How Is Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Related To The Color Green

1322 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sir gawain and the green knight allegorical sense

The epic poem, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight was written by an anonymous author which consist of romance, adventure and the Arthurian legend. This epic poem was written sometime between 1340 and 1400 in the West Midlands, England. Its literacy period is the Medieval Romance Literature. The color green in the poem becomes a significance as it becomes a repetition. The color green in the poem represents for peace, tranquility, congruity, desire, adoration, richness and nature.
To prove this, I will talk about how each character and places in the poem is related to the color green. The poem starts at Christmas time at King Arthur 's court in Camelot. The Round 's knights table joined Arthur in the occasion festivities, and Queen Guinevere is …show more content…

Inside the castle, he meet the lord, the lord’s beautiful wife who is dressed in a green dress and the old lady. At the end of the day, Gawain express that he has to leave to search for the green chapel; the lord tells him that it is only two mile away. The lord insist Gawain to stay at the castle for three days as he presents a game to Gawain; the lord will go hunting while Gawain spend time with the lord’s wife and the old lady. At the end of the day, they will exchange whatever they have won. The green dress represent the lust that Gawain have for the lord’s wife. The next two days, Gawain won a two kisses from the lord’s wife. During the third day, he won a green girdle as the lord’s wife …show more content…

He meet a guide who guides him through his journey and warns him the danger that he will encounters with the green knight; it would be a suicided to face the knight. Gawain tells the guide that he will continue with his journey and that he refuses to be a coward. Gawain finally finds the green chapel in the strange forest. He hears horrifying sound of a weapon being sharpen on a grindstone; he realized that he will die in the chapel. Towards the end of the poem, the knight stops the first blow as he sees Gawain flinch when the axe came down at his neck. The second time that the axe comes down to Gawain’s neck but the knight congratulate him on his courage. During the third blow, Gawain survives it by a small cut on his neck. He does not die at the hands of the green knight at the chapel in which the knight spared him which the poet

Show More
Related

  • Code Of Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Hunts versus the Lady and Gawain

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    Part Three of Gawain and the Green Knight tell about the three days before Gawain is to leave the Lord’s castle to meet the Green Knight. The first day the lord wakes up early to hunt for deer. The story tells in detail about the hunting party when suddenly we move to the castle back to Gawain. Gawain asleep in his bed is greeted by the lady of the castle sneaking into his room and watching him sleep. Gawain knows she is in his room but acts surprised to wake up to her. The lady flirts with Gawain by telling him how great he is and offers her body to him. The author writes “My body is here at hand, / Your each wish to fulfill; / Your servant to command/ I am, and shall be still.” (Lines 1237-1240). Gawain tells her he is unworthy of her to which the lady continues her flirtatious ways. Before the lady leaves Gawain’s room she asks for a kiss to which Gawain complies and grants her a kiss. The lord’s hunting party has killed a large amount of deer and begins dividing the killings. The party returns home and Gawain is given the game, Gawain gives the lord the kiss he received but refuses to tell who gave him the kiss.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain Quotes

    1512 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight edited and translated by James Winny is a poem about a knight, Sir Gawain, from King Arthur’s court. In the very beginning Sir Gawain volunteers to take King Arthur’s place upon the Green Knights arrival when he declares that one knight must agree to receive a blow by his axe after having the chance to give a blow to him. Sir Gawain ends up chopping off the Green Knights head and is then declared to meet the Green Knight in one year to accept a blow from the Green Knight and his axe. When the year comes Sir Gawain sets off to find the Green Knight at the green chapel, which where he will receive the blow. On Sir Gawain’s ventures

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the fourteenth century by an anonymous poet who was a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer. The story was originally written in a Northern dialect. It tells the story of Sir Gawain's first adventure as a knight.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Gawain Present The Qualities Of A Green Knight

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the Green Knight arrives at Camelot, he challenges Arthur’s court, mocking the knights for being afraid of mere words, and suggesting that words and appearances hold too much power with them. Although the Green Knight basically tricks Gawain, by not telling him about his supernatural capabilities before asking him to agree to his terms, Gawain refuses to withdraw of their agreement. He stands by his commitments, even though it means putting his own life in jeopardy. The poem habitually restates Sir Gawain’s deep fears and apprehensions, but Gawain desires to maintain his own individual integrity at all costs which allows him to master his fears in his quest to seek the Green Chapel. After Gawain arrives at Bertilak’s castle, it is quite obvious that h...

