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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight morality
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Sir gawain and the green knight analytical essay
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Knightly Character
The poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, tells of one knights struggle to uphold the code of chivalry. What makes a knight a noble knight? Why does this social standard force us to hold this individual to higher expectations? What should we think about Sir Gawain when he breaks his vows in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight? How does Sir Gawain and Arthur’s court pass the test of The Green Knight? This paper will argue that Sir Gawain, despite his mistakes, is the greatest knight because of his repentance and the lesson he learns when he encounters The Green Knight. Knights are held to a higher standard when in comparison to their peers. Morality, self-presentation, knowledge and vows are a few important components to take into consideration when judging a knights character. These
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The host, who is later found out to be The Green Knight, tells his wife to seduce Sir Gawain. The hosts’ wife, then attempts to seduce Sir Gawain many times, trying to test his virtue. “You’re free to have my all, do with me what you will. I’ll come just as you call and swear to serve you well” (ll.1236-1240) Sir Gawain receives kisses from the wife, and later returns the kisses to The Green Knight due to their agreement for the exchanging of their days winnings. On the third day of the agreement Sir Gawain receives a gift from the lords’ wife and keeps this gift a secret from the Lord. This was the first time I thought there was something interesting going on at the castle. For Sir Gawain to only have told a lie, about a girdle that saved his life, is not something that I wouldn’t consider detrimental to his knighthood or his reputation. This makes Sir Gawain a noble knight in my point of view. It’s a struggle to always do the right thing. As a knight there would be more temptations, women, money, and more power that is
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...
Over the course of the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain faced situations that influenced his character which can be taken and analyzed for a teenager today. A teenager typically faces the issue of blending in and accepting who they are in high school, and by viewing Gawain’s experiences and changes, we can use it to adapt along with our peers in school. Initially, he is seen as a humble and unpopular knight amongst every other at the round table in Camelot. However this changes after engaging in a violent game with the Green Knight. Gawain gained fame over the course of a year, and as a result it had changed his initial outlook on his loyalty to the chivalric code, as well as his values on life.
In the opening lines of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Gawain-poet predicates the numerous dualities—which lead the reader through questions of moral seriousness—that exist in the poem. The opening historical recounting, according to Richard Hamilton Green, reminds the reader that “the greatness of the past is marred by reminders of failure” (179). The paradox of triumph and greatness arising out of failure foreshadows Sir Gawain following the same pattern of fate as his predecessors. While the completion of Gawain’s quest reaffirms the historical paradox of greatness, his journey to renown is fraught with situations and symbols that develop the poem’s main concern of moral seriousness. The Gawain-poet skillfully reveals his theme by leading Gawain on a journey in which nothing is what it seems. Sir Gawain and the reader are confronted with several contrasts of characters’ actions and intentions, symbolic meanings, and Christian and secular virtues. Mainly by showing the difference between actions and attitudes while inside in a social situation and outside in a more wild, untamed environment, these contrasts help to emphasize the importance of unbending faith and loyalty.
When Gawain spurns the lady 's advances, she questions the validity of his reputation: "So good a night as Gawain is rightly reputed / In whom courtesy is so completely embodied / Could not easily have spent so much time with a lady / Without begging a kiss, to comply with politeness / By some hint or suggestion at the end of a remark. " Here we see the first example of Gawain 's values being thrown into opposition: he cannot hope to hold his honor, fellowship, and chastity without calling his chivalry and courtesy into question. Gawain faces a fork in the road in the first bedroom scene, yet it quickly becomes clear that neither road ends with perfection. The perfect, archetypal knight, one who seamlessly, simultaneously embodies all of the qualities so harmoniously unified on Gawain 's shield, cannot exist, as the five points of Gawain 's pentangle cannot fully be kept
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.
When Gawain shows up at the Green Knight’s chapel, his mere presence provides comfort to his host, who greets him: “Sir so sweet, you honour the trysts you owe.” Perhaps the green gallant had been expecting Gawain, as representative of the crumbling House of Arthur, to be derelict in his duties. Gawain lives up to his good name. Similarly, he resisted the unbearable temptations of Lady Bertilak on numerous occasions, providing a mere kiss, in accordance with the code of chivalry.
In Gordon M. Shedd’s “Knight in Tarnished Armour: The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, he argues that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly about the strength and weaknesses of human nature. One particularly interesting part of his argument asserts that Gawain’s humanity broke medieval romance tradition.
