In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, religion greatly impacts the decisions Sir Gawain makes during the times he spends preparing to fight the Green Knight, oftentimes connecting with the honor and power that comes with the chivalric code. A journey of self-discovery, however, can not be that simple, as Gawain can also be found struggling between his duties as a knight and his morals as a Christian. In the beginning of the poem, religion and the chivalric code Gawain follow work together as Gawain prepares for his long journey. Nowhere is this cohesiveness better presented than in the description of Gawain’s shield. The outside is supporting the “pentacle star, painted pure gold” (620), while “Heaven’s Queen” (649-650), Mary, is painted …show more content…
on the inside of the shield to “keep [Gawain’s] courage high” (650) . The star symbolizes truth.
It has five points, each representing qualities important to the chivalric code and Gawain’s faith that all connect to protect the brave knight on his quest. The first point represents “his five senses [which] were free of sin” (640), with the second representing “his five fingers [which] never failed him. This is the perfect example of how Gawain could be successful and sinless at the same time, as his shield is supposed to show. The next point stands for the five wounds Jesus received on the cross when he was crucified (643) and the next symbolizes the five Joys of Mary (646), purely religious events to remind Gawain of the sadness and happiness that comes with practicing Christianity. The fifth point purely shows Gawain’s “knightly virtues” (654) which are told to be love, friendship, freedom from sin, courtesy, and pity. At the end of the description, the author describes all the points as being “wholly distinct, yet part of one whole” (659), tying together Gawain’s love for religion with his desire for heroism and knightly …show more content…
chivalry. Even as Gawain starts his journey, he keeps his religion and beliefs close to him, as he leaves Camelot on All Souls Day, a day Catholics use to pray for those who have died. This symbolizes Gawain’s respect for mortality and his courage in his faith. As he continues his search for the Green Knight’s Chapel, “[climbing] over cliffs in many strange lands...riding until Christmas Eve” (713-735), Gawain hears God’s voice (697) and prays to Mary (736). Even in the worst of conditions, Gawain’s faith is not broken, and the reader can see how Christianity and the chivalric code can work together to support Gawain in times of trouble. However, after Gawain meets Sir Bertilak, we see how the chivalric codes can contrast with Christian beliefs and morals, oftentimes making Gawain choose between his love of honor and his love of God.
Because Gawain has “courtly virtue lining his heart” (1298), he kisses Sir Bertilak’s wife every morning before attending mass. His personal values against adultery and lust are challenged by his desire to not offend the lady of the house and to appear honorable. He finds this balance between his chivalry and religion even more wobbly as the days continue and he becomes more and more infatuated with his host’s beautiful
wife. The final test of Gawain’s faith happens when the lady of the castle offers him her girdle, telling him that “any man bound with this belt...can never be killed” (1851-1853). Gawain, out of pure love for his life, takes the garment and promises to not tell his host of the gift. He keeps his promise to the lady, not speaking of the girdle he now wears. He understands his decision was immoral, as he goes to confession before leaving the castle. Now Gawain must struggle with the realization that instead of putting his faith in God, he took a supernatural garment to cheat death. After his final encounter with the Green Knight, Gawain decides to keep the girdle, “not for its gold...[but to] humble [his] heart” (2430-2438). Gawain sees the belt and the knick on his neck as a form of penance for his sins, representing the “cowardice, the greed, that came to [his] soul” (2508). It is therefore ironic how his symbols for sins are seen by his fellow heroic knights as a form of heroism, as they too wear green belts as a form of respect. Even now, over 500 years later, we can see how Christian values do not always agree with celebrated actions. Our moral codes and faith, however, still guide us through our journeys of hardships and fears.
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...
While Gawain fails to accept the truth about his immoral identity, he also fails to maintain a sincere and truthful relationship with God. Camelot believes that Gawain is a perfectly chivalrous and Catholic knight, when in actuality he is an actor with an impure thought. Gawain is driven by selfish motives; he only considers what is best for him and as a result, uses God as a vehicle to get what he wants. Gawain acknowledges God when he desires comfort and “crosses himself, and cries on Christ in his great need,” of a castle (761-761). Likewise, Gawain prays when he wants protecting; his shield, decorated with the highly symbolic Pentangle and Virgin Mary, is the ultimate Holy accessory for his battle. Gawain only regards God when he is either wishing for comfort or for safety. Furthermore, Gawain strays from Catholicism completely by expecting the green sash to save him in the fight. Believing that the magical Pagan article will truly redeem him, demonstrates fear and proves Gawain lacks faith in God. Gawain lacks morals when abandoning Catholicism for a Pagan artifact, and when he does pray to God his spiritual motives are impure and
To begin with, the Green Knight, similar to God, bestows a trial to Sir Gawain in order to test his faith and loyalty to his promise. The beheading agreement made between these characters is organized to assess the truth to Sir Gawain’s knightly
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
To continue on testing a knight that does not seem worthy certainly will not result in much of a story, or in establishing a theme. Through the use of symbols, the author of Sir Gawain is able to show that Gawain possesses the necessary attributes to make him worthy of being tested. He also uses symbols throughout the tests of each individual attribute, and in revealing where Gawain’s fault lies. The effective use of these symbols enables the author to integrate the test of each individual attribute into a central theme, or rather one overall test, the test of chivalry. To establish the knight as worthy, the author first shows Gawain’s loyalty to his king.
