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Writing a comparison/contrast essay for college
Comparative essay
College level compare and contrast essay
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In the text Sir Gawain and The Farier Queen the Knights from these books have several similarities. Both are honor-bound knights who are on a dangerous quest that examines both their character, as well as courage. Moreover, they are striving to uphold an ideal and achieving some state of perfection, even though no process on some of the challenges they face. Knights had a great sense of chivalry this gave the since of being protectors
of common folk, and sworn to there king However, the two knights considering their similarities are looking for ideas that are different knightly.
Gawain’s ideal is very personal and intimate and deals with the behavior of a good knight in a society and the purpose of honor in daily life. In contrast, the ideals
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of Redcross are far more abstract and look how deception should be confronted by a good Christian, falsehood and error, the ideals of Redcross are altogether less personal than national. Due to the Gawain’s quest ambitious nature, he is a more nuanced and developed character compared to Redcross, though he is not an allegory that is uncharacterized. The Faerie Queen and Sir Gawain's Green Knight come from different times in history that is distinct.
Sir Gawainis born in later medievil , there is a reflection of his morals to those chivalries of 14th century. In the first part of the poem, Gawain status is proven as a good knight through taking the challenge of Green Knight in part of King Arthur, “this folly befits not a king. (358) ” Thus, Gawain is placing himself at risk for his lord and kinsman, just as a good knight should do it. The act emphasizes the advantages of feudal ties in the community and the value placed by the author on vassal’s oath upholding to his lord. Another such example of chivalry would be when Bercilak the Lady of the castle Sir Gawain is staying at temps him with sexuality if it were not for his code of ethics , that tells him what is right and wrong then Sir Gawain would have given in to his …show more content…
desires. It was not just that there was a fulfillment of social duties by Gawain, but it was his honor that was impeccable that made him such an important knight.
In aristocratic culture of medieval, the most prized possession was the knight’s honor; and to Gawain, it is more advantageous than his own life, as witnessed by his dedication that is steadfast in upholding the challenge of Green Knight. When the guide of Gawain advises the running away of knight instead of confronting Sir Bertilak, Gawain answers that, even though he does not doubt the ability of the guide to keep secret on his retreat, this cowardice could not be tolerated. When Bertilak exposed that Gawain did not have “a little in loyalty” for maintaining the magic belt, the Gawain actions are excused by Green Knight as being natural due to Gawain love for his own life. However, the valuing of Gawain honor, sees this as an offense that is unpardonable and state that where there is fast making of a fault, it’s fixing is evermore. This is an in-depth look that is very personal considering knight’s honor and deals with most applicable questions to medieval
knights. In the Faerie Queen, the religious statements are intricate as well as subtle. The Faerie Queen starts with Red Crosse, who is riding in full armor with his shield apparently signifying Christianity, in contrast to the interconnected pentangle of Sir Gawain. The armor of the knight is dented from jousting, (a sport that enables him to win the favors of a lady) . The knight is on a quest in aid of the Faerie Queen Gloriana, which is symbolic of the reigning of Queen Elizabeth I. When Red Crosse deals with the beast, the sword that he had cannot fell her since his shield is compromised. In contrast to Gawain, the disarmament of this knight is associated with faith, rather than exposure to nature. Red Crosse comes out of the cave and goes on with his journey, having God as his friend. The heroic status of Red Crosse is confirmed similar to Gawain, and as the story comes to a conclusion, he accomplishes the virtue of holiness.
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...
The tales of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Lanval offer their readers insight into a common knightly quandary. Gawain and Lanval are both faced with challenges that threaten their ability to protect, uphold, and affirm their very knightliness. The two knights repeatedly see several knightly traits--- each invaluable to the essence of a knight--- brought into conflict. While the knights are glorified in their respective texts, they are faced with impossible dilemmas; in each story, both reader and knight are confronted with the reality that knightly perfection is unattainable: concessions must be made--- bits and pieces of their honor must be sacrificed.
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.
