Preview

Heroes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
138 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Heroes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight
During the Anglo-Saxon period, heroes were often depicted as courageous, smart, and powerful warriors who fought for glory and honor. On his journey to find the Green Knight, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by the Gawain Poet, Sir Gawain decided to lie in order to save his life. Be that as it may, Sir Gawain still feels remorseful about his mistake and proved to the Green Knight that he is a worthy knight and a hero. However, as time goes on and people evolve, ideals can change also. People living during the Anglo-Saxon period could have a different interpretation of a hero in comparison to the interpretations of modern day citizens. Sir Gawain may have had his faults, nevertheless, his bravery and integrity would have made him a hero in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Ideal Hero Definition

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Now that we have set the specific standards of what it means to be an ideal hero, we can now discuss if Gawain and Beowulf fit the mold we have set. We will analyze the epic poems to see if Gawain and or Beowulf are heroes starting with the requirement of being…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In her collection of sources and analogues, Elisabeth Brewer states, “To read the sources and analogues of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is not only to be aware of the poet’s skill in handling traditional episodes, but also to realize how much he added,” she continues, “the bringing together of many different elements and blending them into a new story, above all, the fusing of the beheading-temptation-exchange-of-winnings themes, illustrate the Gawain poet’s astonishing capacity for structuring his material” (3). The Gawain poet intertwines common elements in an elaborate way to emphasize the importance of the values outlined by the chivalric code. Brewer states, “The Gawain poet makes the story hang together and intensifies the meaning of everything that he uses. He makes more sense of the incidents: they have an inevitability, a credibility, they create an illusion of reality” (Brewer 4). Sir Gawain beings the poem as a modest knight who strives to uphold the five points of chivalry. In his test of temptation, Gawain is able to exercise sexual restraint and uphold the laws of courtly love, but he fails to resist the instict to save his own life and jeopoardizes his integrity in lying about the green girdle. Without each other, neither the temptation episode nor the beheading game would have such a strong impact on the story’s outcome or it’s readers. The framework at the beginning and end of the of the story combined with the structure used throughout the poem deepen and emphasize what it is to be Gawain, and what it is to be human (Brewer 4). Any possible sources and analogues of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight pale in comparison to the brillance of the original. Although influenced by former medieval works, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight remains an outstanding and unique piece of…

