Analysis Of Sir Gawain Essay - 2655 Words

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains many themes. Some of these themes are more obvious than others. Love, lust, loyalty, deceit, trust, courage, virtue, and righteousness are most of the themes within the poem. There are some more that are hidden within the concepts of the ideas that the poem presents. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by John Gardner, many different themes are addressed throughout the story. The translation by John Gardner portrays these themes by using specific characters, medieval symbolism, and various settings within the story. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a great work of medieval literature. The story is considered to be verse romance. There are not many solid†¦show more content†¦Unfortunately, even then the poem was read incorrectly as a straight-forward and very prototypical medieval romance. Finally, in the 1960s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reached a climax; and it welcomed an extraordinary flow of criticism. Since then, critics have steadily been writing about the poem, maintaining and proving the modern understanding that this intriguing poem is one of the best and most difficult of all medieval works (Galenet). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;John Champlin Gardner, Jr. was born in Batavia, New York. He was raised right outside of Batavia in Alexander, New York. He went to school through eleventh grade in Alexander but ended up graduating from Batavia High School in 1951. Gardner earned a Ph.D. at Iowa State University and began his influential teaching career. In addition to teaching, John Gardner wrote many scholarly works. He focused mainly on medieval translations and editions. He wrote a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in 1965. This well respected translation is considered one of the finest and most accurate among the literary world. John Gardner was extremely talented and continuously wrote works of all different genres. He wrote plays, novels, poetry, criticism, and fiction, including Grendel in 1971. He won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1976. Unfortunately in 1982, the great and exciting John Gardner died in a motorcycle accident. He lived a thorough andShow MoreR elated A Character Analysis of Sir Gawain as Presented In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight1426 Words   |  6 PagesA Character Analysis of Sir Gawain as Presented In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the character of Sir Gawain is skillfully brought to life by the unknown author. Through the eyes of numerous characters in the poem, we see Gawain as a noble knight who is the epitome of chivalry; he is loyal, honest and above all, courteous. As the story progresses, Gawain is subjected to a number of tests of character, some known and some unknown. These tests tell us a greatRead MoreAn Analysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Essay2387 Words   |  10 Pagesfound in the fourteenth century poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The poem opens with allusions to Greek and Roman history and eventually sets the story on Christmas in Camelot with King Arthur and his knights of the round table. Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew and a knight in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, faces trials and temptations that one would typically expect from a knight of the round table. Through careful and juxtaposed analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and articles by reputableRead MoreEssay Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight1050 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, after Gawain ventures â€Å"into a forest fastness, fearsome and wild† (Norton, 311), he prays that he will be able to find â€Å"harborage† on Christmas Eve (Norton, 312). It is the middle of winter, and Gawain has been traveling in search of the Green Knight whose head he has cut off. After he prays and signs himself three times, Gawain finds a magical castle in the midst of a winter forest. He rides to the castle and is grantedRead MoreAnalysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight955 Words   |  4 Pages Symbolism is a literary technique used in the classic medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that is used to form a more captivating story and construct a deeper meaning to the plot. The color green certainly is a prominent color in the poem, especially with the Green Knight, who is literally green from head to toe. The Green Knight makes quite the entrance on his horse as he rides into Camelot disrupting King Arthur and his knight’s New Year’s Feast. The Green Knight has come to find outRead MoreAnalysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight940 Words   |  4 Pages In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the men and women appear to have different roles in the society. The men attempt to live a more noble life while emasculating the power of the women. Throughout the poem, women display hints of their potential through manipulation and trickery, traits that are uneasily recognized by men as growing power. Morgan la Fay manipulates the Lord Bercilak to assume the role of the Green Knight, and she uses him for revenge against Queen Guenevere. She engineered a planRead MoreAnalysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight1054 Words   |  5 Pagesquotes by C.S. Lewis and from the poems of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Beowulf, and Judith predominantly showcase the theme of bravery in medieval concepts. Bravery is immediately found in the beginning of the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight where Gawain accepts the challenge of the Green Knight in lines 339-342, â€Å"By Guinevere, Gawain now to this king inclines and says, ‘I stake my claim this melee must be mine’† (Greenblatt). In this scene Gawain is trying to make a name for himself amongRead MoreAnalysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight866 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† is the classic tale of a knight of the round table who takes up the challenge of the mysterious Green Knight. The poem begins with the Green Knight’s sudden arrival and his declaration of his proposition: a knight may strike him, and then a year and one day from then he will return the blow. This tale is most well-known for dealing with the themes of a knight’s code of chivalry, loyalty, resisting temptation, and keeping one’s word. While the whole poem is full ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight1374 Words   |  6 PagesThe language of symbols plays a major role in medieval poetry â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† is no exception. The use of symbolism gives a writer the ability to draw important connections between items in their story and the audience. The poet behind â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† gives the reader a detailed description of the pentagram, his most important symbol, in order to form the key understanding of this poem. The narrator compares knightly ideals such as integrity, focus, and strengthRead More Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: An Analysis of Parallel Scenes636 Words   |  3 PagesSir Gawain and the Green Knight: An Analysis of Parallel Scenes The anonymous author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was supposedly the first to have originated the alternation of temptation and hunting scenes, which both contribute importantly to the effectiveness of the poem (Benson 57). The two narratives are obviously meant to be read as complementary. Therefore, the parallel juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated episodes is the basic characteristic of the narrative. The narrativeRead MoreAnalysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight846 Words   |  4 Pagesthe reader. And Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is not an exception to the rule. The poem uses imagery, juxtaposition of scenes, and the action of the characters to present the numerous themes to the reader and the presentation is done throughout the work. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the idea that in the world, there are man-made and natural rules that one must follow but in times, the two rules come in conflict with each other. By analyzing the two games played by Sir Gawain and the Green