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Literary devices in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Elements of medieval literature in sir gawain and the green knight
Sir gawain and the green knight literary
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In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by J.R.R. Tolkien, Gawain, a knight of the round table, expresses love and respect to aid his journey. These forms of love, from the beginning to the end, play key roles in demonstrating and maintaining the dignity of his knighthood. The manifestation of Gawain’s love forms a number of relationships over the course of the poem. Accordingly, these relationships test his true vow of chivalry and sustain his credibility as a true knight of the round table.
Sir Gawain had a very deep devotion to his faith. There is proof that he loves his Lord and his spiritual mother, Mary, in his words and on his shield. “They brought him his blazon that was of brilliant gules with the pentangle depicted in a pure hue of gold” (Tolkien 47). The pentangle on his shield has five points and five symbolic meanings: The five wounds of Christ, the five senses, the five fingers, the five joys of Mary, and the five virtues of knighthood (Tolkien 48). Gawain also has an image of the Virgin Mary on the inside of his shield. This is purposeful in maintaining his courage and strength in times of despair. “…on the inner side of his shield [Mary’s] image depainted, that when he cast his eyes thither his courage never failed.” (Tolkien 48). As for his love of Christ, as well as his mother Mary again, "I beseech thee, O Lord, and Mary, who is the mildest mother most dear, for some harbour where with honor I might gear the Mass..." (Tolkien 52). These two iconic Christian figures gave Gawain the strength to face any type of opponent, even the Green Knight. "I implore with prayer plain that this match should now be mine" (Tolkien 36). These acts of faith prove that Gawain abides by his knightly code as it says, "Chris...
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... monster, the Green Knight. This is key in testing his vow of honesty and ability to follow through with what he promises. Next, he is faced with the lord’s promiscuous wife. She attempts to seduce Gawain, a guest of her husband’s castle to test his ability to remain chaste. Gawain is finally tested for his respect of his earthly king, Arthur, and his heavenly king, Christ. Therefore, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a test of faith, honesty, chastity and the knightly vow of chivalry.
Works Cited
1. Anon. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo. Trans. J.R.R. Tolkien. New York: Ballantine Books, 1975. Pg 23-121. Print.
2. Harwood, Britton. “Gawain and the Gift.” PMLA (1991): pg 483-499. JSTOR. Web.
3. Stroud, Michael. “Chivalric Terminology in Late Medieval Literature.” Journal of the History of Ideas (1976): pg 323-334. JSTOR. Web.
Phillipa, Hardman. "Gawain's Practice of Piety in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight." EBSCO host Academic Search Premier.
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.
The Arthurian legends of Iwein and Gawain and the Green Knight are two examples of the medieval initiation story: a tale in which a character, usually in puberty or young adulthood, leaves home to seek adventures and, in the process, maturity. Through the course of their adventures, including a meeting with the man of the wilderness, temptations at the hands of women, and a permanent physical or mental wounding, the character grows from adolescent awkwardness and foolishness to the full potential knightly honor. While both Arthurian legends fit this format, the depth of character development, specifically in terms of relationships, is vastly different. Whereas Gawain and the Green Knight does little more with relationships than demonstrate the evils of female temptations, Iwein effectively explores the formation, destruction, and resurrection of numerous male and female relationships.
Thesis Statement: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world.
Stephen Manning, “A Psychological Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” in Critical Studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, eds. Donald R. Howard and Christian Zacher (Notre Dame: Notre Dame UP, 1968), 279.
Gawain stands firm in his faith in the holy Mary, which is inside his shield, but he has weakness like every men. According to Mulburin, the book Isaiah 40.30: " Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall" ( ) Therefore, Gawain is a handsome young who sought after by another man 's wife. He endured the temptation by lady Bertilak to stay strong his faith, but becomes weary as time was coming near to face the Green Knight. Gawain becomes weaken in his faith when he starter to value his life, which goes against the Knightly Code. He put aside his faith in the Holy Mary when Lady Bertilak handed him green belt, she told him" through went on to beg him not to whisper a word of this gift to her husband, and Gawain agreed" ( Gawain 1862-1863). Gawain 's sins ,when he kept the green belt from Bertilak. He was told whatever I win in the forest it is yours and whatever my wife gives while I 'm gone, it will be returned back to me. (Gawain 1106-1107). Gawain failed to keep his bond as knight should, which goes against his virtues as
Markman, Alan M. "The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Modern Language Association 72.4 (1957): 574-86. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Throughout the poem numerous trials testing his religious faith and his devotion to Christianity. Virgin Mary as one of the most important symbol of Christianity was painted on every shield so when the knight encounter an enemy too power, he will not lose faith because he knows that Virgin Mary is watching him. Gawain has a painting of Virgin Mary as well, Mary inspires Gawain to be a good Christian. The reason that Virgin Mary is on the inside of the shield is because it is close to his heart, symbolizing his belief in God and trust in Him. This relationship with God is the source of his inner strength. “That [Gawain's] prowess all depended on the five pure Joys that the holy Queen of Heaven had of her child. Accordingly the courteous Knight had that Queen's image etched on the inside of his armored shield, So that when he beheld her, his heart did not fail.” The image of Mary inside this shield also conveys that Gawain never loses heart. The painting made the shield provided not just physical protections, it also provided Sir Gawain with mental protections as well, knowing that his got god watching and protecting him again whomever he may encounter on the battle fields. One of Gawain main duties as a knight is to defend against not only aggression in battle, but to fight against the evil that might tempt him to turn his back on his honor as a knight and particularly the Virgin Mary, so
8[8] Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Marie Borroff. Norton Anthology of British Literature Vol. 1, New York: WW Norton, 1993.
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
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight takes its protagonist, the noble Gawain, through
The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around the knights and their chivalry as well as their romance through courtly love. The era in which this story takes place is male-dominated, where the men are supposed to be brave and honorable. On the other hand, the knight is also to court a lady and to follow her commands. Sir Gawain comes to conflict when he finds himself needing to balance the two by being honorable to chivalry as well as respectful to courtly love.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain shows qualities of a chivalrous knight. He demonstrates that by showing generosity, courtesy, and loyalty during his travels. A mysterious knight shows up at the king’s castle and calls himself the Green Knight. The Green Knight then challenges one to play a game which he challenges the king to strike him with his axe if he will take a return hit in a year and a day. Sir Gawain steps forward to accept the challenge for his uncle King Arthur when nobody else in the castle would. He took the King’s role in the game to protect him from the Green Knight. He must learn to accept his responsibility as a knight, in accepting his fate.He demonstrates goodness at the hand of the Green Knight. He shows courage by accepting what is to come upon him during his voyage. His journey to find the Green Knight is filled with temptations.In the conversation with him and the “Lady”, Sir Gawain showed a Chivalrous code by keeping his loyalty to the king by not kissing his wife. The lady states “if I should exchange at my cho...
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.
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.