Canto Two: The Battle Between Gawain And The Green Knight

The worldwide flow of silver in the mid sixteenth century had great effect economically around the globe. There were many trade routes that brought people from many places and created a trading boom in their time. But then a major country in trade changed their ways and only started accepting silver for trade, which gave silver great value. Trading with only silver brought many effects, bad and good to the countries trading with silver(both receiving and supplying), only the middle men were not affected.

Medieval scholars continually inspect the particularities of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK) within the context of the preexisting Gawain literary tradition, and the issue of Gawain’s sudden antifeminist diatribe repeatedly comes to the forefront of these textual investigations. Often, literary critics claim that Gawain’s antifeminist outburst is common for the fourteenth century and that his acceptance to wear the girdle as a sign of shame still epitomizes him as a model of knighthood. Other scholars hesitate to dismiss Gawain’s misogyny as commonplace, they note that this moment is inconsistent with his reputation as an ideal knight. Gawain’s hasty compulsion to blame women suggests ruptures within the essentiality of his chivalric identity and a closer examination of the text reveals that this moment is not isolated. Despite scholars repeated attempts to identify the essential knight within Gawain, there are several examples of Gawain’s unstable identity throughout the text. I will argue Sir Gawain’s knightly identity is performative rather than essential, and his diatribe is the culmination of his failure to perform his own expected social identity.

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is considered not only a most brilliant example of Middle English poetry but one of the jewels in the crown English Literatures, and sits in the British Library under conditions of high security and controlled humidity. In the anonymously written story, Sir Gawain And The Green Knight shows Sir Gawain’s chivalry form his loyalty to his King, being testing by Green Knight, and his behavior during game playing.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by an unknown author referred to as the “Pearl Poet,” we are introduced to Sir Gawain. Gawain is a knight of the Round Table and he is also the nephew of King Arthur. As a knight, Gawain is expected to possess and abide by many chivalrous facets. Throughout the poem he portrays many of the qualities a knight should possess, such as bravery, courtesy, and honor among others. Because of his ability to possess these virtues even when tempted to stray away from them, Sir Gawain is a true knight.

As an avid recreational reader I enjoy reading books of all types, however, one of my favorite genres is fantasy. This love began in my reading of George MacDonald's Phantastes, and continued throughout the past year as I have been working my way through C.S. Lewis’ The Space Trilogy. What is so interesting, and simply enjoyable, for me about reading Sir Gawain is that it is a more original and classic take on the typical structure and plot of a fantasy/fairytale. In the beginning you already get a general idea of how the story is going to go, yet the story has its own quirks that keep it interesting.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale of chivalry, faith, and self-respect. In this “short tale,” Sir Gawain is faced with a decision to take the place of his king, King Arthur and uncle, against a challenge presented to them by the Green Knight. The Green Knight is a very mysterious character, literally a green being. He comes to Camelot, during Christmastime, because he has heard great things about the knights there and their heroic deeds. Upon accepting the challenge, which is to behead the green knight in one strike and to then travel to the Green Chapel to receive the same punishing blow, Sir Gawain must travel far in order to uphold his end of their deal.

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Honor is a trait that is hard to come by; it is a trait that is earned not given out as a prize. During the fourteenth century, the knightly virtues were built upon a singular trait; honor. This factor makes up a knight’s worthiness, honor comes through respect. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the protagonist has to come to terms with his character and virtues as a knight, and weather or not he deserves what his title.

Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Franklin’s Tale are set in a world where the laws of nature and order are turned upside down through the use of magic. In this Medieval world, death is escaped, men have the ability to shapeshift, and the impossible becomes entirely possible. What the Christian God set as earthly law, magic, created by the devil himself, subverts into illogical manifestations. Through their works, the authors of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Franklin’s Tale portray magic and the devil, whose ultimate scheme is to separate humankind from the Christian God by, as being inextricably intertwined. In both texts, magic is used to engage a faithful vassal and/or Christian in a supernatural demonstration in order to incite doubt or fear, thus subverting the power of their lord and/or the Christian God and tricking the faithful into abandoning faith and virtue.

