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"SIR GAWAIN & THE GREEN KNIGHT".
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Examines epic medieval poem's Christian irony, heroic quest, themes (mercy, joy, suffering, grief), spiritual vs. physical aspects.... More...
6 Pages / 1350 Words
1 sources, 13 Citations, MLA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Examines epic medieval poem's Christian irony, heroic quest, themes (mercy, joy, suffering, grief), spiritual vs. physical aspects.

Paper Introduction:
This study will examine Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, focusing on the poem's Christian irony that mercy and joy are generated endlessly out of severity and grief, and vice versa. The poem shows the protagonist's heroic quest as spiritual as well as physical, so that every celebration and every challenge in the work can be viewed on at least those two levels. The obstacles set in Gawain's path, from the temptation of the host's wife to the Green Knight himself, are designed to test the physical and mental valor of the hero and to require him to fulfill his spiritual potential. His enlightenment as an evolving Christian, in other words, is an important part of his overall quest. The quest would not be worthwhile were it not for the rewards. Gawain is not a monk dedicated to the ascetic life. He

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. , devoid of all villainy, every virtue displaying in the field. In the midst of the human dread he feels as he prepares to leave,however, Gawain is connected by the poet to "the five pure Joys/ That theholy Queen of Heaven had of her Child" (45). In Gawain's case, thesexual temptation of the wife of the host comes not once, nor twice, butthree times. This humility is what finally makes him a greathuman hero. The mercy of Christand the joy of Gawain's loyal relationships with the members of the courtare again intermingled with the severity of the battle to come and thegrief which could come to him and to them as a result of that battle. She is assigned to present an obstacle todeter the hero from the fulfillment of his quest. One obstacle ofa hero's quest is invariably of a sexual nature. . Accordingly, the poem opens with an example of this irony of joyfollowing suffering following joy, etc. He is drawn to the woman, buthe is repulsed by the possibility of betraying his host. In other words, Gawain feelsjoy--a spiritual joy--in being able to do battle as a knight in the name ofChrist. Gawain endures a terrible journey on his way to the Green Chapel, buthe maintains his thoughts of and faithfulness to God and Christ withongoing prayer. While Gawain showed himself to have some measure of human weakness insecretly accepting the gift from the host's wife, he has neverthelesssucceeded in resisting the sexual advances of the wife. The quest would not be worthwhile were it not for the rewards. . The irony is thatGawain's real test comes before the battle he believed to be his ultimatetest. The next irony is the arrival of the Green Knight in the midst ofthese festivities to offer a challenge to Gawain with respect to hisworthiness as a man and as a warrior. Gawain may feel joy, but his fellows are already suffering the griefthey are sure will come from his likely death at the hands of the GreenKnight: "By Christ, it is evil/ That yon lord should be lost, who lives sonobly" (46). Here we have the irony of a valiantChristian knight, a great warrior, the hero of his community, who isreduced to a pretense of sleep when a woman sits on his bed. . However, the principles ofthe Christian life, as well as the ideals of the Romance, a genre to whichthe work also belongs, demand that the enjoyment of life be defined bystrictly applied rules of conduct and manners. In the case of Gawain,the wife of the host is not merely tempting him with her sexuality, but ismore importantly tempting him to betray the host, with whom he has justexchanged pledges of loyalty and allegiance. This study will examine Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, focusing onthe poem's Christian irony that mercy and joy are generated endlessly outof severity and grief, and vice versa. There, Gawain has been shown to be fully human. They have joined "in splendid celebration,seemly and carefree. . Gawain himself, though he has a"dropping heart" in anticipation of battle with the Knight, is most willingto make the journey and engage the Knight in battle and to do "as God seesfit to guide me" (42). . After Christmas comes the crabbed Lenten time, Which forces on the flesh fish and food yet plainer (4 ). The passing of time itself is marked by Christian significance, bothtimes of joy and times of severity: Yes, this Yuletide passed and the year following; Season after season in succession went by. . He explains to Gawainthat the test has been one not of battle on the battlefield, but battle inthe bedroom. The castle, in turn, is near theGreen Chapel where Gawain will do battle with, and perhaps meet his deathat the hands of, the Green Knight. However, the suffering and grief of the journey, thetemptations, and the battle prove to be rewarding when he passes the tests--for the most part--and when he returns home to he acceptance and love ofhis fellows. Grief is present in the midst of the next celebration in preparationfor Gawain's journey to receive the blow from the Greek Knight: "Arthurprovided plentifully. However, the religious aspect of their lives is not forgotten: With all delights on earth they housed there together, Saving Christ's self, the most celebrated knights, The loveliest ladies to live in all time, And the comeliest king ever to keep court (23). . . The journey is followed by his arrival at the castle of a lord whowelcomes him and provides him with all the comfort of which he had beendeprived on the long and arduous journey. He is shown to enjoy hisrelationships with others, both men and women. . On the wife's thirdattempt, Gawain maintains his chastity, but accepts her girdle as a secretgift which he does not report to his host. . The gallant lords and gay ladies grieved forGawain,/ Anxious on his account" (41). The battle itself with the Green Knight is not what is expected, byeither the reader or Gawain. The poem shows the protagonist'sheroic quest as spiritual as well as physical, so that every celebrationand every challenge in the work can be viewed on at least those two levels.The obstacles set in Gawain's path, from the temptation of the host's wifeto the Green Knight himself, are designed to test the physical and mentalvalor of the hero and to require him to fulfill his spiritual potential.His enlightenment as an evolving Christian, in other words, is an importantpart of his overall quest. Work CitedStone, Brian, trans. Severity is intermingled with the joy of the celebration. What is finally discovered on the quest is not the satisfaction ofunrealistic expectations about the impeccable character of the knight, butinstead disillusioning events which bring the questor closer to the realityof human life as it really is. The combination of the two opposite emotions and states ofconsciousness creates in Gawain a character faithful to the principles ofknighthood, which is itself based in the poem on Christian principles: Ever faithful in five things, . Before he leaves, "he heard his mass/ As it wasoffered at the high altar in worship" (43). Gawain is a healthy man withhealthy appetites for the pleasures of the flesh, but he knows that itwould a mighty betrayal of his host to sleep with his wife. . In the midst of their loving celebration of him and his valor,Gawain feels great "shame, . As the ladyenters his room, "the brave knight, embarrassed,/ Lay flat with fineadroitness and feigned sleep" (66). cowardice and covetousness," and"faithlessness" (114). One can view this asirony or simply as a system of spiritual checks and balances designed tokeep the chivalrous knight on the right path, challenging him when his soulneeds to be tested, and rewarding him when he proves equal to the task. Thebattle done and the battle to come are seen not only as a possible sourceof further joy, but as a great severity as well, with the possibility ofgrief: "Now Gawain give a thought,/ Lest peril make you pause/ In seekingout the sport/ That you have claimed as yours" (39). All his trust on earth was in the five wounds/ Which came to Christ on the Cross (45). In the Christian reality asportrayed in the poem, one does not enjoy life without paying a price, butneither does one suffer without winning some reward. All of this takesplace, of course, in the context of the impending battle which threatenshis very existence. Gawain himself is a much sterner judge of his actions than are hisfellows. He has not betrayedhis Christian and knightly ideals, a fact evidenced by the celebrationwhich ensues upon his return to his homeland. New York:Penguin, 1974.----------------------- 7 The Knight does not deliver a mighty blow, buttwo false strikes, followed by a nick, after which the Knight revealshimself as none other than the host of the castle. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. . . Gawainis not a monk dedicated to the ascetic life. As he waits at the castle, however, he meets not death but the wifeof the host, whose primary purpose in the poem is to tempt Gawain sexually.Here again the conflict has as much to do with the spiritual and theknightly than with the physical or sexual. The horror of the decapitated GreenKnight follows, putting a certain end to the festivities, and makingnecessary a second meeting between Gawain and the Green Knight at the GreenChapel. For fifteen days the feasting there was full"(22). The reader enters the workimmediately after a hard-fought war, which has brought a major victory forBritain and Arthur and his men. The poem is designed to reflect the expectations of story-telling ofthe fourteenth century, not of actual life as it was lived then or earlier.The heroic quest of that era was seen as one which required superhumanobstacles to be put in the path of superhuman heroes. . After all, if the hero were indeed beyondthe reach of any human temptation, he would not need to rely on God andChrist in the first place. Gawain was reputed good . The narrator of the poem announces lastly the irony of theChristian experience: "Now Christ with his crown of thorn [i.e., grief andsuffering]/ Bring us his bliss evermore [i.e., joy and mercy]" (115). Clearly, the sexual temptation of the wife of the host of Gawain isboth physical and spiritual. The pleasures offered by the wife are contrasted with thesuffering Gawain endures as he resists the temptation. Arthur and the others"commended him to Christ and kissed him farewell" (44).

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