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 fact that he is willing to hold to his stated word is evidence enough that he has good ethics. After Gawain accepts the challenge of the Green Knight he promises to let the Knight perform the challenge to himself. Gawain also has respect for women and their wishes. Gawain’s respect is indicated by the immediate response of Gawain to kiss the lady of the castle after she comes in to greet Gawain for the first time. Gawain’s action stems from the lady’s statement, "So true a knight as Gawain is holden, and one so perfect in courtesy, would never have tarried so long with a lady but he would of his courtesy have craved a kiss at parting." The meaning of this quotation is if this man in the bed were truly the noble knight Sir Gawain, he would not have taken as long as he did to kiss the master of the castle’s wife. A few other examples from the ethics of Sir Gawain are the three promises or instances of gift exchanges with the lord of the castle. For the most part, Gawain holds to his word and gives to the castle lord that which he, Gawain, had received each day. The one instance that he breaks his code of ethics occurs when he exchanges the third gift of three kisses with the host, when in all actuality he had been given a girdle by the lady of the castle to aid him in his encounter with the Green
In a land of magic, love, betrayal, hatred, loyalty and mystery, there exists a kingdom called Camelot. At the heart of Camelot are the Knights of the Round Table who maintain their loyalty to King Arthur. From the famed knights emerges one knight, who stands out as being traditionally the most loyal, chivalrous, and courtly of all: Sir Gawain. It is during one of Arthur's New Year's feast, that a stranger rudely gallops into the great hall and begins what will be a yearlong test for Sir Gawain. His color, physical stature, power, and magic are astounding to the Knights of the Round Table. Only one knight dares to accept the challenge of this green giant. This is the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a fourteenth Century Arthurian romance by an anonymous poet.
Closely associated to the romance tradition are two idealized standards of behavior, especially for knights: courage and chivalry. The protagonist within many medieval romances proved their worth by going on quests, as many a knights went in those times, thus returning with great tales of their travels and deeds. Many modern people think of chivalry as referring to a man's gallant treatment of women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry could be seen as more than that. Knights were expected to be brave, loyal, and honorable-sent to protect the weak, be noble to...
Even court life need not be washed completely of human sin and the natural instincts all animals rely on, for being godly, as Gawain is, should not be viewed as the primary characteristic of being moral. There should be a balance between humanity and godliness, similar to Aristotle's idea of a golden mean, that all these knights seek. By showing that knights should achieve this balance, the author extends his message to the common people, who look to knights as role models of morality. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight challenges the contemporary ideals of morality, presenting instead a golden mean that the common people would not have associated with their knightly role models before.
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight has prompted scholars to examine and diversely interpret the medieval narrative. One of the underlying questions that has been proposed embodies the analysis of the relationship between Christian and Pagan ideals and how knightly chivalry is influenced by religion during the Arthurian Romance period. It is no mistake that the two varied religious ideals are intertwined throughout the poem due to the nature of classical antiquity. Amidst the overlap between superstitious rituals and Orthodox- Christian beliefs it is clear that Sir Gawain has a sense of personal integrity guided by a moral compass.
Throughout the story, Sir Gawain’s characteristics nobility is witnessed. During the first segment, his Gawain looks and speaks in the way an ideal knight should look and speak. His clothes are regular for the knight; his speech, on the other hand, is somewhat distinct from other knights. He is the only knight that steps forward to save Arthur's honor and life in the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. During the middle and latter versus of the story, Gawain’s nobility heightens. After twelve months as day, Gawain seeks out to find the Green Knight as promised. After reaching the forest, Gawain comes across a ‘stranger’ and his wife, who offers to assist him in finding the Green Knight, as Gawain is unaware that the host is the Green Knight himself. Upon his encounter, he is test by the wife of the host (Bercilak de Hautdesert), who openly flirts with him and attempts to seduce and lure him to infidelity. However despite his temptations, he yields them and only receives kisses from the lady, which he returns to the Green Knight in the accordance with their agreement. The wife of Green Knight, says that Sir Gawain is the "noblest knight alive" (239) after her attempts to lure him and test his honesty. Sir Gawain’s true nobility is witnessed during the second segment of the story where is lured into the lust by the wife of the ‘anonymous’
The ways that the heroes in the stories of a time period are depicted, and the traits that they display are heavily indicative of the values of the time, or, at least, the values the teller of the story wishes to spread, as in the case of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, who used stories such as that of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to spread the ideas of chivalry to fix the social issues that she saw in the knights of Britain. Sir Gawain is a stark contrast to Beowulf, a hero of a time before the time of Gawain. While the heroes are similar in the respect that they are both very concerned about their respective images, they are also fundamentally different. Beowulf is primarily concerned with glory for himself and for his associates, and performs