Sir Gawain And Green Knight Essays: Allegory And Irony

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Allegory in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Discuss the allegorical significance of the following words of the Green Knight, You are so fully confessed, your failings made known,/ And bear the plain penance of the point of my blade,/ I hold you polished as a pearl, as pure and as bright/ As you had lived free of fault since first you were born .

These words are uttered by the Green Knight almost immediately after he delivered the third blow on Gawain s neck (l 2391-2394). They should be understood as referring to events which began with Gawain s arrival at the Lord s castle.

The words confessed and penance appearing in the Green Knight s utterance may lead one to connect them not only with events of the narrative, but also with the Christian idea of sin. According to Christian ideology all human beings are sinners, though- owing to God s grace and …show more content…

It may be said that Gawain s primary fault was sinning against courtesy. If courtesy was in reality what he had been tested on, Gawain did not stand a chance of passing this test. He understood courtesy as reverence for the woman, obeying and serving her. The Lady s idea of courtesy was entirely different and included adultery in its meaning. Because of the coexistence of these two meanings Gawain had no choice but to trespass against one of them. The concept of penance and absolution does not change when courtesy is what Gawain is tested on. What does change is the scope of the allegory. In the first understanding of Gawain s sin his weakness of character was a personal fault for which he was penalized, but which was later forgiven. In the second, it may be said that man in general cannot attain perfection and is destined for sin. There is no way of escaping it. But sin will be forgiven if it is admitted and atoned

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