Erik Tirado Susan Austin English-241 February 12, 2024 Literary Analysis Essay #1 In medieval literature, "Beowulf" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" are seen as some of the best for their portrayals of heroism and chivalry. These themes are important, and they are not just ideals; they are the center of medieval society. "Beowulf" is an epic poem that brings out heroism through acts of bravery and strength through many tough battles and is believed to have been written in the Anglo-Saxon era, a time when societies were often at war and physical strength was highly valued. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a poem that brings out chivalry with emphasis on integrity, honor, and the moral challenges its main character finds. It was written …show more content…
Heroism in "Beowulf" is shown to the reader through the main character's accomplishments, bravery, and honor. Beowulf has had many battles, each symbolizing the bravery he has to fight for his people and the desire for glory and fame. One key moment in the poem is his fight with Grendel. This moment reflects true heroism in the story, for example, as depicted in this quote "Unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares" ("Beowulf", line 684). This act may be taken as bravery or just foolishness. But what this act is based upon is Beowulf's commitment to fairness and valor, to meet his enemy man to man, weaponless. It is such a …show more content…
It brings into focus the expectation of society that heroes ought to be more than just brave, but should also have a moral direction that informs their deeds for the good of all. Thus, Beowulf's position of heroism is fortified not only in his heroic deeds but in the way he carries them out, raising a bar of honor and valor carried throughout the epic. Chivalry in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" was presented through the dedication of Sir Gawain towards the chivalric code. The chivalry code is shown to the reader as honesty, loyalty and honor. Chivalry today may be seen as being nice and generous, but in the medieval era and in this story there is a lot more than that. One important moment in the poem that shows Gawain’s chivalric values is when he honors his agreement to meet the Green Knight at the Green Chapel, despite realizing this could be dangerous. A quote from the poem of proof that this is his pledge is, "faith pledged by one’s word and owed to a lord," indicating the level of dedication with which he keeps his word ("Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," p. 202). This is not just being brave, but it shows just how much dedication and honor Gawain has towards his values, traits that would show a knight to possess a characteristic of chivalry. It was the ideal of the era to present a combination of bravery and moral
Of all the themes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the one which stood out the most to me was that of deception. With the Green Knight, the “evil” and Sir Gawain, the “good”, we see both forces partake in deceptive practices to achieve the desired outcome they sought. Throughout the poem, Sir Gawain’s moral compass was constantly being tested with deception being used to gage his level of loyalty, morality, and chivalry. The “game” that the Green Knight was hell bent on playing was not an honest one. He utilized a host of deceptions to gain the results that he sought after—there was little to no room for error with him. First, he presented a challenge in which he alone knew that he would not perish. When he asked for a volunteer to strike him with the ax, the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline: Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be the least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355).
...or a chivalric Knight embodies the battle of the righteous self against corruption. Gawain’s strength comes from his discovery of his own flaws. Beowulf’s ideals concerning honor and nobility exist only within the context of his society. Remove him from other people, and his life would be meaningless. This is the true flaw of Beowulf, which the character of Gawain, by the end of his story, comes to realize. The notion of "winning" can be applied at all times to the personality of the chivalric Knight. The battleground becomes the mind, which is separate from the realm of reality. Beowulf does not have the capability to win, without the recognition of his fellow warriors. Within the mind, all sorts of battles are waged. The true winner is the person who can learn from that struggle, and who is able to apply that knowledge within both solitary and societal venues.
In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, our main character is faced with a challenge. A
In the historical poem, ‘Sir Gawain and the green knight’ it is easy to pick the two protagonists Sir Gawain and the Green knight. They are both knights and their heroism is developed through high power and their Christian faith. However, the mode of characterization varies as both Sir Gawain and every other man in the poem argue about the advancement of a Christian hero. Every man including sir Gawain all have real individual characteristics such as self pity, fear, and dishonesty, and though they are characterized by flaws they all excel thus not falling under the classification of just not any common heroes but Christian heroes.
