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Sir gawain and the green knight literary
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight summary
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight summary
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The Riveting Analyzation of Berries Zayd Ali In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight one of the most striking and influential scenes is when the green knight bursts into the great hall and graces the knights and King Arthur with his presence. He arrives in full armor and with a battle axe in one hand and a bob of holly in the other. The most captivating part of this image is the bob of holly that he is holding. The red berries directly contrast with the knight’s skin, which was “green as green could be” (150). This shows a contrast in character; the berries are red and poisonous, while the leaves are green and symbolize nature, peace, and harmony. This is in accordance with the evil and kind sides of the green knight, and leads one to believe that
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is a phrase that has been uttered numerous times to children by their parents. This aphorism has been used to not only apply to books but also people. In The Black Walnut Tree by Mary Oliver, the speaker faces a conflict between the literal and figurative meaning of a tree in her yard. In the beginning of the poem, the mother and daughter “debate” selling the tree to “pay off their mortgage.” But with a shift from literal language to figurative language comes a symbolic representation of the tree, one that represents family heritage and their ancestors’ hard work.
The poet spends most of the next three stanzas describing the Green Knight in detail; first, we learn of his clothing, trimmed in fur and embroidery, all green and gold. Then we learn that the horse he rides, the saddle, and the stirrups are all green. The man's long hair matches that of the horse, and he has a great, thick beard, also green.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight consists of three hunts, three temptations, and three different animals. It is not by accident that the first day's hunt is for deer. The deer represents the innocence and purity of Gawain as a knight. The lengthy and detailed description of the hunt and the capture of the deer serve to emphasize the symbolism of the deer. The even more detailed description of the slaughter and butchering of the meat further emphasizes the symbolism. It can be inferred that the butchering of the deer is similar to the fate that awaits Gawain when he meets with the Green Knight.
The story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight provides an excellent example of Hyde’s trickster figure in the character of Bernlak, also known as Bertilak, Bercilak, or simply as the Green Knight. The tale of Sir Gawain pits him against the daunting and formidable Green Knight; a mystical and intriguing character, who rode into Arthur’s court, brandishing a great axe and clad all in green. He challenges the knights to a game, and only after Arthur concedes to play the Green Knight’s game, does Gawain instead offer to take his place, thus setting in motion the story. In Sir Gawain, the Green Knight displays several key characteristics of Hyde’s trickster such as: crossing boundaries, being contradictory, and questioning
Many human beings recognize the color red as a meaning of love; however, the meaning of passion and violence comes to mind during this late fourteenth-century poem. The symbol of the color red presented throughout the poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” represents passion and violence. The meaning of passion was disbelieving at first; however, after rereading, it was easy to notice Sir Gawain’s passion to be the one to accept the challenge to the Green Knight. Before King Arthur was about to strike the Green Knight, Gawain stepped in and said, “I stake my claim. May this melee be mine” (341-342). Clearly, he was passionate enough to risk his own life in the future, only to cut the Green Knights head off. The color red symbolizes as an
Gawain, Arthur’s knight who takes the Green Knight’s challenge, is portrayed in different lights as the story progresses. Descriptions of fabric and clothing are integral to this portrayal. When he is departing Camelot to find the Green Knight, Gawain is depicted as a virtuous, chivalrous knight bravely facing his fate. His clothing, therefore, is red, symbolizing courage, and bears a gold pentangle, a symbol of virtue. This is described in lines 636-639, “On shield and coat in view/ He bore that emblem bright/ As to his word most true/ And in speech most courteous knight.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one can discover a variety of reasons why the Green Knight is indeed green. Some can be found in open text while others one has to search for. There is possibly another aspect involved in the holly leaf he carries in his first appearance. The deeper aspect of the Green Knight is how he ties into the beliefs and culture of the Celts.
Dissimilar to King Arthur’s opulent and boyish description, the Green Knight appears earthly, like an overgrown lumberjack in a debutante ball. His very entrance to the narrative aims to shatter Camelot’s superficial relationship with earthly trials. While Arthur seeks pleasure in hearing tales “of some fair feat” (92), the Green Knight undermines all formality known to be chivalrous challenging the king to a life risking game. With a “broad neck to buttocks” (137), (opposed to Arthur’s’ court depicted in the ever regal color red,) the Knight is clothed in green, the color of nature. He appears with no armor other then his faith, merely a utilitarian woodsman’s ax. While Green Knight is described like an animal who is said to have “wagged his beard” (306) yet understands the cyclical nature of life and truth of mans futility, it is only after Sir Gawain proclaims his lack of strength (though he says it at that point as a matter of chivalry) that he is able to ...
Analysis: The poet goes into detail about the Green Knight’s appearance, describing the color of his skin, hair armor, and horse which were all green.
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.
No matter where we go in the world, we will always be surrounded and tempted by sin. These temptations test our character and morality, and they prove that our human nature inherently causes us to fall to the sins that encompass us. Even though the world is a dark and immoral place to live, we all value our lives and are prepared to do almost anything to protect ourselves from harm’s way. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the green girdle serves as symbol that highlights Gawain’s incessant love for life that tempts him to stray from his knightly code of chivalry.
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.
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.
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.
He described to be in all green which symbolizes the Pagans connection to nature which they believe to worship nature. Even the Green Knight 's chapel isn 't the typical chapel. It 's described more as a síd or a fairy mound where the two worlds of normal and the supernatural meet. The role of the Green Knight serves to bring out Gawain 's character and the differences in Christianity and Paganism. The Green Knight forces Gawain to realize his flaws as a man, but when the Green Knight catches him it isn 't a very worthy game because he traps him solely on the means that he lied to Bertilak. He also draws the lines between Christianity and Paganism by showing how the two ideologies from their points of worship. Christianity focus on God only and give thanks to him for the blessings while Pagans worship nature and give credit to the Earth for the blessings that the people receive. The Green Knight 's role is to show the difference not only between Gawain and him but also the two major religions of the time period.