Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Archetypal Analysis

In every great work of literature, archetypes appear throughout the story, playing a key role in helping the audience understand the story. Examples of these archetypes are the boon, the magic weapon, and the refusal of the call. Archetypes like these help us capture what the story seems to really be about. In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a knight of Camelot must go on a quest to keep the value of his home, Camelot. During this quest, he seeks a green knight to chop off his head; however after this quest, he discovers that the green knight was not really his enemy but, the one that would change him. Through the Archetypal Analysis we are able to see how the hero changes thought the story. An understanding of three key archetypes—the magic weapon, the boon, and the refusal of the call—reveal the essence of Gawain’s role within the archetypal quest motif.

In most stories the boon resembles something physical. But in Sir Gawain, he does not capture or steal the boon. The boon in the story acts as the information he receives about himself during the quest. An excerpt from Hero With A Thousand Faces,” The boon that he brings restores the world(elixir).” From a hero with a thousand faces, it says that the boon will restore the world. Meaning that the boon symbolizes something that the Hero looks for in himself, during the quest, trying to restore whatever conflict in the story. Sir Gawain says, “I shall look upon it when I ride in renown myself of the fault and faintness of the flesh:and so when pride uplifts me for prowess of arms, the sight of the lace shall humble my heart.” In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Sir Gawain understands that the lace does not represent the boon, but a reminder of the boon of knowledge that he receives about