Eng 217 - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Analysis
Autor: emilyquail • November 27, 2015 • Book/Movie Report • 859 Words (4 Pages) • 1,039 Views
Emily Quail
Professor Byrne
ENG 217
5 November 2014
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Analysis
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic tale telling the story of a brave warrior who seeks out a deadly challenge in order to uphold his chivalric morals. The tale involves a Green Knight named Bertilak, his wife who has no true name, Morgan Le Faye, and Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain is the protagonist throughout the epic, while the Green Knight, and Morgan Le Faye mold the plot around his attempted death. The introduction of the Green Knight occurred when he paid a visit to King Arthur’s New Years Eve feast. His mission was to challenge a group leader to the “Beheading Game” –a challenge in which one lucky suitor has the ability to attempt to chop off the Green Knight’s head. However, in return the brave warrior must seek out the Green Knight a year and a day from then, and sacrifice their head to the Green Knight. Sir Gawain stepped up to the Green Knight as the brave contestant, and so begins the tale.
Dissecting the second fitt of the epic, Sir Gawain set out to find the Green Knight on the Day of All Saints. As he started towards North Wales, he came across a castle. The lord of the castle and his wife allowed Sir Gawain to rest in the castle for three days so long as he follows the rules. Each day, the lord will go on a hunt. When he returns with the winnings, him and Sir Gawain will swap whatever they both receive on each day. On the first day, the lords wife gets in bed with Sir Gawain. The warrior refuses to kiss her although it would be an easy task. This represents his honor and obedience to the warrior code. On the first day, the wife granted Gawain a kiss. The lord returned with a doe. On the second day, Gawain is granted two kisses, and the lord returns with a wild boar. On both days, they exchange the winnings fairly, kisses for the hunting prizes. On the third day, the lord’s wife kisses Gawain and gives him her green girdle, which protects him from death, along with three kisses. He then exchanges with the lord the three kisses for a fox, but does not speak of the girdle to the lord.
Wondering throughout this fitt…where is the significance? In other words, the repetition seems almost predictable. However, as readers continue deeper into the story, it is revealed that the lord of the castle so happened to be the Green Knight, and Morgan Le Faye was an old woman in the castle, who’s plan was to scare King Arthur’s wife to death. “I’ve hunted for hours with nothing to my name but this foul-stinking fox –fling it’s fur to the devil—so poor in comparison with such priceless things” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 193-195). By presenting Sir Gawain with the fox, he is representing sneakiness and sly demeanor. As previously stated, the lord of the castle happens to be the Green Knight in disguise and he is pretending to be a welcoming fellow. The fox symbolizes the lying and deceit that the lord as well as Morgan Le Faye are paying to Sir Gawain.
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