    • 2416 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    There once was a noble young man who was renowned for his awe-inspiring abilities in the goal box. He laughed in the face of evil and smiled with mirth when given any challenge. Any challenge, but one. The fated Penalty Kick is one of the toughest things to save from going in the goal. You see, this young man's name was Sir Stephen the Red and he was the goalkeeper for his kingdom of Nolnia. All the citizens throughout the land knew him to be the greatest goalkeeper to have ever lived but, in the depths of Stephen's heart, he constantly quelled his terror at failing on a PK. However, Stephen still knew that he was the greatest at goalkeeping in all the land so he shirked the fear on his heart and continued as though all was well. During a rainy training session a few weeks later, an unknown player showed up to practice and announced himself as Sir Strikes-a-lot The Wicked. Now Stephen wasn't one to be impressed by smack talk, but the player walked straight over to the team and said he would let somebody attempt to humiliate him by shooting a Penalty Kick against him in front of the whole team. Taken aback, Stephen asked what the man's terms were. The man replied with the counter that he would be allowed to shoot a PK exactly one year after if Sir Stephen missed. Stephen laughed and immediately took him up on the challenge since he reckoned that if anyone were to stand a chance against the Wicked man's shot it would be him. Granted that he had to miss first, which simply wasn't an option.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written by the Pearl Poet, Sir Gawain is proven to be a true knight. The Pearl Poet proves Sir Gawain’s true knightmenship in many different ways. Sir Gawain succeeds in earning the title “true knight” by passing the Green Knight’s test and proving the valor of King Arthur’s knights, but he makes mistakes in the process because he is human, like everyone else.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stock characters are stereotypes of people that readers or audience are able to identify, due to their frequent appearances in literature--examples are the hero and the maiden. The purpose of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is shown through the breaking of the hero’s stereotype, one of the most common stock characters, in Sir Gawain. The stock character of the hero in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is Sir Gawain--he is the noblest of all the knights in King Arthur’s court--he was the only one to rise up to the Green Knight’s challenge. In addition to this, Sir Gawain still keeps the honor of King Arthur when he asks him to allow him to take the challenge: “Release me, My liege, from the bench, and let me come to you, Permit me to rise without…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a story about King Arthur’s nephew, Gawain. The story is about a mighty green knight who comes to the round table wanting to play a game. A brave knight will strike the green knight with an axe once after a year the green knight gets to return the strike to whomever strike him. However the Knight must find him and as we learn in the story his boast about how easy it will be to find him is a lie. After searching and combating deadly foes,…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The theme of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is Chivalry. This was written in dialect and said to be written by a monk, but author remains unknown. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Green Knight was a creation by Arthur’s half-sister, Morgan le Fay, the ruler of mysterious Avalon, to embarrass the knights of his court. The Green Knight approaches the court offering beheading games and the winnings game while holding a holly-bundle and an axe in his hands. The holly-bundle symbolizes peace. Sir Gawain speaks up saying that he’s the weakest and should participate because he’d be the least loss to King Arthur’s (governor of Camelot) court. This all takes place around New Year’s Day and they call it Christmas-tide. A description of the Green Knight: All green except for his eyes. They were red. Sir Gawain was supposed to leave on November 1st, All Saints Day. This is a special day for praying to the saints. This day would have been better for Sir Gawain to leave, but he leaves on the 2nd, named All Souls Day. All Souls Day are prayers for deceased held in a place to speed to heaven. Sir Gawain is undergoing a test to prove he’s a Chivalric knight. The castle he visits represents heaven on earth and the guy Porter represents Peter. Gawain was given beautiful clothes as well as food to eat. He comes to the realization that he made a bargain and he has to deal with it. The woman he spoke to at the castle told him if he valued his life he would wear a sash, he was also told it would save his life. A servant accompanying Gawain to the games told him he wouldn’t tell if he chickened. Sir Gawain goes into the Wild West and hears a sound. It’s dark humor, the sound of the Green Knight sharpening his axe. In line 2214, he says he’s leaving, but a voice yells for him to stay. Sir Gawain looks up only to find the Green Knight standing over him and in that moment he knew he would be…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chivalry is the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight. Some of these qualities include courage, honesty, courtesy, loyalty, and justice. There are three major themes in chivalry; courtly love, religion and war. The code of chivalry helps outline the morals and behavior in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The principles of chivalry come from the Christian idea of morality. The role of chivalry/knighthood in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was an important part of society.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is without doubt one of the best known works of medieval English literature. Medieval England poetry was best known for its medieval romance, religious views, alliterative form and its chivalry nature. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the best works of medieval poetry because it criticizes the fact that chivalric courtesy often displaces true Christian ethics. Sir Gawain a character in the poem was known for his chivalry, honor, and Christian faith. Medieval romance tales deal with the quests and challenges of Arthur and his knights. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain as one of King Arthur’s knight’s gets sent on a quest to meet the Green Knight. Another characteristic…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The motto of chivalry is also the motto of wisdom; to serve all, but love only one.” (Honore de Balzac). The Chivalric code is a clutter of rules that contradict each other and challenge normal human behavior. These rules of chivalry are predominantly concerned with courage, honor and gentlemen- like- behavior, which play an important role in proving one’s faithfulness to the King. In the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain proves to be a hero because he continually struggles against his human flaws to act in a heroic manner. Sir Gawain is acknowledged as a chivalric human because he is a courageous man who perseveres through difficult events and faces both human temptation and terror.…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    an anonymous West Midlands poet also credited with a lot of other poems written during…

    • 754 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sir Gawain is known as the honorable Knight for being brave enough to agree to the Green…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When we hear the word knight, we imagine Arthurian-tales of glorious battles between men and dragons, fierce jousting competitions, rivalries between kingdoms, and knightly chivalry. Several of these tales center on the bravery of knights against mighty foes or on their ability to resist earthly temptations. Sir Gawain is the nephew of King Arthur and is a knight of the round table. He appears in more Arthurian-tales than any other knight and is known as the ideal that all knights should strive for. (Joe) In the Arthurian-Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain faces many challenges and his decisions based on those challenges shape him into the Knight that many know now.…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Humanity has always had an ideal figure to look up to or pursue, whether it be for selfish reasons or for the good of all. During medieval times, the Code of Chivalry was followed - a moral system which went beyond rules of combat and introduced the concept of virtuous conduct. It represents qualities in knighthood such as bravery, courtesy, and honor, setting an example of the ideal character. The two texts Sir Gawain and the Green knight and Beowulf, medieval and Anglo-Saxon respectively, serve as a demonstration of what these values are. The valiant actions of two heroes boast the chivalric qualities they possess and gain on their journey’s. The medieval text describes Sir Gawain’s decisions and struggles which deeply affect his fate and his view of moral standards, while the Anglo-Saxon text delves into the heroic feats performed by Beowulf. Sir Gawain and Beowulf are chivalrous, but Beowulf is more chivalric as he fights for the welfare of others, eschews unfairness and deceit, and never fails to tell the truth.…

    • 2004 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, many people believe that Sir Gawain does not abide by his principles, and he lets go of what he values most. He is so proud of his values that he depicts them on his shield, which he carries around everywhere. People do not contend about his first four sets of virtues since the book mentions,…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays