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

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.

The Green Knight, serves as a symbol himself. He is presented as a mixture of foreign and familiar, evil and good. In the beginning the Green Knight is carrying peace(holly-branch) in one hand and war(battle axe) in the other. It is very difficult to see what the Green Knight stands for, because for every positive we see a negative, and for every extreme there is an opposite extreme shown. In the beginning he comes, we believe, to harm King Arthur or Sir Gawain. In the end, we find out that he had planned the whole affair to test Sir Gawain. King Arthur and the other Knights of the Round Table were also taught and cowardice and how to be stronger and better people.

Sir Gawain's shield is a symbol with multiple meanings, offering both moral and physical protection. Through the display of the Pentangle and the Virgin Mary on his shield, Sir Gawain shows his belief in God and his trust in him. Each point on the Pentangle shows his virtues of free-giving, friendliness, chastity, chivalry, and piety. But also shows his five senses, five fingers, the five wounds of Christ, and the Five Joys. The Pentangle also shows that there is no beginning and no end. By the time Gawain thought it was over and he was going to die, it was...

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...howing cowardice and not giving it to the Host, Sir Gawain is only nicked in the neck. This shows that there was no danger, as no adultery was committed, but Sir Gawain still committed a lie. Each blow represents the way Sir Gawain responds to the Lady in the seductions. In each scene the animals that are hunted represented the Lady and her style of seduction to Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain returns to the round table and is able to show his fellow knights about Cowardice and that even the strongest man can have flaws. Sir Gawain's fellow knights don a Green Sash in remembrance of Sir Gawain and his act of heroics.

Works Cited

Goldhurst, William. The Green and the Gold: The Major Theme of Gawain and the Green Knight. November 1958.

Lewis, John S. Gawain and the Green Knight - College English. October 1959.

Poet, Gawain. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 14th Century.