Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Free Essays

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a fourteenth century Middle English romance story portraying the chivalrous character of Sir Gawain. It is a splendid but a difficult poem and the one that has naturally attracted a considerable body of critical commentary. The poem is altogether extraordinary, especially in the brilliant architectonics of its composition. We will write a custom essay sample on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or any similar topic only for you Order Now The complex and symmetrical structure of the poem urges the readers to look for an overall meaning and intention. (John Halverson). The story belongs to the category of the best stories that have a strong theme, a fascinating plot, a fitting structure, unforgettable characters, a well-chosen setting, and an appealing style. The intricate plot, rich language and complex symbolism make the poem interesting for many a critic. Plot is most often about a conflict or struggle that the main character goes through. The conflict in the mind of Sir Gawain and his out ward conflict with the Green Knight make the poem rich in its plot. When the King Arthur was challenged in his court by a mysterious green warrior, Sir Gawain took it valiantly. The â€Å"Green Knight† offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day. The valiant Sir Gawain strikes the Green Knight beheading him only to see the Green Knight getting up and setting up head once again stunning everyone there. Thus the story begins drawing Sir Gawain into action and later his struggle to meet the Green Knight at the appointed time after one year. Sir Gawain shows extraordinary courage and determination in keeping his word. The setting in a story helps it to unfold naturally. It sets the tone of the story and provides the necessary background for understanding the actions of the characters in the light of the context. Setting is the psychological time or place in a story. Setting plays an important role in the success of stories. It sets the reader’s mood and setting in this story puts the reader right into the story. It also helps to outline the theme of the story. It may be an important symbolism in the story which only enriches the story with multiple layers of meaning. The story of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is set in the backdrop of medieval courts and allows the readers understand the intricacies in the plot. The hunting in the dangerous forest and the lovely green chapel add to the richness and complexity to the story. It is a perfect setting to portray the gallantry of the host, Bertilak in the open world and the virtuous nature of Sir Gawain in the closed chambers of the chapel. The struggle that goes in the mind of the protagonist is richly suggestive. Morgan argues that a moral struggle is suggested by the juxtaposition of the hunt scenes and the bedroom scenes, with the Lady in the role of the hunter and Gawain as the hunted. (Morgan). A theme is something important the story tries to tell us—something that might help us in our own lives. The main is character is someone readers can feel something in common with, or at least care about. Generally the main character has an flaw in his character and as a result he suffers. We see the character evolving as the story progresses. Sir Gawain’s guilt of not keeping his promise to Bertilak makes him realize his inner moral weakness, though he appears to be victorious to the outside world. The finest of all Middle English metrical romances, Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight, dealing with incidents derived, apparently, from a primitive form of the Gawain legend, portrays him in his original character as a model of chivalry and of all the knightly graces. (Cambridge History of Literature) References Halverson John http://www. jstor. org/pss/436002 Morgan, Gerald. â€Å"The Action of the Hunting and Bedroom Scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. † Medium Aevum 56 (1987): 200-16. http://chss. montclair. edu/english/furr/arkin. html The Cambridge History of English and American Literature http://www. bartleby. com/211/1213. html How to cite Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Papers Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Free Essays The Theme of Games in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The theme of games plays a very important role in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In fact, much of the action that takes place in this story revolves around the playing of various â€Å"games. † When one thinks of the word â€Å"games,† there are several thoughts that may come to mind. We will write a custom essay sample on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or any similar topic only for you Order Now Sports, board games, and card games are all types of games that society today might be familiar with. The author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight uses different kinds of games than the ones mentioned above. In the time of Sir Arthur and his court, the word â€Å"game† wasn’t as strongly associated with something pleasurable as it was meant to test one’s worthiness. When the Green Knight enters Arthur’s court and announces that he has come to ask â€Å" a Christmas game,† he has not come to play cards or scrabble, but instead has come to test the worthiness of someone in the court. â€Å"The â€Å"game† of exchanging gifts was very common in Germanic culture. If a man received a gift, he was obliged to provide the giver with a better gift or risk losing his honor, almost like an exchange of blows in a fight, or in a â€Å"beheading game† (Harwood). Many other games are involved in the plot of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Throughout the third section of the poem for example, we see Gawain’s host’s wife play games with Gawain. Gawain views his arrangement of trading with his host as a game (line 1380). Even from the beginning, the Knight plays a game of sorts with Arthur’s court by criticizing and almost taunting the court for failing to live up to its reputation:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"What, is this Arthur’s house,† said that horseman then, â€Å"Whose fame is so fair in far realms and wide? Where is now your arrogance and your awesome deeds, our valor and your victories and your vaunting words? † (lines 308-311) Eventually the reader discovers all of the events of the story are a game of Arthur’s sister, Morgan Le Fay. Throughout the telling of the story it becomes evident that the author is playing a game with the mind of the reader. This essay will explore the theme of games in Sir Gawa in and the Green Knight as well as how they might be connected. The foundation of the entire plot of the story begins with the â€Å"Christmas game† that the Green Knight has come to play with Arthur’s court. The court initially believes hat the mysterious knight has come for â€Å"contest bare† (line 277). When the Green Knight reveals that he will exchange one blow for another, it seems like it would be an easy victory for an opponent, seeing that no one expects the knight to survive after being beheaded with his own axe. Surprisingly, the knight picks up his severed head and leaves. This severely heightens the seriousness of Gawain’s promise to let the knight have a blow at his own head in exactly one year. Arthur clearly downplays the importance of this promise, saying, â€Å"Now, sir, hang up your axe, and return to the feast† (Line 477). Arthur clearly tries to write off the importance of the contest before Gawain beheads the knight with his own axe, as if he foresees Gawain’s eventual success: â€Å"Keep, cousin,† said the king, â€Å"what you cut with this day And if you rule it aright, then readily, I know, You shall stand the stroke it will strike after† (Lines 371-374). While neither Gawain nor the reader is aware of the game that is already occurring throughout the plot of the poem, this same game continues to unfold as Gawain arrives at the castle on Christmas Eve. Bercilak, who plays â€Å"host† to Gawain, continues to trick Gawain by not revealing that he is the Green Knight from Arthur’s castle. He allows Gawain to stay at his castle, on the condition that anything acquired throughout the day as a result of staying there would be given to Bercilak as a gift. In return, anything that Bercilak acquired while hunting would be gifted to Gawain. We see another representation of Games within hunting, as hunting is sometimes viewed as a game in itself. Gawain sees this mutual exchange of things won over the course of the day as a game, although Bercilak describes this arrangement as a â€Å"covenant† (Line 1384). It also becomes apparent that the hosts’ wife is playing her own games with Gawain by sneaking into his quarters and trying to seduce him. It is at this point in the story in which Gawain breaks a major rule of the game by not telling Bercilak about the girdle, which supposedly holds magical powers that would prevent any harm from coming to Gawain. Gawain does not fail because he accepts the girdle, but rather because he fails to gift the girdle to Bercilak as something won throughout the course of the day. Since Gawain believes that the girdle would give him the power to survive the blow of the Green Knights’ axe, he fails to hand over his relic to his host. Before Gawain goes to bed on this third night of his stay, Bercilak reminds Gawain, â€Å"Every promise on my part shall be fully performed† (Line 1970). This is a hint to the reader that the host is already aware of the fact that Gawain decided not to share this girdle that was gifted to him. When Gawain finally leaves the castle and finds the Green Knight waiting to hold up his end of the bargain, the Green knight continues to play games with Gawain by â€Å"teasing† him with the axe. He stops at first after Gawain flinches and taunts him for moving. Once Gawain remains still and the Knight deals his blow, only scratching the neck of Gawain, the Green Knight reveals his true identity, as well as the identity of Morgan Le Fay. It is at this point the reader realizes that almost everything that has happened up to this point is just a part of an elaborate game. This game was designed at the hands of Morgan Le Fay to teach Gawain, as well as the other knights of Arthurs’ court, that even the most noble of knights are human and subject to failure at the hands of temptation. As Gawain returns still wearing the green girdle around his arm, it is evident that this game has also taught him another valuable lesson: the lesson of humility (Bennett). Gawain returns to Arthur’s court, still wearing the girdle in shame as a reminder to always follow the rules of the game. After Sir Gawain shares his tales of deceit and trickery, the other knights deem it appropriate to also wear green sashes as a reminder of the adventure that Gawain had. Finally, there are at least two more games that the author plays with the reader throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The first and most obvious game is the fact that the author hides important information from the reader until the end, and then reveals this information. Such information includes but is not limited to the host’s true identity, the reason for the â€Å"Christmas game,† and the fact that Gawain’s aunt, Morgan Le Fay, originated the game. While concealing this information is critical to the progression of the story, it still represents a more subtle game that is being played by the author. â€Å"A much more subtle game played by the author, however, is the way that the author sneaks moral instruction into a poem which, up until about the last three hundred lines, is almost purely entertainment†(Putter). The author clearly expresses to the reader that even Gawain, the noblest of knights, is human and subject to failings. Whether in the fourteenth century or today, the author’s message holds significant meaning. It is apparent that we are in fact all human, and at some point or another, subject to some type of failure. I believe that this is the message that the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight wanted to pass along to the reader. In conclusion, the theme of games is demonstrated in many different ways throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is seen in the actions of the Green Knight and Morgan Le Fay towards Gawain. It is also evident that similar games are played between the author and the reader. All of these games tie together significantly to reveal what I believe is the key message of this poem: Regardless of social status, we are all human, we are all subject to temptation, and most importantly, we are all, at some point, almost certainly subject to failure. Works Cited 1. Harwood, Britton J. Gawain and the Gift,† PMLA 106. 3 (1991) pp. 483–99. 2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Sixth Edition, Volume One. General Ed. M. H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 1993. 3. Bennett, Michael J. â€Å"The Historical Background† in A Companion to the Gawain-Poet. Derek Brewer and Jonathan Gibson, editors. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1997. pp. 71-90 4. Putter, Ad. An Introduction to the Gawain-poet. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 1996. How to cite Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Essay examples