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Courage and Honesty in Sir Gawain and Green Knight

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a poem written by a poet (name unknown) approximately 6000 years ago in the late 1300's in the medieval times. This story was originally written in medieval literature with a real unique rhyme scheme, but was translated later in time to regular English for high school students and researchers to study and read.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    In part four of this tale the theme that is advanced is chivalry, honor and human weakness. As Gawain goes to meet the Green Knight we get the feeling of dread by the authors description of the weather outside. It is bitterly cold and snowing. The wind is whipping around Gawain as he travels (115). The extreme weather reminds us that Gawain is going to face something just as ominous. As Gawain dresses for his meeting he binds his love token ( the green girdle) twice around his middle. He is somber as he prepares for his impending death. His sense of honor is what binds him to this meeting that will certainly be his death, so he thinks (117). Gawain is steadfast in his desire to fulfill his promise to meet the Green Knight.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and Green Knight Essays: Triumph or Failure?

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Arthur's court was challenged by the Green Knight, Gawain alone offered to take the cup from Arthur's hands. He showed pride and courage greater than all - by coming forward. The poem is filled with opportunities in which Gawain inevitably was forced to face difficult decisions. During his travels he had every opportunity to turn around, especially when the rain and cold and desolation became fierce. Gawain, however, continued on his way. Three times did the lady tempt him and twice he managed to neither offend her with discourteousness nor accept her amorous advances and defile his chastity.

    Read More

  • Gawain's Moral Superiority Revealed in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    454 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the final scenes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain’s encounter with Sir Bertilak allows Gawain to perceive his own flaws, manifested in his acceptance of the Green Girdle. The court’s reaction to his personal guilt highlights the disconnect between him and the other knights of the Round Table. Gawain’s behavior throughout the poem has been most noteworthy; his understanding of his sin, one that many of us would dismiss since it was propelled by his love of life, enhances his stature as a paragon of chivalry.

    Read More

  • What Is The Difference Between Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upon arrival, The Green Knight quickly raises his axe and with all his strength swings it down towards Gawain as if to kill. Just as quickly though he moves just in time to watch the axe fall where he once stood. Mockingly he askes what kind of brave man would “tremble at the heart” before he is touched. Gawain retaliates that he is better than this green man and vows not to flinch again. Again the knight strikes down his axe, but stops before it can draw blood.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Research Paper

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a story full of tests and inner challenges, was written by an unknown author somewhere in the late 14th century. The poem begins the same as it ends: with the mentioning of the fall of Troy. After the fall of Troy, the Trojan survivors ventured to Europe where each began a new kingdom. "Ticius to Tuscany, and towers raises, Langobard in Lombardy lays out homes, and far over the French Sea, Felix Brutus on many broad hills and high Britain he sets, most fair." (Norton p. 202) In the same lines in the original text, "And fer ouer the French flod Felix Brutus On mony bonkkes ful brode Bretayn he settez wyth wynne" Britain is described as a land that is settled "wyth wynne" or, with joy.

    Read More

  • Symbolism and the Power of Three in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance about the adventure of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's Knight of the Round Table. This great verse is praised not only for its complex plot and rich language, but also for its sophisticated use of symbolism. Symbolism is a technique used in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give a significance to the plot. The Green Knight, the Green Sash, and Sir Gawain's Shield are three of the most prominent symbols given to us in this verse.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; A Romance?

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about How Is Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Related To The Color Green

Open Document