Sir Gawain’s wrongdoing for taking the girdle from the Lady does not bear a consequence from the Green Knight, for he forgives Sir Gawain, as it was his human instinct to protect himself to take the item. In the short poem, the Green Knight is known to say, “I declare you purged, as polished and as pure as the day you were born, without blemish or blame” (Artimage 181). The diction in the phrase allows the reader to envision purity in the form of a human, resembling Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain is astonished, almost not believing the knight, and thanks him for the gift that led to his failing, saying, “God bless you for this gift. Not for all its ore will I own it with honor” (Artimage 183). From the tone of these sentences, the audience is receiving the vibe of happiness and overjoyment. This might be to cheer up the readers, for the main character almost died. Redemption is not worth much unless the fault is taught upon, so others will not make the same error as Sir Gawain. This conception is fulfilled when King Arthur hears of Sir Gawain’s adventure, honoring and showering his court with cheerfulness for the Green Knight’s redemption as pictured in the passage, “...and each knight who held it was honored forever,” and “...every knight in the brotherhood - should bear such a belt, a bright green belt worn obliquely to the body, crosswise, like a sash, for the sake of
Gawain’s acceptance of Lady Bertilak’s girdle causes him to progressively lose himself internally in order to save his physical life. Gawain appears to be the perfect image of a knight, who exhibits himself as worthy and noble when he accepts the Green Knight’s challenge. Known to be “honored all over the world,” his remarkable valor and devout behavior define his character. He loses his honorable reputation, though, when he disrespects the honor of King Bertilak. Disgracing his knightly code, Gawain fails to exchange all of his gifts with the king and lies, without hesitation, to the king when he claims that “what [he] owed [King Bertilak] [he has] paid [King Bertilak]” (1941). Gawain directly lies to him without hesitation, proving that his conscience does not seem to be effecting his actions. Lying is a common action, but generally, it causes us to feel remorseful and guilty over our wrongs. Gawain breaks the code of chivalry that requires a knight to be loyal and honest, but he is not regretful due to his apparent selfish nature (“Code of Chivalry, 2 and 15”). He makes a deal with the king to “[trade] profit for profit,” yet he dishonestly “[hides] [Lady Bertilak’s] love gift” rather than honoring the king’s wishes (1677, 1874). Gawain makes a promise that he fails to fulfill. The girdle drives him to destruction because it pulls him away from what he knows to be good and
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.
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.
The author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gives a story depicting what a perfect knight should be by giving the character of Sir Gawain. The reader sees the challenges he endures and little by little the reader realizes that the mythical idea of a ‘perfect knight’ is not achievable. These tests that are given to Sir Gawain include bravery, honesty, and chastity. These values apply only to the noble knights and had nothing to do with the commoners. Gender roles are also of huge significance in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The author demonstrates to the reader how women and men in those times should were expected to act, with special emphasis on chivalry and courtly love.
The poet presents Gawain as an ideal and perfect Arthurian knight by praising his chivalry, generosity, integrity and kindness in the front part of the poet (Morgan). Nevertheless, our hero is a man who also have some weaknesses and imperfections.
Sir Gawain follows each of the societally required aspects of chivalry and honor expected of knights during the Medieval Period. These aspects include: humility regarding one’s own value, honoring one’s promises, and the value of chivalry and honor over personal wellbeing. Although he dutifully follows all of the conventions, he only follows them to a point, with the exception of valuing chivalry and honor over one’s wellbeing.
In Medieval times, knights indulged in worldly temptations prevent themselves from achieving true nobility. The romantic narrative poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by the Gawain Poet is a body of work that not only illustrates the importance of connecting to the holy world rather than the real world but whether the holy world can survive in a world full of temptation. Gawain achieves this depiction through the use of setting, symbols, and characters.
The era of Feudalism brought along chivalry, a trait demonstrated by Sir Gawain in the novel Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain’s chivalric code of conduct is challenged by Lady Bertilak, but he is able to withstand by holding true to his virtues. However, Gawain fails when he is tempted with the green girdle that is enchanted with pagan magic. This represents the chaos during medieval Europe to which so many people fell victim too. In order to restore his chivalry and moral virtues, he had to repent his sins and look back to the Christian church for answers. By restoring his chivalric code of conduct, he is able to call himself a noble knight once more. Sir Gawain’s ability to restore his chivalric code represents how important of a factor Feudalism was to restore order and security to this chaotic
In the beginning of this epic tale, we are introduced to one of our main characters Gawain. In the castle ruled by King Anther he is not only a part of the royal family by blood but a knight. By Gawain upholding such
Ex1 For instance, Sir Gawain acts as King Arthur’s “right-hand-man” (“Chivalry”) by fighting the Green Knight (“Chivalry”). Gawain demonstrates honor, which is one of the ideal duties of a warrior, by fighting in place of his king. Elab The Green Knight challenges Gawain and makes it clear that Gawain shall not bow out of the battle (Sir Gawain 278). Ultimately, Lord Bertilak tests Gawain’s loyalty by making this point. Ex2 Later, Gawain is approaching his time of battle with the Green Knight and has a symbolic pentangle for protection. Elab2 The pentangle exemplifies the knightly virtues of an “endless knot” with his king (Sir Gawain 630). Essentially, armor represents a mode of protection for a knight going against evil. Lady Bertilak tests Gawain’s loyalty when presenting him with the green girdle (another piece of armor), which can keep him safe when he goes against the Green Knight (“Chivilary”). CONCL Overall, warrior chivalry is shown through Sir Gawain’s faithfulness to King Arthur and the use of armor such as a
Scholars think that “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” was written during the 14th century, a point in which the age of chivalry began to decline. Granting that the legends of Arthur’s court are reminiscent of Gawain’s bravery, loyalty, and his devotion to the codes of chivalry, the narrative exposes his flaw(s). The anonymous author of “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” uses the Green Knight and the green girdle as symbols to allude to the decline of chivalry within the author’s contemporary culture.