Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
When was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written
14th Century England, after Dante's Inferno
What does the Servant symbolize
A last chance to turn around and not face the Green Knight. The Servant tries to warn Sir Gawain by telling him that a lot of people have died here and that killing people is a hobby for the Green Knight.
Quest Narrative
A quester-Sir Gawain, a place to go- the Green Castle, The reason for going-to fulfil his promise with the Green Knight and the Christmas Game, Challenges and trials-the white castle/woods/all of the games and seduction, real reason for going-he believes that he is the weakest knight and he wants to get more honor by protecting his king.
Who are the two women Sir Gawain meet in the castle
An old/ugly woman and a young/pretty woman
Gawain is known for these traits in the White Castle
Bravery, Chasity, and Religious
Seduction Scenes like Lanval
Can't say no or he would disrespect the Queen. Can't say yes or he would go against the King
Major Themes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Courtly Love/Chivalry, Christianity, Games/Pursuit, Loyalty, Nature/Civilization, Gender Roles, Temptation, and Mirrors/Parallels
Four Fitts
Four tests
Great Hero or Not
He completes the quest and protected the honor of Camelot. He was chivalrous and honest throughout his quest. He falters near the end of the quest with the girdle and he blames others.
What does Sir Gawain do before going to the Green Castle
He goes to mass and gets ready
Why does Sir Gawain keep the Girdle
He keeps it as a reminder that he sinned and how even one sin can make you fall. Sir Gawain blames the lady and all other women.
What are some warning signs about Sir Gawain
He puts his guard down, He didn't prepare for this adventure as much as he could, he might not have been as committed as others, and his Hubris
Christ Figure Qualities
He sacrificed himself to protect the honor of Camelot and King Arthur
What else was happening around the time the poem was written
Hundred Year War and the Black death
What is the Green Knights axe
It is a Danish style axe (long bladed battle axe)
What does the Forest symbolize
It is a place where people are tested in Christianity
What does the Green Castle look like
It is an old looking place between rocks with moss and weeds growing all over it. It is described as a haunted house like and as a devil's lair (line 2185)
What is the importance of this story being at Christmas
Jesus was born and it was the winter solstice
Who is the King of the White Castle
Lord Bertilack
What was the language it was written in
Middle English
What does the gloomy weather symbolize
Pathetic fallacy (how humans emotions dictate the weather)
What are people's reaction at the end
People are happy that Sir Gawain made it back alive, but he is sad. Everyone tells Gawain to wear the Girdle as a mark of honor.
Parallels
Repeating acts act as second chances and how Sir Gawain has more times to prove himself and more times to fail at his duty. The White Castle compared to Camelot. The queen at the white castle is more beautiful than Queen Guinevere. The castle itself is better than Camelot.
What does Sir Gawain do in the Forest
Sir Gawain Praises to Mary in the Forest
What does Sir Gawain find after the Forest
Sir Gawain finds the White Castle
Christmas Game
The Green Knight appears before the round table at a Christmas feast and brings forth a challenge. This challenge was that someone will swing an axe at him this Christmas, but find him in one year so the Knight can return the action. This is also known as the Beheading Game
Game in the White Castle
The Master makes a game where what he wins in the woods for the next three days, he will give it to Sir Gawain. The other part of this game is that whatever Sir Gawain gets in the castle, he will give back to the master
What is the poet called
The Pearl Poet
What does the White Castle symbolize
The White castle is close to the Green Castle, it is perfect, the castle is better than Camelot, and the Queen is prettier than Guinevere of Camelot
Use of 3 is important
These are usually a reference to the Bible. Jesus being tested 3 times and arising 3 days after his death on the cross. The three tests with Sir Gawain and the three different games. The three swings with the axe.
The Green Knight represents
a test to see if the round table is as honorable and chivalrous as the stories(finding the ideal knight), power on how strong and big he is, Majestic-how he doesn't die even after his head is chopped off, Monsters vs. Heroes (Who is who), reality.
Gender role
at first it appears that the queen has power over Sir Gawain because she has the power to seduce him. Then the readers find out that Lord Bertilack was the one who was telling the queen what to do. Lastly, the readers find out that Morgan la Fay was the mastermind behind everything.
The Seduction Scenes
at the time we see that the queen is in love with Sir Gawain and is trying to seduce him. Sir Gawain follows his code of Chivalry and does not go into this temptation because it is his host's wife. This shows how great of a knight Sir Gawain is because he was not lead into temptation, but stayed true and pure and passed a test. Each day, Sir Gawain does receive a kiss, then two, then three not because he fell into temptation, but to please each side of the party. He had to both stay loyal to his king, while not disrespecting the queen by turning her away.
