FREE ESSAY ON SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight One of the poems we read this semester was the anonymous
poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This folklore poem combines two plots: the contest
of the beheading between Gawain and the Green Knight and the attempt of a lady to seduce
Gawain. The longest section of the poem combines the scenes of Bertilak's hunt with those
of Gawain and the lady in the bedroom. It seems we are meant to draw some sort of
connection between the two events. There appears to be some kind of parallel between the
hunt during the day and what happens in the bedroom that same day. First I think Bertilak
is testing Gawain to see if he can be truthful and live up to the chivalry of the Knights
of the Round Table. He sends his wife into Gawain's room every day to kiss him and he
receives the same amount of kisses back. The Lord might be trying to see how truthful
Gawain will be when faced with the decision about keeping his promise with the Lord and
exchanging the day's gifts and protecting his own life against the Knight. It appears
that Bertilak's wife is the bait that he is using to snare the hero, the moralistic
Gawain. Perhaps it is because of his lustful reputation that Bertilak employs such a
plan. Gawain tries to be truthful because every time the lord comes back with the hunt,
in keeping his promise Gawain kisses the lord on the cheek. But he deceives the lord on
the last day because Gawain receives the girdle (ironically it was green) from the lady
yet does not exchange it with the lord when the Bertilak brings him the fox. It is like
there is two hunts going on: the lady hunting Gawain in the bedroom and Bertilak hunting
the animals in the forest. Concerning the connection between the hunt and the events in
the bedroom, the book shows how Gawain is the animal being hunted. For each different
animal being hunted, Gawain acts in a different way during the bedroom scene. There are
three times Gawain is tempted by the lady and three times the lord goes hunting. The hunt
of the animals represents Gawain's struggle in the bedroom. The first hunted animal was
the deer. The deer was a startled, frightened animal that was on the run. It was dazed
with dread as it was turned back and forth by the beaters. It was cornered just like
Gawain. When the lady comes to his room the first time, he is like a frightened deer
caught off guard by her seduction. He was laying in bed where he pretended to sleep when
she first came in and as she sat by his bed he got up, as startled from sleep. At the end
he does give the lady a kiss, but the kiss did not appear to be anything more than a
chivalrous kiss that was frequently given at that time. Therefore Gawain did past the
test, and that is why he gave Bertiak the kiss when he returned from the hunt. But also
Gawain could be giving the lady the kiss to tide her over just for the day, only to
savoir his advance and plan for a conquest some time in the future. He did tell the lady
that she was the one for him and there was no one more beautiful. The next day during the
hunt, they came across a wild boar. It was a struggle, with each time they shot it with
an arrow; it did not pierce its hide. That struggle represents the same struggle Gawain
had in the bedroom. The second time the lady came to his room, the fair lady is more
persistent making it harder for Gawain not to sin. She talks of how he is the noblest
knight of their time and every household knows of his name, yet not one word of love has
come from his mouth yet. The author says, Thus she tested his temper and tried many a
time,/ Whatever her true intent, to entice him to sin, (line 1549-1550). Her tenacious
attempt to seduce makes it the toughest challenge for Gawain to hold back from sin, just
as capturing the wild boar was the toughest task for the hunters. It can even been seen
as maybe the arrows not piercing the tough hide of the boar is the same as the attempts
of the lady not braking the noble Gawain. On the third and final day, the lady comes to
his room one more time while the others are on the hunt. While they are talking Gawain
tells her he wishes he had his most prized possession to give to her for her deeds. She
then pulls out a ring and asks him to take as a token from her. Gawain refuses saying he
forgo all gifts, so she then asks him to take her green girdle and this accepts. During
the hunt they come across a fox which is the animal that the lord brings back to Gawain.
A fox is animal that is seen as sly and mistrustful, which is the same way Gawain acted
with Bertilak. I think the author chose the fox as the ultimate animal to be trapped
because they are normally associated with deception and for being clever animals. When it
came time to exchange gifts, Gawain does not give up the girdle, breaking the deal he
Bertilak made. The fox during the hunt was crafty almost throwing off the hounds but was
caught anyway. In the same way; Gawain was deceptive in attempting to hide the girdle but
was caught by the Green Knight later (who turned out to be Bertilak). It also can be seen
that the main point of the kills on the first two days were for food, but a fox is only
good for its skin. The skin can have some parallel to the girdle since it was worn on the
skin of the girl. The final aspect of this poem is the constant reference to the color
green. Green is usually associated with jealously. It is possible that the Green Knight
was jealous of the fame for Arthur's kingdom and how renowned his knights are. A stronger
point of the color green is a conflict between Christianity and Paganism. The
Christianity part is easy to notice with Arthur's kingdom. Gawain is faithful to God and
constantly trying to push away sin. Paganism is often associated with the worship of
nature, especially trees. Part of what is seen is the way the Green Knight might be an
embodiment of nature. He is entirely green, like a plant, and arrives holding a holly
bob, which is an evergreen; a common symbol of nature's survival through the winter.
Also, the green chapel (which is covered in vines) is actually a burrow under ground that
can be seen as both a place of natural worship and a symbol of the knight's link to
earth. So the constant referral to green can be seen as a conflict between Christianity
and Paganism. Since the scenes of Berilak's hunt and those with Gawain and the lady in
the bedroom are the longest sections of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it seems obvious
we are mean to draw some kind of connection between them. The hunt being seen as a
reflection of the occurrences in the bedroom, and each animal representing Gawain each
day seems clear. Plus the color green being interpreted as a conflict between
Christianity and Paganism is important part.