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In what way is the character of sir gawain different from other
Sir gawain critical analysis
The use of symbolism in the novel
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A young hero embarks on a journey to find a Green Knight he meets a year before, so that the knight can chop off his head. Through forests and mountains he travels in search for the green chapel, he stumbles upon a gorgeous castle and is welcomed to stay and rest for a few days before helping him find this legendary green man. In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain learns many important life lessons such as: one must think before one speaks, one must be true to their word, and that humans are naturally flawed.
To begin, Sir Gawain learns very quickly that not thinking before acting can get him into trouble. The Green Knight makes a bet with Gawain, that Gawain may chop the knight in the neck with an axe if, he gets to do
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the same to Gawain a year and a day from doing so.
Gawain, a quick tongued, young man, takes the knights deal and chops off the Green Knights head. The speaker illustrates, “The sharp of the battleblade shattered asunder the bones/ and sank through the shining fat and slit it in two/ … / and the stranger sat there as steadily in his saddle/ as a man entirely unharmed, although he was headless” (lines 8-9, 21-22). After quickly realizing the mistake he makes and a year of waiting, Gawain sets off to search for the Green Knight’s, green chapel. Through the forest and mountains he treads until he comes across a beautiful castle. The king of the castle tells Gawain that he will help him find the green chapel but he must stay and rest for a few days. While Gawain was staying in the castle: A critic reveals, “he [the king] proposes to Gawain an exchange of the gains of each day as amusement for both of them; the bargain is in reality a part of his test of the knight’s virtue, for it is he who is disguised as the Green Knight” Each time the king left, the …show more content…
king’s lady sneaks into Gawain’s chambers to try to seduce him. Though he refuses, the lady still presents him with kisses, which in return he gave to the king. The last night Gawain was to stay, the lady sneaks into his chambers and pushes more on him then just her love. The speaker paints, “And she presses the sash upon him and begged him to take it/ and Gawain did, and she gave him the gift with great pleasure/ and begged him for her sake, to say not a word/ and to keep it hidden from her lord. And he said he would” (lines 161-164). As before the king comes back from his hunt and Gawain gave him the kisses as before, but does not give him the lady’s sash. The next morning the king sends one of his servants to help Gawain search for the Green Knight. Secondly, Gawain learns to keep his word no matter the consequences.
After Gawain chops off the knight’s head and the knight picks it up as if nothing has just happened, Gawain and his fellow king’s men remain frozen in fear and awe. The Green Knight chuckles, “’Look that you go, Sir Gawain, as good as your word/ and seek till you find me, as loyally, my friend/ as you’ve sworn in this hall to do, in the hearing of the knights/…/ come or be counted as a coward, as is fitting’” (lines 32-34, 40). After the knight left Gawain lets out a nervous chuckle and waits. Flash forward to the last night Gawain stays in the beautiful castle, the king’s lady try’s everything in her power to give Gawain a token to keep and take with him on his journey. Gawain, being his courteous self, refuses every offer she gives him. Then the lord’s wife says, “’Might place a better price on it, perchance/ for the man who goes into battle in this green lace/…/ no man under Heaven can hurt him, whoever may try/ for nothing on earth, however uncanny, can kill him’” (lines 151-152, 154-155). This, of course, intrigues Gawain because he will do anything to save his own life at this point. Though feeling slightly guilty about it, he agrees to take the sash. Henningfeld paints, “When he [Gawain] accepts the green girdle, he believes he is saving his own life; but the gift marks his fear of death and his lack of faith. Finally, when he does not give the green girdle to Bertilak [the king] at the end of the
day, he breaks his promise.” The next morning Gawain gets up knowing what fate might come to him that day. He wraps the sash around him tight, puts his armor on over top of it, and left with a servant to find the Green Knight. Lastly, Gawain learns that all human beings are flawed, even himself. After Gawain finds the green chapel, the Green Knight shows up with his head reattached to his body as if nothing happened to him a year before. The hero takes off his helmet and kneels down to receive his whack. The knight took three strokes, the first two just stopping before Gawain’s neck. On the third stroke the knight nicks Gawain with the axe but does not cut his head off. Gawain shoots up, puts his helmet back on, and stands ready to fight if the knight dares to take another swing. The Green Knight laughs, “’But you lacked a little, sir; you were less than loyal/ but since it was not for the sash itself or for lust/ but because you loved your life, I blame you less’” (lines 