During the Middle Ages, both “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” were epic stories that were chanted aloud to the public. Each story told about epic heroes who went on a long journey to face or conqueror someone or something. “Beowulf” is a poem about a young man, Beowulf, who slays a monster and his mother with his bare hands to protect the people he loves. As the years go by Beowulf becomes king and a dragon begins to stir. In response to this, Beowulf fights the dragon with a sword and one loyal companion. Beowulf’s life comes to end, but so does the dragons. From this epic poem you can see that good does triumph over evil, but sometimes it comes at a cost. Along with “Beowulf”, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” was another popular poem. This poem was about a squire, Sir Gawain, who chooses to take on a game proposed by the Green Knight instead of his uncle, King Arthur. He took on the game because he believed King Arthur’s life was more valuable than his own and that King Arthur should not risk his own life. As a result, Sir Gawain became a knight because of his loyalty and bravery. Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s and Beowulf’s characters share the same quality of courage, the desire to protect people and the involvement of supernatural beings.
This trait serves a pivotal role on his actions throughout the poem. Despite that many of his adversaries were stronger and/or larger, he never pulls out from any battle. For example, when Beowulf states in lines 265-270,“Might think less of me if I let my sword / Go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid / Behind some broad linden shield: my hands / Alone shall fight for me struggle for live / Against the monster. God must decide,” it shows that can kill him without weaponry or armor and only using his bare hands. When doing this, Beowulf takes what appears as if it were an extensive risk in a fight and takes the risk for glory and showing his bravery. Amid the Anglo-Saxon era, being a hero was considered to be important, but a hero with courage fighting with an insidious creature was even more significant. After killing Grendel, Beowulf exhibits his bravery during the battle with Grendel’s mother when he states, “He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s/ Answer.” In this passage of the story, Beowulf soon notices that his sword could not be used to fight against her. Fortunately, he keeps on combating her while showing genuine courage. The quality of bravery to the Anglo-Saxon is significant because the people want a hero that is willing to conquer any apprehensions that he may have and show utter fearlessness while doing
Hero is Sir Gawain Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a good piece of work for a medieval heroic romance. " Sir Gawain contains a deep moral reflection on the fallibility of one of Arthur's greatest knights" (Forsberg). What makes a hero? A hero needs to be courageous, courtesy, honesty, honor, humility, integrity, and sacrificial. Does Sir Gawain have the traits to be a hero?
Beowulf is an epic poem that describes the heroics of a man with superhuman strength and bravery to go with it. The poem starts with a journey across the sea to defeat an enemy that has plagued the land of Herot for twelve years. The poem ends with Beowulf’s final deed of defeating a dragon that was plaguing his own land, but with the defeat of the dragon also comes the death of Beowulf. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem of bravery by one of King Arthur’s knights. Sir Gawain takes up the deed of playing a Christmas game with the challenging Green Knight. The Green Knight takes a blow from an ax at the hand of Sir Gawain, and in one year and one day, the Green Knight is to reciprocate the action to Sir Gawain. While Sir Gawain was heroic in his deed, Beowulf shows a certain selflessness in his bouts makes him a better hero than Sir Gawain.
It does this conceptually, by emphasizing human nature over chivalry, and it does this narratively through Gawain’s failure as a knight, and the Green Knight’s illegitimacy as a true villain. In traditional romance of this time, the protagonist could not have faltered in chivalry; Gawain’s “lapses of courage and honour… are highly untypical of the knightly conduct we find illustrated with such stultifying sameness in medieval story” (Shedd 245). But this occurs because the Green Knight is not the true villain; the real conflict is Gawain’s struggle against his own human nature. While the Green Knight appears to be a classic antagonist in the first part of the poem, he proves himself merciful and forgiving in the final part, stating that he does not blame Gawain because it was only because “[he] loved [his] own life” that he failed the final test (95). Rather than merely taking Sir Gawain’s head, the Green Knight gave him the opportunity to prove himself as “faultless” (95), or above his human nature, to “[purge] the debt” (96). Just as Shedd argues, the shift from external to internal conflict in the poem sets Sir Gawain and the Green Knight apart from other works of medieval romance.