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.
Symbolism is used throughout literature to give deeper meaning to a variety of literary works. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight symbolism is seen through the actions of Sir Gawain against the trials he faces. The poem is first set during Christmas time at Camelot, showing that they were Christian for they were celebrating Christmas. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows the struggle between a good Christian man against the temptations of this world. Symbolically, one can see Sir Gawain holding true to Christian values: first, by standing up for what he believes in; second, by staying true to a future mate; and thirdly by repenting from sins due to a broken promise.
Instead of continuing his faith in God, Gawain places his faith in a worldly object––one that he suspects might prove to be more sufficient than a spiritual being. He wears the girdle “determined to save his neck when he [bends] it towards death.” Mistakenly, Gawain turns his back on God and relies solely on the girdle, illustrating that the amount he values his life is greater than the amount he values his faith in God. The girdle causes his faith to deteriorate, and he strays from the primary source of all of his past success––God. It is often hard to believe and remain faithful in the things that we are unable to physically see; in order to be truly successful, though, maintaining a strong and steadfast faith in the things we believe in will, in the end, be the most rewarding. Gawain is unsuccessful in loving God unconditionally; due to his fear of losing his life, he is not willing to do anything that will put him in harm’s way––not even for God (“Code of Chivalry, 1”). He gives up his faith which provides a clear depiction of his weakness and inability to stand up for his beliefs. The girdle tempts him to take a wrong turn down the path of life, and it guides him away from God. Gawain, as human as the rest of us, is easily distracted by the things of the world; he lets worldly pleasures stand in the way of the important things in life. The things that jerk us away
In the anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the character of Sir Gawain is portrayed as the imperfect hero. His flaws create interest and intrigue. Such qualities of imperfection cannot be found in the symbol of the pentangle, which he displays on his shield. This contrast between character and symbol is exposed a number of times throughout the poem allowing human qualities to emerge from Gawain’s knightly portrayal. The expectations the pentangle presents proves too much for Gawain as he falls victim to black magic, strays from God, is seduced by an adulterous woman, and ultimately breaks the chivalric code by lying to the Green Knight.
The first symbol in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that I will discuss is Sir Gawain’s knightly shield. On Gawain’s shield is a pentangle, the five points on this pentangle represent the five virtues of the perfect knight; piety, friendship, generosity, chastity and courtesy. Each of the five virtues is tested on Gawain throughout the poem creating an emphasised importance on the shield’s representation and meaning. “Now alle þese fyue syþez, for soþe, were fetled on þis knyȝt, And vchone halched in oþer, þat non ende hade, And fyched vpon fyue poyntez, þat fayld neuer” (SGGK, 656-8). This quote tells of the pentangle’s design, how each line of the pentangles composition is endlessly linked to one another, suggesting that each virtue depends on th...
Sir Gawain's inner values and character are tested to the fullest and are clearly defined in the text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The unknown author describes Gawain and the other knights as "Many good knights" (Norton 159), and he is referred to as one of the "most noble knights" (Norton 159) in King Arthur's land. This claim by the author is solidified by a challenge presented by the evil Green Knight, who enters the court of King Arthur and asks him to partake in a Christmas game. Sir Gawain, after hearing this challenge, asks the king if he may take his place. This represents that Gawain is very loyal to his king. Sir Gawain is also an honest knight in the text because in a year's time he ventures out in search of the Green Knight to endure a blow with the ax as the rules of the game were stated. He very easily could have not have carried out his end of the bargain by not traveling to the Green Chapel to meet the evil being, but Gawain is an honest knight who is true to his word.
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.
In Gawain and the Green Knight, the poet used the narrative to point out how Gawain was the embodiment of what it was to be Christian but also show that he wasn 't perfect. He had his moment of weakness where he doubted God. This also shows how the mortality of man could be man 's biggest downfall because fear for his life
The audience finds another parallel to the life of Christ upon seeing that the story begins at Christmas, the birthday of Jesus. Gawain's actions themselves hold relation to Jesus's birth. He is the only person who comes forth to save his king, and resembles the way Jesus had the role of the sole person sent to save people of their sins. Gawain's epic and Jesus's legacy on Earth both had a stage of death, too. The color red holds significance to death, just as green does to birth. The Green Knight bleeds profusely after decapitation, which heralds immediate death for any mortal body. When Gawain has his second meeting with the Green Knight, the latter nicks the prior's neck with his poleaxe. The crimson blood that seeps from the wound reminds Gawain of the permanent death that would have befallen him, had he tainted himself by giving into the temptations offered to him at the White Castle. int the White Castle, the seductive lady of the castle attempts to entice him. His actions there ultimately determine whether he will receive death, or be able to return triumphantly to Camelot. Although Gawain makes his return to Arthur and the knights, he has shame on his head. Because he is not completely honest to the Green Knight
The pentangle symbolizes the five virtues of knights consisting of, generosity, friendship, courtesy, chastity, and piety. All of which Gawain is striving to adhere to due to his knightly obligation to the code of chivalry. Gawain alleges that all virtues are seamlessly interconnected in the man as in the geometric figure on the shield. Together with the amour, the shield seems to complete the visi...