The alliterative poem “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” is a story of bravery, yet fearfulness of a young knight and his willingness to stand up out of respect for his king. This Middle Age poem, originated in the late fourteenth century by an unknown author called Gawain’s poet, follows the journey of King Arthur’s nephew, Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain is a knight for the royal court during the time and when the Green Knight questions the loyalty of King Arthur’s court, Gawain is the only person to stand up for the king. Doing this shows his loyalty to the king and is the beginning steps to reaching courtesy and chivalry.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval text written by an unknown author sometime around the fourteenth century. The story is written in Middle English often making the translation difficult and open for interpretation. The story begins for Sir Gawain, a member of King Arthur’s court, as a mysterious man appears in Arthur’s court to present a challenge. He offers a challenge for the court, a blow for a blow. Gawain takes the stranger up on his challenge and it continues from there. Gawain then has to face the consequences of the decisions he makes and it then manages to spiral from there. The story creates a vivid picture of how Gawain experiences a conflict between the word of his chivalric code as well as his bond and how he lives his everyday life. Debate has raged for many years whether or not this story emphasizes the values of the chivalric life or in fact criticizes it. The language and syntax of the text itself along with the events of the story paint a critical and perhaps unconventional portrait of the chivalric life.

Canto four shows a theme of Games, Seasons and Chivalry which have all challenged Gawain on his journey.Gawain leaves the Castle and is taken taken to the Green Chapel where the Knight lives. The Lord's worker tells him it's not too late to turn around and that he doesn’t need to fight the Green Knight, but Gawain shows Chivalry by sticking to his word and showing courage. He finally arrives at the Green Chapel which is really just a mound of dirt that is Green, there he finds the Green Knight. Gawain shows courage and confidence

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the poet leaves some scenes in the poem open to the readers’ interpretation. This makes the poem difficult to understand. The poet does this by leaving out details and adding in words that can be confusing to the reader, based on the scenes or item in question. Unless the words are analyzed and thought about in detail, the reader is left in confusion. Even after analyzing the words and trying to make sense of it all, there can still be confusion and even plot holes. Confusion is provoked by the poet throughout the whole poem. The poem has been read and interpreted by many scholars for many years. They have tried to make sense of some of the scenes and of the item in question in their own ways. The areas in question that I am discussing and proving that confusion is provoked is the scene where Gawain gives his speech to take Arthurs place in the game with the Green Knight, the actual beheading scene when Gawain chops the Green Knights head off, the exchange of winnings between Gawain and Lord Bertilak, and the confession scene.

Foraging to feed, finding little to call food, with no friend but his horse through the forest and hills and only our Lord in heaven to hear him” (Artmiage, 37). This kind of shows why by the time he stumbles across the castle all he longs for is comfort, no one wants to go on a quest on their own, and especially one that is supposed to lead to his supposed death. It is through this experience a new desire is formed. While staying at the castle, the Green Knight’s challenge is never forgotten, when Christmas is near he knows he must leave soon, though a part of him does not want to. It is the desire to live. It is because of this, Gawain accepts the green girdle and fails the Knight's test by withholding the belt therefore breaking the promise he made to the castle owner. The end result shows that we as humans are afraid of death and therefore will do anything to cheat it, it is the reason why Gawain took the girdle, and he loved his own life. The idea of death is so uncertain, we often feel the need to find ways of prolonging life instead of actually living, this is a lesson Gawain comes to

An archetypal analysis of Gawain’s quest reveals some significant changes that occur in the hero’s character. We will analyze the progress of the hero, Gawain, as he ventures out to complete his quest. By analyzing the works of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight along with The Hero With A Thousand Faces, and how it completes the Hero’s Journey.