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Recommended: Gender and power
All throughout the poem titled Sir Gawain and the Green Knight it simply seems as if it is full of male power and masculinity. Sir Gawain, a knight from King Arthur’s court who steps up and agrees to take the blow from the Green Knight’s axe when he interrupts the holiday feast. The obvious male power of King Arthur, the power and masculinity of the Green Knight to come in and demand that one knight must receive a blow from his axe, and masculinity of Sir Gawain to step up and not only agree to take the blow but to cut off the Green Knight’s head first. The male power and masculinity shining through all three of these male characters mentioned is very prominent. We later meet Lord Bertilak who also shows male power and masculinity through his …show more content…
Queen Guenevere is the first women to be introduced in the poem while the holiday feast is going on. The reason she is seen as having power is because of where she is seated at the feast. The poem states, “The noblest knight in a higher seat, as seemed proper; / Queen Guenevere gaily dressed and placed in the middle, / Seated on the upper level, adorned all about… (Winny 2011: 7).” The fact that she is even mentioned as being at the feast as well as sitting at the same level as all of the noblest knights shows the power she has. It was rare to see a woman seated with knights let alone seated near the noblest of all the knights. Also, the way in which the poem glorifies her appearance and outfit matches the entitlement she is seen having because of her seating position. Many times, descriptions of knights are exaggerated and that is just what is done with Queen Guenevere. In the quote it states that she is “adorned all about…” meaning she was all done up and looking beautiful (Winny 2011: 7). She is described as being “The loveliest to see / Glanced round with eyes of blue-grey; / That he had seen a fairer one / Truly could no man say (Winny 2011: 7).” This quote saying that she was so beautiful and that no man could say that they have seen anything more beautiful than her. This showing that her beauty alone gives her power over the men, power to attract them with her …show more content…
We first meet her as the ugly old lady that was along side Lady Bertilak in the castle, she is covered head to toe but is described as “repulsive to see and shockingly bleared (Winny 2011: 55).” In the end we find out she is really Morgan le Fay. Though she is not mentioned very much in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but she plays a very significant role. Morgan le Fay is really King Arthur’s half sister and sent the Green Knight, who we also find out is the same person as the Lord Bertilak, to King Arthur’s in the very beginning of the poem. She does so to test King Arthur’s knights as well as to scare Queen Guenevere to death (Winny 2011: 137). “Through the power of Morgan le Fay” she controls Lady Bertilak as well as Lord Bertilak to do the work and test King Arthur’s knight, Sir Gawain (Winny 2011: 137). The whole time Morgan le Fay had power over most of the characters. She was the one that set up the idea that Sir Gawain would have to meet the Lord Bertilak/Green Knight at his chapel and set up the agreement that Sir Gawain and Lord Bertilak/Green Knight to exchange gifts daily. Though Lady Bertilak did go about testing Sir Gawain with her own power, it was Morgan le Fay who made it happen. This whole poem would not have happened if Morgan le Fay did not set up the whole thing. Morgan le Fay had power over everyone and everything throughout the entire
The narrative opens with a holiday feast in King Arthur’s court. The richness of this setting is represented by the decorations surrounding Queen Guenevere described in lines 76-80. “With costly silk curtains, a canopy over,/ Of Toulouse and Turkestan tapestries rich/ All broidered and bordered with the best gems/ Ever brought into Britain, with bright pennies/ to pay.” These lines also symbolize the queen’s role in the poem of a stately symbol of chivalric Camelot and as a female ideal. In this setting women are all around, but Guenevere is positioned above them and is surrounded by expensive, beautiful things. She is clearly made superior.
When the Green Knight arrives at Camelot, he challenges Arthur’s court, mocking the knights for being afraid of mere words, and suggesting that words and appearances hold too much power with them. Although the Green Knight basically tricks Gawain, by not telling him about his supernatural capabilities before asking him to agree to his terms, Gawain refuses to withdraw of their agreement. He stands by his commitments, even though it means putting his own life in jeopardy. The poem habitually restates Sir Gawain’s deep fears and apprehensions, but Gawain desires to maintain his own individual integrity at all costs which allows him to master his fears in his quest to seek the Green Chapel. After Gawain arrives at Bertilak’s castle, it is quite obvious that h...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the story of a knight of Arthur’s round table who unbeknownst to him begins a supernatural game that will test his commitment to the chivalric code. The story written sometime around 1400 is an example of a medieval romance with a noble knight venturing forth to maintain the honor of himself and his court. Knights are supposed to be examples of chivalry and since chivalry is largely based upon the church, these same men must be examples for other Christians. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, while entertaining, also teaches readers one of the hardest lessons of Christianity, that to give into the temptations of this world is the one of the shortest ways to death.
In the Fourteenth Century, Feudalism and its offspring, chivalry, were in decline due to drastic social and economic changes. In this light, _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_ presents both a nostalgic support of the feudal hierarchies and an implicit criticism of changes, which, if left unchecked will lead to its ultimate destruction. I would suggest that the women in the story are the Gawain poet's primary instruments in this critique and reinforcement of Feudalism. By positioning The Virgin Mary (as the singular female archetype representing spiritual love, obedience, chastity, and life) against Morgan and Bertilak's wife (who represent the traditional female archetypes of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death) the Gawain poet points out the conflict between courtly love and spiritual love which he, and other critics of the time, felt had drastically weakened the religious values behind chivalry. As such, the poem is a warning to its Aristocratic readers that the traditional religious values underlying the feudal system must be upheld in order to avert destruction of their way of life.
