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Character Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Depiction of a believable character has always been a difficult task for any writer. A true character must evoke emotions and make the readers want to learn more about him or her. The appearance, acts, words and nature of this character must be vivid and understandable by the audience. In medieval England, Arthurian literary works, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell," describe the character of Sir Gawain as a noble hero, having chivalrous and virtuous attributes.
Sir Gawain is said to be the nephew of Arthur: "His parents are Lot of Orkney and Morgause (though his mother is said to be Anna in Geoffrey of Monmouth). Upon the death of Lot, be becomes the head of the Orkney clan, which includes in many sources his brothers Aggravain, Gaheris, and Gareth, and his half-brother Mordred" (Legends, online). He is also the youngest of the knights of the Round Table.
Besides being the nephew of Arthur, he is one of his closest companions and an active participant in the numerous adventures which they encounter. Sir Gawain is a protagonist or a main hero in the earlier Arthurian legends, but he is often included in later stories of the fifteenth century as a confidant or a secondary character. For example in Morte Darthur, by Sir Thomas Malory, Gawain is a secondary character, and the main hero is Sir Lancelot.
In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written by an anonymous author, we are given a description of Sir Gawain's appearance, as he is preparing to go on a quest to find the Green Knight and complete the yearlong beheading game (Norton, 215). His armor, clothing and horse all suggest that he is not a poor knight. His helmet is decorated with gems and embroidered with parrots and turtledoves; his shield has image of Virgin Mary on the inside and an "endless knot"(Norton, 215) or a pentangle on the outside. This figure is a star with five points that is drawn in an unbroken line, which also happens to be a symbol of Gawain's five virtues.
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.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a fourteenth-century tale written by an anonymous poet, chronicles how Sir Gawain of King Arthur’s Round Table finds his virtue compromised. A noble and truthful knight, Gawain accepts the Green Knight’s challenge at Arthur’s New Years feast. On his way to the Green Chapel, Gawain takes shelter from the cold winter at Lord Bercilak’s castle. The lord makes an agreement with Gawain to exchange what they have one at the end of the day. During the three days that the lord is out hunting, his wife attempts to seduce Gawain. At the end of the story, it is revealed that Morgan le Faye has orchestrated the entire situation to disgrace the Knights of the Round Table by revealing that one of their best, Sir Gawain, is not perfect.
Sir Gawain is King Arthur’s nephew and one of his most faithful knights. Although Gawain modestly refutes it, he has a reputation of being an honorable knight and courtly man. He prides himself on his adherence of the five parts of chivalry and is a pinnacle display of humility, piety, integrity, loyalty, and honesty that all other knights strive for. Though Gawain sits at the high table during the New Year’s celebration at Arthur’s court, he defines himself as the least of King Arthur’s knights in terms of both physical ability and mental aptitude. Gawain continually seeks to better improve his inner self throughout the story. His only known flaw proves to be his love to preserve his own life, so much that he will sacrifice his honor in order to save himself.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight takes its protagonist, the noble Gawain, through
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.
Individuals in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain is, undoubtably, the most varied of the Arthurian characters: from his first minor appearance as Gwalchmei in the Welsh tales to his usually side-line participation in the modern retelling of the tales, no other character has gone from such exalted heights (being regarded as a paragon of virtue) to such dismal depths (being reduced to a borderline rapist, murderer, and uncouth bore), as he. This degree of metamorphosis in character, however, has allowed for a staggering number of different approaches and studies in Gawain. The greatest part of these studies have involved the middle-English text Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The passage (130-202) of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight describes the appearance of a strange knight in King Arthur's court. The anonymous author of the epic describes the rider in great detail, emphasizing the importance of this character. The passage is intended to arouse readers' curiosity, and at the same time, to introduce the mighty danger that the main character, Sir Gawain, will have to face. Furthermore, the strange knight is shown to be a test or trial for King Arthur and his knights. Finally, the passage presents the actual dynamics of Arthur's court as incompatible with the poet's initial praising of nobility, justice and chivalric ideals.
According to Shedd’s “Knight in Tarnished Armour: The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, Sir Gawain’s conflict is with the duality of human nature, not the Green Knight. His idea that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight breaks the traditions of medieval romance is especially
The character, Sir Gawain is an interesting character. He has many different qualities both good and bad. Though he has bad qualities, his intentions behind them are completely innocent. His good qualities far outweigh his bad ones. He makes many decisions though not always the best ones. These decisions have lasting effects on other characters from the story. The ethics of sir Gawain are a main theme throughout the story. Sir Gawain has some interesting motives to his actions that are a focus in the beginning of the story. Throughout the entire story, Sir Gawain is growing as a character. Gawain has many appealing qualities, interesting ethics and motives, and some of his decisions are questionable, but all the while he is growing
In the Authorain legend, Sir Gawain has great nobility, honesty, loyalty and chivalry. Sir Gawain is the nephew of King Arthur and a member of the king's elite Round Table. In the texts of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell," Gawain is portrayed as a hero who exemplifies the characteristics of an honorable knight. He is viewed by many in King Arthur's court as a noble man who is loyal to the king, and who will sacrifice his own life to protect his lord. Sir Gawain represents an ideal knight of the fourteenth century.
In Gawain and the Green Knight, the narration shows a complex level of characteristics of Sir Gawain including what makes him the embodiment of a Christian man and how he 's also very much human. When he juxtaposed to the Green Knight, who 's the symbol of nature and the Pagan ideas, his character is shown through even more.
Gawain's actions reflect the social mores of 14th century England, where a good knight was expected to adhere firmly to the code of chivalry. Gawain is the model knight, gallant and valorous, not to mention a devout Christian. Gawain's superb character traits are bolstered by his status as a member of King Arthur's court. The Gawain poet writes of Camelot: "With all delights on earth they housed there together, / ...
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 narrative artistry of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight can be attributed to the fundamental elements of chivalric life and the exploration of classic mythological elements that allows the narrative to bridge the gap between Christianity and Paganism, and allow its readers to find their own spiritual interpretation with in the text.
Sir Gawain from Sir Gawain & the Green Knight was regarded as one of the best knights to grace the table and he was considered to be modest because he always denied everyone’s boastful words about him. Gawain is a prime example of humility, devotion, integrity, loyalty, and honesty, also known as the five points of chivalry. He prides himself on his observance of the five points of chivalry in every aspect of his life. His only flaw turns out to be that he loves his own life so much that he’ll abandon his hard earned reputation of honesty to save