The general definition of a hero is, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Although, the interpretation of a hero is always dependant on the society in which the hero resides. The “hero”, Beowulf, is not depicted the same way as he is in the self-titled poem “Beowulf” as he is in Grendel. The poem “Beowulf” is said to emerge from the Anglo-Saxon period or the 5th-6th century. It was later translated by Burton Raffel. The “hero” of the poem, Beowulf, is a glorified Geatish warrior whose hunger for fame and wealth drives him to the land of the Danes to rid of the evil monster, Grendel. He is depicted as a strong, brave, and courageous man and admired by the Danes. On the other hand,
In this poem, Beowulf exhibits the trait of bravery by defeating the monster, Grendel. This monster was a very powerful monster that plagued the town of Herot. “He slipped through the door… Snatched up thirty men, smashed them/ Unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies/ The blood dripping behind him, back/ To his liar, delighted with his night’s slaughter. (11)”
The Canterbury Tales, written by Chaucer, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an anonymous author, are both sophisticated fourteenth-century examples of medieval romance. Medieval romances captured the heart of their audiences as narratives and stories that featured a protagonist, often a knight, and dealt with religious allegories, chivalry, courtly love, and heroic epics. The concept of the knight emerged from the remnants of the Anglo-saxon literature and ideals and influence of the Christian religion and church. There is a distinct difference between the famous pagan heroic like Beowulf and the romantic medieval tales like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight of the Canterbury Tale. The Anglo-Saxon hero Beowulf exemplified qualities expected of warriors who could attain kingship by their heroism and battle deeds. They possessed the qualities of valor, military prowess, generosity, and honor. The hero fights for the survival of their tribe and nation, and it is in battle that the mettle of the epic hero is ultimately tested. The romantic conventions , influenced by Christianity and French ideals, created a new chivalric knight who sets out on a trial or adventure. They possessed similar qualities to their epic hero counterparts – valor, loyalty, honor, and skill in battle – but differed in knowing temperance, courtesy towards women, and courtly skills. The hero is no longer fighting for his people but for his ideals. By the 14th century, The Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales have began to criticize the notion of chivalry which had become old and obsolete in their society; the idealization of chivalry practiced by knights could longer withstand the complexities and indeterminateness of situa...
Excellence has always been a virtue revered by society. Writers throughout the ages have tried to capture the essence of excellence in their works, often in the form of a title character, who is the embodiment of perfection, encapsulating all the ideal traits necessary for one to be considered an excellent member of society. However, the standards for excellence are not universally agreed upon. On the contrary, one man's idea of excellence may very well be another's idea of mediocrity. Yet, human nature is constant enough that by analyzing different literary "heroes", one can discover the standards of excellence that are common to different peoples.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem which tells the tale of a knight who undergoes trials-testing the attributes of knighthood-in order to prove the strength and courage of himself, while representing the Knights of the Round Table. One of King Arthurs most noblest and bravest of knights, Sir Gawain, is taken on an adventure when he steps up to behead a mysterious green visitor on Christmas Day-with the green mans’ permission of course. Many would state that this tale of valor would be within the romance genre. To the modern person this would be a strange category to place the poem in due to the question of ‘where is the actual romance, where is the love and woe?’ However, unlike most romances nowadays, within medieval literature there are many defining features and characteristics of a romance-them rarely ever really involving love itself. Within medieval literature the elements of a romance are usually enshrouded in magic, the fantastic and an adventure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows Sir Gawain over the course of one year, from one New Years to the next, as was the deal he and Bertilak, the green knight, struck.