way the competitions serve a function similar to baseball games today: an occasion where people come together for fun, and the different factions support their heroes and watch competitions which demonstrate the skill and courage of the participants. Military service was big part of life for men in the Middle Ages, and the knights in armour on their war horses were usually elite noblemen who could afford the training and equipment to make them proficient in all the skills of warfare. The oath of allegiance to a lord or kind is a relic of the heroic age, and the whole system of honor is built upon physical strength and courage.

This ancient code is alluded to in the opening lines of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight with the mention of the classical hero Aeneas, and a line of great heroes including Felix Brutus who is said to have established Britain ( p. 2). The key difference between the epic heroes of ancient times, and the Arthurian heroes of the high Middle Ages, lies in the way that relationships between people take on a “courteous” style. For the likes of Beowulf or the ancient Roman and Greek heroes, women were little more than chattels, who could be bought and sold, or won as valuable prizes in battle.

In the Arthurian court, however, Queen Guinevere is an important focus of admiration and attention from all the noble men. Thanks to the influence of Christianity, and especially to the fashion of praying to the Virgin Mary, noble women were idealized and made the subject of admiring songs and poems. The story reflects both the good side of female character, as in the case of the faithful and loyal Guinevere, and the bad side, as in the temptress who seduces Gawain in the distant castle. These values reflect Christian views of the source of sin, coming through Eve in the Old Testament, and salvation, coming through the son born to Mary, in the New Testament.

There is a strong element of guilt and shame in Gawain’s conduct. This is especially evident when he realizes that the fair lady he has exchanged kisses with, and whose gift he has taken, is the wife of the Green Knight. His fateful journey and the tales of his exploits are plot elements reminiscent of the epic genre, but his fine words, and his susceptibility to the woman’s charms, are evidence of a lyrical sensibility from a more modern age. Similarly, the lavish descriptions of the luxurious surroundings and expensive garments that people wear is evidence of a culture that is accustomed to a more sedentary and materialistic lifestyle.

Gawain is, like ancient heroes, singled out as a man with a special destiny since he shrugs off people’s concern about him having to face the mysterious Green Knight with the words “Why should I swerve from stern and strange destiny? What can a man do but try?” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, p. 13). Like Gilgamesh and other ancient heroes, he accepts that he must face up to his supernatural foe. There is Christian symbolism in his equipment, which has fivefold designs to represent the five wounds of Christ (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, p. 15). The use of force in this romantic tale is tempered with a gentler ethos, as Gawain explains to the lady he meets on his travels: “violence is considered discourteous among my people, as is any gift that is not given with a good will” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, p. 31). Alongside honour there is now a new ideal, and that is romantic love in the service of a beautiful woman.

A women’s gift of a ring or a piece of silk becomes a sacred token that is believed to protect a hero, and keep him safe from danger. This superstitious element shows a tension between ancient, pagan forms of belief, and later Christian faith. The courtly romance reflects therefore a transition phase between pagan and Christian ideologies being worked out in fiction. References Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (14th Century) Translated by W.A. Neilson. Web.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1450617-sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight
(Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/literature/1450617-sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight.
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1450617-sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The essay “Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” focuses on two of the oldest surviving works of English literature, the anonymous poems Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.... While Beowulf brings a great deal of Norse folklore and traditional characters into the story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight centers on the use of Irish, Gaelic and Germanic beliefs.... Sir Gawain of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight faced very similar hardships during the course of the poem....
3 Pages (750 words) Book Report/Review

The 3 Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

William Goldhurst (1958) writes, “As I see it, the major theme of gawain and the green knight is the idea that the primitive and sometimes brutal forces of nature make known their demands to all men, even to those who would take shelter behind the civilized comforts of court life.... About “sir gawain and the green Night,” James Winny (1995) writes, “The poem is written in a regional dialect characteristic of north-western England at the time of composition, which internal evidence suggests took place during the last quarter of the fourteenth… “Little is known about sir gawain and the green Night apart from what the poem itself tells us....
27 Pages (6750 words) Term Paper

Analysis: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

the green knight thought of all of Arthur's knights as beardless children.... Only one knight dared to challenge the green knight after he slammed his battle axe into the stone floor.... Gawain picked up the axe and beheaded the green knight, but the knight's body did not fall though his blood, green in color, spilt.... This green blood and the fact that even, though the green knight was beheaded he still lived, allows one to believe that this knight was no mere human or even human at all....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Critical analysis - Sir Gawain and the green knight

However,… The personally held beliefs and values of Sir Gawain are crucial to the story surrounding his interactions with the Green Knight because it is the Symbolism is a key literary device used throughout the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.... The personally held beliefs and values of Sir Gawain are crucial to the story surrounding his interactions with the green knight because it is the upholding or failure to uphold these specific personal values that gives the poem a plotline....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Dynamic Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The present book review under the title "Dynamic Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is focused on the poem written anonymously around 1400 A.... According to the text, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" contains a central theme of chivalry.... In contrast, the green knight's speech is full of slang and rough phrases.... Arthur chooses his words carefully, while the green knight appears to utter strings of slang without even thinking....
3 Pages (750 words) Book Report/Review

The inferno and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Trans).... The Inferno by Dante Alighieri and Sir Gawain & the green knight, written by an… The Inferno, an epic poem of the 14th century narrates Dante's journey through different circles of Hell along with his guide, Vigil, a Roman poet, 24 Oct A Comparison between Inferno and Sir Gawain & the green knight The medieval period, with it philosophical undertones and cultural richness, has produced several pieces of classic literatures that illustrate the relevance of values and ethics in human life....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Hunting and Temptation Scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

An essay "Hunting and Temptation Scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" reports that the poem consists of three hunts, three temptations, and three distinct animals, all of which are significant to the themes and plot of the story; the hunting scenes are numerous and extremely elaborate.... hellip; Written by an anonymous poet in the late 14th century Middle English (Cooke and Boulton 42), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an alliterative romance-poem and as suggested by the title, it dwells on Sir Gawain's early adventures as a knight....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Analysis Of The Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

The paper "Analysis Of The Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" discusses the structure of the poem as well as challenges that are made against his ethics in terms of being a knight and the changes that come with age that refine those ethical considerations.... The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is based on the challenges that are made against his ethics in terms of being a knight and the changes that come with age that refine those ethical considerations....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us