377-379). Gawain, realizing that the green knight was the same as the king whom played games with him, crumples with guilt and regret. Gawain began to cry out, angrily toward the green knight. Gawain bellows, “’Cursed be cowardice and covetousness both/ villainy and vice that destroy all virtue/…/ There, there’s my fault! The foul fiend vex it/ foolish cowardice taught me, from fear of your stroke’” (lines 385-386, 389-390). The Green Knight chuckles and tells Gawain that he forgives him and that Gawain’s sins are wiped clear. Gawain, though, still feels guilty for breaking his promise. Another critic states, “Gawain is disgraced for having kept the girdle in defiance of a vow to exchange with the host what each would receive on the days of the hunts. His life spared, Gawain keeps the girdle as a reminder of his weakness.” The knight then offers Gawain to feast with him and his lady, no longer as hosts but as friends, for his bravery and unselfishness. After Gawain returns home with a full stomach, his head still attached, and many new lessons learned. Throughout the journey, Gawain obtains important information, not only about himself but also the world around him. One, always remember to think before one speaks, referring to the hasty bet he made with the Green Knight and agreeing to take the lady’s but not revealing it to the king. Two, always keep ones word, referring to keeping his promise to the knight and to the kings’ games. Three, human beings are always flawed, referring to the guilty conscious he obtains after everything was all said and done and the lord forgiving him for the non-selfish act Gawain acts upon.
Sir Gawain steps in to take the challenge after King Arthur first agrees to participate himself. Sir Gawain wants to bring honor to Arthur and asks permission to take his place. Gawain knows that he is not the strongest, smartest knight but the loss of his life would not be as bad as if King Arthur loses his life. King Arthur agrees to let him enter this game and gives him a weapon to use against this Green Knight. King Arthur says to Sir Gawain, "Keep, cousin what you cut with this day, and if you rule it aright, then readily, I know you shall stand the stroke it will strike after." (372-374) Gawain, with his weapon in his hand, is now ready to take part in the game.
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...
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
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.
But in the end he conceals the green girdle that the Bertilak’s wife gives him from him, revealing that despite Gawain’s bravery, he values his own life more than his trustworthiness. When he finally reencounters the Green Knight, he realizes the problematic nature of courtly chivalric ideals. During this, Gawain confesses his fault, of hiding the girdle, to the Green Knight and pleads to be forgiven. Afterwards, he chooses to wear the girdle as a symbol of his mistake. He cannot accept his sin and free himself of it the same way the Green Knight had and he continues to do penance by wearing the girdle for the remainder of his life.
Satisfied with that answer, the Green Knight reminds Sir Gawain that he must find him on his own, as promised before the court. However when Gawain asks the Green Knight where his home could be found, the Green Knight delays his answer, saying that Gawain will know soon enough after the blow where to find him. Not finding out the true identity of the Green Knight may be Gawain's first mistake. It is always important to know your enemies, especially when a very big, very green knight, who comes out of nowhere, presents one with a challenge.
The story begins during the New Year's feast in King Arthur's court. Then a green knight enters asking all of the knights in the court if they would like to play a game. The game is he will allow which ever knight that chooses to challenge him one swing with a battle ax to try and chop off his head, but in order to play the game, the accepting knight must meet the green knight one year later at the green chapel. The brave knight Sir Gawain accepts to the challenge of the green knight. Sir Gawain takes one swing and chops off the head of the green knight. Right after the green knight's head is chopped off he gets up immediately, picks up his head and leaves. Once a year passes, Gawain sets off on a journey to find the Green Chapel. He arrives at a castle in which a lord welcomes him to stay for several days (Gawain only needs to stay there for three). The next morning the lord makes an agreement to share everything he gets during these three days with Gawain, but Gawain must agree to do the same. During days one and two the lord's wife tries hitting on Gawain, but he only allows her to give him a few kisses. At these days Gawain shares what he got to the lord for what he has hunted those days. On the third day, Gawain finally accepts to take a magic girdle from the lord's wife, but he didn't share it with the lord. This magic girdle helped Gawain survive the three fatal swing's of the green giant's ax, only leaving him with a little nick. After Gawain survives these 3 swings at his neck, the green knight then reveals his identity and explains that he is Bercilak, the lord of the castle. He also said that the three blows were taken at him in regards to the three days of their agreement.
