An Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Introduction

The poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is an English romantic adventure work of Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain accepts a challenge in the poem from a worrier who is completely green. The Green Knight is a character who allows anyone to strike him with a challenge to accept a return blow. In the poem, Sir Gawain accepts this challenge, they both agrees to meet at a settled time. Gawain explicitly shows the qualities of chivalry and faithfulness to uphold his oath. He struggled until his honor called for question by the lady of the castle who crafted a test. This is the major central of the poem. The poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is one of the best poems of its time (Markman, 574-586).

Critically acclaimed as a masterpiece and considered the best of the English medieval romances, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an anonymous Arthurian romance, most likely from the fourteenth century, written in alliterative verse, comprising 2530 lines in 101 stanzas. The story incorporates elements drawn from several centuries of folklore and legend, Christian and Celtic symbolism, and portions from French and Latin versions of the tale. The narrative describes the adventures of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's youngest knight, as his courage and vows of chastity and honor are tested by circumstances arranged by a giant of a knight, clad in green armor, with a green face and green hair. Because the text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is in Middle English and in a particularly difficult northwest Midlands dialect, it is most familiar to modern readers in translation; nevertheless, the original language of the poem is highly praised for its beauty and richness. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight exists in only one manuscript, following three other poems by the same author: Pearl, Patience, and Cleanness (also called Purity). No portion of these poems is known to appear in any other manuscript. The small quarto volume that contains these four works has been housed in the British Museum since 1753; it contains no titles or headings, although large blue and red letters set off the main divisions. The volume also contains several full-page illustrations. Scholars have had no success in identifying the Gawain-poet (also known as the Pearl-poet), although several suggestions and theories have been offered. For the genius he displays in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight through innovations in language, style, characterization, and plot, the Gawain-poet is considered by critics on the level of Chaucer, his contemporary (Clein, 3-14).

In this poem, the character; “Green Knight” is an Arthurian character of the 14th century. Bercilak is the real name of Green Knight. In this poem, Sir Gawain names him as Hautdesert whereas green knight names sir Gawain as “Bredbeddle”.

Discussion

Representation of Green Knight in the Poem

Green Knight is one of the best characters of the 14th Century in Literature. His key roles include being a judge or tester of knights. His nature of character ...