Free «Sir Gawain and the Green Knight» Essay Sample

1) Discuss Gawain’s seduction

During the medieval times, the knights would often be challenged by finding the balance between the code of the honor, on the one hand, and the courtoise love and subletting to a gorgeous Dame on the other. Symbolically, the castle of the Green Knight, which was found by chance, represents in its perfection the Garden of Eden. Therefore, the master of the caste takes the position of God. Lady Bercilak takes the position of seductive Eve in this poem. Sir Gawain has a dilemma, which puts on following the code of Crusader and the unwritten courtly love rules on wages. The knight ought to do whatever the Lady Bercilak wishes him to. In addition, the poem illuminates three hunting scenes which mirror seduction. First, the hunting on fox symbolizes the Lady Bercilak’s wit in changing her seductive techniques towarrds Sir Gawain. Second, the deer hunting, which in the medieval times had been strictly framed, represents the behavior of the Dame on that day. Third, the boar-hunting is a more violent and extreme, one-on-one dangerous process. This episode represents the perseverance of the Lady Bercilak and the victory of her attack.

2) At the end of the poem, Gawain is honored by others for what he is ashamed of himself. What are we to make of this?

Sir Gawain represents the perfect knight, which has set a high bar and is an example each chevalier has to follow. At the end of the story, after the character had passed all the challenges, he decides to return back to Camelot rejecting the invitation of the Green Knight to stay in the castle. Gawain decides to keep the green belt for protection from overconfidence, which the seductive Lady Bercilak had given him as a present. When the knight gets back to his homeland, he tells about his adventures to the people who are proud to celebrate the success of Sir Gawain. Nonetheless, only Gawain is ashamed as he had subdued to the seductive tricks of the gorgeous Lady and kept the belt which is now for him a sign of his shame and dishonesty. Nonetheless, from now on ,every member of the Round Table ought to wear a light-green patch, as a sign of bravery.