In what way does Sir Gawain resemble an epic hero
he is an epic hero because he completes the games (he passed Morgan la Fay's test on the round table) and he takes the challenge in King Arthur's place. His tragic flaw is that he has a lack of motivation and how he waited until November before going off on his Journey
After Lord Bertilack de Hautdesert reveals himself he
tells Sir Gawain about everything and how Morgan Le Fay was the mastermind behind everything and wanted to test the nights. The Green Knight calls Sir Gawain the most worthy fellow on earth. He also calls him a pearl among men and says that he has been purified (This is something that only God can do).
Sir Gawain's procrastination shows
that he is a bad knight when it comes to not caring as much as he could and how he doesn't train. He waited until Saint's Day on November 1 before starting his journey to find the green castle
What does Sir Gawain wear under his clothes up to the castle
the "magical" girdle
What does Sir Gawain's Shield represent
the Pentangle Shape Shield. The five pointed star represents something different on each of the points. The Five senses that Sir Gawain has, his five fingers, the five wounds of faith (with Jesus on the cross), the five joys with Marry, and the five things that mean much to Sir Gawain. (Page 740-741, line 640-665)
What monsters does Sir Gawain Face in the woods
the Wodwoes
Cuckold
the husband of an adulteress. This is what Lord Bertilack appears to be.
The fourth test
the servant giving Sir Gawain a way out
What do the three swings stand for
The three days at the white castle and how Sir Gawain kept his word except for the last day where he only told a little lie (this is why he got a little cut)
What happens when Sir Gawain goes to mass
the Priest says that he is so cleaned that the day of doom could happen tomorrow and he could still live. The Priest made all of his sins go away
White Castle game
the master hunted for three days. On the first day he brought a doe back. O the second day he brought back a boar. On the third day he brought back a fox. Sir Gawain stayed in his bedroom during the day, but was awoken by the queen each day. On the first day he got a kiss. On the second day he got two kisses. On the third day he got three kisses and what he believes is a magical girdle that will keep him alive. Sir Gawain and Lord Bertilack uphold each other's word and trade all of their findings from that day except for the magical girdle, which Sir Gawain kept.
What happens when Sir Gawain reaches the Green Castle
while walking up, Sir Gawain hears the green knight sharpening his axe. Gawain bends down in front of the axe, but the Green Knight takes three swings. The first one he stops because Sir Gawain flinches. The second time he stops because the knight is testing him. The third time he nicks his neck.
Joseph Cambell's "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" has 12 stages
1. The Hero is introduced in his Ordinary World - Sir Gawain is introduced in Camelot at the Christmas Feast as humble and brave. 2. The Call to adventure - The Green Knight at the Christmas Game 3. The Hero is reluctant at first - Sir Gawain wants to take King Arthur's Place 4. The Hero is encouraged by the wise old man or woman - This could be the King, but this is a place where the poem does not follow part of the stages 5. The Hero passes the first threshold - Sir Gawain leaves Camelot and starts his journey out in the woods/wilderness 6. The Hero encounters tests and helpers - The testers are his helpers in the poem. Everyone he trust are the ones who are testing him(we learn this at the end) 7. The Hero reaches the innermost Cave (called Chapel Perilous in Arthurian stories) - This happens at the Green Chapel where Sir Gawain meets the Green Knight for the Second time 8. The Hero endures the supreme ordeal - The swinging of the axes. The Green Knight has the ability to kill Sir Gawain, but instead Sir Gawain has all of his sins washed away and he is "reborn as a knight" 9. The Hero seizes the sword - Sir Gawain gains the knowledge that even one sin can make you fall and he brings back the girdle. BUT from him blaming others, he does not gain the knowledge. 10. The Road Back - He does go back home, but it is not dramatic. 11. Resurrection - Yes and no. He gained honor for Camelot, but he does not gain it for himself. He gains a new rebirth, but he does not embrace it. 12. Return with the Elixir - He didn't get killed by the Green Knight and he returned with the Girdle.
The Hunting Games
The Doe represents the Queen at how she snuck into the bedroom on the first day and how she doesn't say much. The boar represents the Queen on the second day at how she becomes more aggressive towards getting Sir Gawain to break his code of Chivalry and failing the test. The fox represents Sir Gawain at how he avoided each of the tasks/tests that were set before him at the beginning, but later became trapped and took the girdle.