Women were always viewed as weak, dependent, and powerless in the Middle Ages. Not only is it a common view during that time period, but this also is often stereotyped labeled to women today as well. In the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hatred of women is portrayed throughout. However, while women are certainly looked down upon, they also are influential to the knights. This romance also portrays how a woman having different characteristics, could change the way she was viewed as well. Although women in the Middle Ages appeared to lack power, the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have a hidden influence over the men and actually drive the action of the medieval romance.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline: Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be the least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355).
The story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance made with supernatural events. Along the story the character Sir Gawain becomes a hero figure when he steps up to take on a daring challenge. The supernatural events take place when one character (Green Knight) is able to transform into different people. Throughout the story Sir Gawain encounters many difficult events and struggles. Also Gawain is put to the test of maturity and loyalty.
The author gives these characteristics to the character for a reason. Possibly, the author aims to arouse interest of the readers or to emphasize the danger that Sir Gawain is about to face. However, at this point of the story, the reader is unaware of the true identity of the Green Knight, which makes it more exciting to read the poem. The passage describes the great festivities in King Arthur's court during the celebration of Christmas. And already Arthur is portrayed behaving childishly, when he refuses to eat unless he hears an entertaining story:
All three of the main women’s roles are marginalized and reduced in importance, the entire plot of the poem rests on Morgan le Fay, who is introduced at the end of the play with a handful of lines, Lady Bertilak, who is reduced to how the men around her feel about her, and Guenevere, who is another extremely important character mentioned only in a few lines. Morgan le Fay is the single most important character in SGGK. Even though she is an absolutely vital character, she is named exactly once. It is at the end of the poem that the Green Knight (Lord Bertilak) reveals to Sir Gawain that everything in the poem, from the main challenge to the smaller tests, was Morgan’s idea and should be credited to her ingenuity and magic (SGGK, l. 2445-2470). Part of
Tragic and hero may not be words that easily reveal a relationship, but throughout literature the two have been linked to create an enthralling read. The emergence of the tragic hero seemed to take shape in ancient Greece where such works as Oedipus and Antigone were popular among all classes of people. Aristotle defined a tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself. It incorporates incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions." Though Greece may be credited with the creation of tragic heroes, the theme is seen in literary works across many different cultures, including England. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one such English work where the development of the main character, Gawain, follows the pattern of the classical tragic hero. In this paper, we will explore the characteristics of the tragic hero and show how these traits are demonstrated in Gawain.
The usage of plot devices in a literature piece is not uncommon, it is used from fairy tales to autobiographies. Plot devices are mechanisms which keep the story going, devices which capture the reader's attention by annoying or confusing the reader to create suspicion and to keep the plot going. There are many functions which fall under ‘plot devices’ which not every fairy tale follows but there are some which Sir Gawain and the Green Knight acknowledges through the poem.
In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Poet Pearl, Sir Gawain, knight of the Round Table, acts chivalrously, yet his intents are insincere and selfish. It is the advent season in Middle Age Camelot, ruled by King Arthur when Poet Pearl begins the story. In this era citizens valued morals and expected them to be demonstrated, especially by the highly respected Knights of the Round Table. As one of Arthur’s knights, Sir Gawain commits to behaving perfectly chivalrous; however, Gawain falls short of this promise. Yes, he acts properly, but he is not genuine. The way one behaves is not enough to categorize him as moral; one must also be sincere in thought. Gawain desires to be valued as
Guinevere from the very beginning of the legend is portrayed as a passive, typical lady of the court. In stanza four, the author describes Guinevere almost as a trophy or ornament of the court: "Queen Guinevere very gaily was gathered among them/....The prettiest lady that one may describe/She gleamed there with eyes of grey/To have seen one fairer to the sight/That no one could truly say" (74-84). Guinevere does not take an active role in the court. She does not have speaking role and basically just sits among the knights of the Round Table. Her passivity and silence could be the result of medieval anti-feminism. According to Bloch in medieval times what a woman wants is to speak. Medieval authors such as Andreas Capellanus, the supposed author of The Art of Courtly Love writes, "Furthermore, not only is every woman by nature a miser, but she is also envious, and a slanderer of other women......fickle in her speech,....a li...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fit in with the concept of a romance; it has all the elements that would make one consider the text as so. The tale holds adventure, magic, a quest and an unexpected reality check that even those who are considered “perfect” are also just humans. The author used this story as a way of revealing faults in some of the aspects of knighthood through the use of intertwining chivalric duty with natural human acts; thus showing to be perfectly chivalrous would be inhuman.
In the Middle Ages, the roles of women became less restricted and confined and women became more opinionated and vocal. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight presents Lady Bertilak, the wife of Sir Bertilak, as a woman who seems to possess some supernatural powers who seduces Sir Gawain, and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale, present women who are determined to have power and gain sovereignty over the men in their lives. The female characters are very openly sensual and honest about their wants and desires. It is true that it is Morgan the Fay who is pulling the strings in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; nevertheless the Gawain poet still gives her a role that empowers her. Alison in The Wife if Bath Prologue represents the voice of feminism and paves the way for a discourse in the relationships between husbands and wives and the role of the woman in society.