It is not until the Green Knight actually takes a blow at Sir Gawain’s neck that we see that the green girdle worked its magic. Only to Gawain’s dismay is it revealed to him by the Green Knight that it was all a test set up to show if Gawain was truly an brave an honorable Knight (133).
Yet, Gawain did err in accepting the girdle; that much cannot be denied. We, the reader, can forgive him since he repents fully, even going so far as to impose penance (of wearing the girdle eternally as a mark of his fall) on himself. It takes a mild rebuke by the Green Knight to crack Gawain’s façade of confident valor. His conscience compels him to break down when confronted by his host as to his indiscretion. However, this happened only when the host had revealed himself to be the same as the Green Knight. We realize that Gawain had previously perceived in Sir Bertilak an equal in knighthood; thus his ease in deceiving him in the exchange of winnings game. When Gawain realizes he was the subject of a test, he sees Bertilak/Green Knight in a different light. The Green Knight now becomes Gawain’s confessor and in doing so assumes a fatherly role.
...Gawain’s time in the wilderness, living nature, and his acceptance of the lady’s offering of the green girdle teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
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.
Sir Gawain stands up for he believes that his uncle should not take on the Green Knight while so many others, as mentioned earlier, are able. Gawain is successful by not only standing for what he believes in but also in defeating the Green Knight. The Green Knight plays the role of the tempter in this scene. He first tempts the court, but is defeated. Sir Gawain overcomes his first
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
Gawain shows much strength here, for in one swipe he takes his head off in one clean blow, and courage for accepting the challenge and knowing he might get the same in return. After beheading the challenging opponent, Green knight’s body walks over and picks up his head and tells Gawain that he had a twelvemonth to find him and he will get his reward for doing so. When time came around, He sets off and finds this knight. Here he shows much courage and honor here by showing up and being a man of his word. The Green Knight is sharpening his weapon, ready to repay Gawain. When he swings at him, he only nicks his neck, for he noticed that he had flinched. He tells him that he didn’t flinch when he did it to him, so he shouldn’t either. Then he swings again and nicks his neck again. This time Gawain is mad and sick of waiting so he draws on the knight and wants to battle him now. The knight then explains to him that he passed his test of being a great knight and living up to the code like a noble man
After toiling long and hard, Sir Gawain aspires for a place to stay and rest before he finally discovers the Green Knight. Suddenly, there is a castle off in the distance. The people gladly greet him. The headmaster introduces Sir Gawain to everyone in the castle, including his special lady and the older woman that watches over him. In Sir Gawain’s time spent in the castle, the headmaster strikes a deal with Sir Gawain. He proposes that the men of the castle, go out and hunt for three days, while Sir Gawain stays behind. The headmaster’s special lady tends to him and at the end of the day both men would exchange their winnings. During this time, Sir Gawain and the special lady spark a love for one another. On the third day, the special lady gives Sir Gawain a gift, a girdle. At the end of the three days, the mighty men exchange their winnings however, Sir Gawain didn't tell the complete truth and hand over all of his winnings. Finally, the time comes for Sir Gawain to go seek out the Green Knight. He finds the Green Knight, and to his surprise, he strikes him three times instead of the promised one blow. He quickly realizes that the Green Knight is the headmaster of the castle and notices that the Green Knight or the headmaster knows about the affair with the special lady. The Green Knight understood that Sir Gawain didn't exchange the girdle that was given to him by the special lady. In his repetitive spirit, Sir Gawain decides to adorn himself with the girdle as a reminder of the shame and previous bad decisions he had made. In this way, Sir Gawain overcomes and prevails over his bad decisions. He understands his mistakes and chooses to make it right. A true hero knows his wrong doing and isn't afraid to admit them. Thus, Sir Gawain is a true