Free Essays on Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

In the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the lady of the castle tempts Sir Gawain with a magical, green girdle and explains to him that the wearer of this corset â€Å"could not be killed by any craft on earth.(1854)† Sir Gawain, amidst an ethical dilemma, accepts the gift and chooses to conceal it from Lord Bercilak. This passage contains three of the main themes of the story, the inner and outer conflicts between Sir Gawain’s ethics and desire to live, and the test of religion. When Sir Gawain is offered the girdle, his knightly principles are questioned. The honorable thing would be to reject the offer or bring it to the lord of the castle, but Gawain places the preservation of his life ahead of chivalry. The knight has withstood the lady’s constant barrage of sexual advances, and kept his promise to the lord of the castle, but when the chance to save his life is presented, he accepts the offer with little resistance. He is then ecstatic about the thought that he will survive his meeting with the knight the next day, shown by â€Å"He thanked her with fervent heart, as often as he ever might. (1866-7)† Later, Sir Gawain finds three faults in his actions, the first being his cowardice, in direct contrast to the main principles of knighthood, the second being his covetousness, his lust for life, and the third being his lack of faith in God. Even when it is shown that God has forgiven him by healing the wound on his neck, Sir Gawain still f eels that he has sinned, and is not as willing to forgive himself. He decides that more atonement is in order, so he makes the decision to wear the girdle from then on, as a sign of his mortal sin, but even then he does not feel that he has been cleansed of his sin. He understands that he will be forced to bear the shame and disgrace of the sin for the rest of his life. The observers’ opinions of whether Sir Gawain is forgiven are the complete opposite of Sir Gawain’s. Even th... Free Essays on Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Free Essays on Sir Gawain And The Green Knight In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, courtly love is used to test the loyalty and faith of Sir Gawain. One definition of courtly love was a â€Å"code of behavior that defined the relationship between aristocratic lovers in Western Europe during the Middle Ages †¦ influenced by contemporary chivalric ideals.†(Encarta) Although courtly love was a part of chivalry, it also helped to define it. Since this was during the time of the Crusades, strict adherence to Christian morals was required of a knight. Chivalry was the code of conduct by which knights were supposedly guided. In addition to military prowess and valor and loyalty to God and the knight's feudal lord, it called for courtesy toward enemies and generosity toward the sick and oppressed, widows, and other disadvantaged people (Encarta). Incorporated in the ideal of chivalry was courtly love, which was romantic devotion for a sexually unattainable woman, usually another man's wife. It was a way of defining adultery i n a time when marriages were primarily arranged for profit or military advantage. Courtly love was a strong element in the Arthurian legends, which Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a part. The Arthurian legends also had very strong moral conflicts between Christian and pagan beliefs. This is evident in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by the Gawain’s act of putting his trust in a pagan charm and not in the Virgin Mary. Chivalry itself is a conflicting concept since it consists of both pagan and Christian principles. Although on one hand, chivalry promoted virtuous actions towards others such as kindness and compassion, but chivalry also promoted the sin of infidelity. At the time, society encouraged knights to become involved â€Å"platonically† with married women, but with the rise of the Catholic Church, these ideals were being challenged. This may, in fact, be the primary cause for this work. Many tests of chivalry were placed on the knight Sir Gawain. For exam... Free Essays on Sir Gawain And The Green Knight In the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the lady of the castle tempts Sir Gawain with a magical, green girdle and explains to him that the wearer of this corset â€Å"could not be killed by any craft on earth.(1854)† Sir Gawain, amidst an ethical dilemma, accepts the gift and chooses to conceal it from Lord Bercilak. This passage contains three of the main themes of the story, the inner and outer conflicts between Sir Gawain’s ethics and desire to live, and the test of religion. When Sir Gawain is offered the girdle, his knightly principles are questioned. The honorable thing would be to reject the offer or bring it to the lord of the castle, but Gawain places the preservation of his life ahead of chivalry. The knight has withstood the lady’s constant barrage of sexual advances, and kept his promise to the lord of the castle, but when the chance to save his life is presented, he accepts the offer with little resistance. He is then ecstatic about the thought that he will survive his meeting with the knight the next day, shown by â€Å"He thanked her with fervent heart, as often as he ever might. (1866-7)† Later, Sir Gawain finds three faults in his actions, the first being his cowardice, in direct contrast to the main principles of knighthood, the second being his covetousness, his lust for life, and the third being his lack of faith in God. Even when it is shown that God has forgiven him by healing the wound on his neck, Sir Gawain still f eels that he has sinned, and is not as willing to forgive himself. He decides that more atonement is in order, so he makes the decision to wear the girdle from then on, as a sign of his mortal sin, but even then he does not feel that he has been cleansed of his sin. He understands that he will be forced to bear the shame and disgrace of the sin for the rest of his life. The observers’ opinions of whether Sir Gawain is forgiven are the complete opposite of Sir Gawain’s. Even th... Free Essays on Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 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. The guide pleads to Gawain that he will surely be killed if he continues on his mission and he tells Gawain to just leave and ride off in some other country rather than be killed (121). Gawain reaveals to us, yet again, his chivalry when he says that he would face his destiny rather than be a disgrace (121). When Gawain finally reaches the chapel of the Green Knight he is met with a roar. The Green Knight proceeds to play games with Gawain in an attempt to test his bravery and chivalry (127-128). The fact that Gawain did not retreat and run after several attempts were faked reveals how honorable Gawain was. 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). Gawain is devastated by his weakness and lack of honor and cowardice revealed by his hiding the green girdle from the master. He begins to repent and chastise himself for his failings. This reveals his human weakness that is in all of us. He is very humbled by his behavior (133). Gawain re...