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Sir Gawain and The Green Knight Study Guide

Summary:

The story begins with the green knight entering and Interrupting a dinner with King Arthur at the roundtable. The green knight then challenges any of them to exchange one blow for another. The blow consisted of him using the knight's axe to chop off his head, later to find out that a year later from then that the knight would exchange the same blow to him. The only one to accept this challenge was Sir Gawain. Gawain then chops off the green knight’s head. After this the green knight picks up his head and begins to ride away, once again reminding Gawain of the challenge. One year later after this happened, Gawain leaves Camelot and goes after the Green Knight searching for him on his horse Gringolet. Gawain then reaches a castle and is invited in by the lord. The host, (Bertilak) makes a deal with Gawain that anything he finds while out hunting, he will trade with Gawain for anything that he finds while at the castle. The lord then goes out and brings back animals each day whereas Gawain only receives kisses from the lord's wife, who was attempting to seduce him. The lord then exchanges the animals with Gawain and he then gives the lord the kisses that he received. On the third day the lady mentions to give him her girdle, this girdle possesses the power to protect one from dying. Gawain lies to the lord and does not tell him about the girdle and only gives him the kisses he received once again. Gawain then leaves the castle to find the Green Knight, when he does, he takes 3 blows to the neck but only barely draws blood. After this, the Green Knight tells Gawain that he was the lord at the castle and that he didn’t exchange all of his earnings. Bertilak then tells him that the woman was Morgan le Feye, who is related to Gawain and is his aunt. Gawain then realizes that he did the wrong thing by not telling the truth but was happy to still be alive. He takes the girdle and places it on his arm as a reminder of him not telling the truth to Bertilak.

Characters:

Sir Gawain- The leading character of the poem. His characteristics introduce him as being seen as honest and loyal but also someone who is willing to lie in order to protect himself. He is the nephew of King Arthur and has the qualities of being a great knight.

The Green Knight- This character displays different characteristics rather than all the other knights from Arthur’s Camelot. The Green Knight is described as tall and green. His character displays the idea of longing for no problems with his mysterious appearance but suggests a deadly bargain with the knights, but Sir Gawain is the only to accept his offer.

Gringolet- Sir Gawain’s horse

King Arthur- The king of Camelot. He was stunned and did not step up to the Green Knight's challenge possibly due to his youth. At the end of the poem he wears a green girdle on his arm like Gawain does to show that he also is not perfect.

Bertilak of Hautdesert- The lord of the castle where Gawain stayed at. He is known to be very strong and courageous, but also generous. We find out at the end of the poem that Bertilak and the Green Knight were the same person.

Bertilak’s Wife- The one who attempts to seduce Gawain. She was known to be beautiful but also extremely intelligent. Both Bertilak and her were a part of Morgan La Feye’s plot.

Morgan La Feye- A sorceress who was also a half-sister of King Arthur. At the end of the poem we discover she was the one who plotted all of this to even occur.

Queen Guenevere- King Arthurs wife, who sat next to Gawain but remains quiet during everything with the knights of the round table.

Theme:

Chivalry- This is the most important theme out of every theme portrayed in this story. The code of chivalry shapes the values and actions of Sir Gawin. It also takes an approach of Christian morality as Sir Gawain was put to the test and failed as he was dishonorable to Lord Bertilak and lied to him about the Green Girdle. The main point of chivalry was that Gawain noticed his act of failure to be honest and truthful and accepted that he was not perfect like he used to think he was, and was forgiven for his actions.

Everyone is human- Sir Gawain shows that no matter how chivalry is that everyone is human. This is shown when he flinches at the Green Knights acts and accepts the offerings of the lady's green girdle, showing that he is human and capable of making errors.

Magic- Morgan Le Feye uses magic by manipulating Gawain and disguising Bertilak as the Green Knight. She did this as a test to him to see his real integrity and if he would be honest in all his doings while staying with them. The Green Girdle in a way is a form of magic as it was stated to save the person who wore it from dying.

Symbols:

The Pentangle- A trustworthy shield that declares protection. Made of Gold, and believed to be the ancient symbol of the perfect knight. One is to trust in its faith with its five features but remain pure in their mindset. One is to trust in God and Mary and keep these five virtues of a noble knight. The five features are generosity, fellowship, chastity, courtesy and compassion.

The Green Girdle- The girdle belongs to Morgan Le Feye and is made out of green silk and has gold thread. She proclaims that it has the power to keep the person who wears it from harm or death. The girdle is cursed after Gawain lied and is then worn on his arm as a badge of his sinfulness.

The Green Knight- The Green Knight is used to symbolize the nature of life in the world. This is believed because we see him be killed and become reborn as life does for those who are Christian believers.

Green- The color green in this story is used as a symbol of life, nature, renewal, hope and safety. The immortal knight is green this represents life and renewal, due to Sir Gawain taking off the head of the Green Knight and he continued to survive. The green sash given to Sir Gawain represents safety.

Red- The color red in this story is used as a symbol of blood, sacrifice, love and courage. When Sir Gawain takes off the Green Knight's head the blood shed is seen as a sacrifice. To face the Green Knight, Sir Gawain puts on a red cloak to show a symbol of courage.

Gold- The color gold in this story is used as a symbol of money, value, and success. The gold ring and gold embroidered girdle is offered to Gawain due to his success.

White- The color white in this story is used as a symbol of goodness and virtue. The Green Knight tells Gawain that he sees him polished as white, this indicates that the Green Knight thinks that Gawain is a good person.