Allegorical Connections Between Sir Gawain And The Green Knight
After reading W.A. Neilson’s translation of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, one could find allegorical connections with the characters. Each of the main characters represents represents three main concepts that one could compare to the life in the twenty-first century. Sir Gawain, a honored knight, can be compared to everyday day people. The Green Knight can be seen as a Godly figure. Lastly the fair lady seen as a sin. When comparing the main characters of the poem, one could find allergy connects with them to everyday perceptions.
Sir Gawain is more than just a brave knight; he's a normal man, if placed in the current time period. A knight is seen as someone who is perfect at all he does, a person who doesn’t give in to sin, somebody who is godly. Sir Gawain is somebody who makes mistakes and accepts sins like an everyman. (QOUTE HERE) By the end of Gawain’s journey …show more content…
he’s faced once again by the Green Knight. The Green Knight strikes Gawain three times, each time reminded him of his sin. Upon closer interpretation one can see that Gawain is facing something that can closely resembles Judgement Day. Sir Gawain then accepted his sins and made right of them. “ … this that I bear in my neck is the badge of this blame. This is the evil and the loss that I have got from the cowardice and covetousness that I showed there.” (Sir Gawain 50) Like a normal man, all his sins are stated and studied, seeing if he qualifies as a normal man. Sir Gawain is just an everyday person who lives their life in the views of God.
The Green Knight can be compared to God. Him who judges any and every man. When first being introduced the Green Knight challenged King Arthur “ … thou be as bold as all men tell, thou wilt grant me graciously the game that I ask.” (Green Knight 7) He walks into his house with no fear and took on Sir Gawain, in place of King Arthur. Then, when Sir Gawain cut off the Green Knight head “ … he held the head straight up in his hand …” (Neilson 10). This proves that the Green Knight is some sort of supernatural being, someone immortal. One last way the Green Knight proved he was godly was when giving tests to Sir Gawain. He set Gawain up to face sins, like a God would do, to test his faith. Then after failing those tests Gawain went to Green Knight and faced his judgment. All these examples and more supports the fact that the Green Knight was used as a metaphor for God.
The final allergy connection was with the Fair Lady, who represented sin. She was sent by the Green Knight, who was also her husband, to seduce Sir Gawain. Gawain honorably resisted that temptation, but he soon fell ill to another. “ … no man under heaven that could wound him.” (Fair Lady 38) The girdle proves that Gawain sinned. By taking the girdle from the Fair Lady Gawain failed in his religion. He didn’t trust that the lord would protect him in anything he did. By sending his wife, the Green Knight deliberately tempted Sir Gawain knowing he’d give in to greed rather than lust.
When making allegorical connections between Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, one could compare anything in the book with any concept.
A main connection is found when looking at a normal everyday man, God, and sin. Sir Gawain was tested in a way where only God himself would be able to tell him if he’s sins and journey was honorable enough. The Green Knight is a God all in his own, he’s the only person who truly tested Gawain and his faith. The Fair Lady portrays sin, she made Gawain think that he was being tested in lust when really she’s testing his faith. All of the events happened because the Green Knight demanded it. He set up trails while Sir Gawain went on his merry way, to the Green Palace, which he thought was where his true challenge was. These roadblocks are like a man's’ own. A man who went through his own sins just to face God and discover that God himself set up his trails; all to test one’s faith. All the above reasonings prove that the three main characters are the fundamental allegorical connections out of the whole book, Sir Gawain, the Green Knight, and the Fair Lady, sets the
stage.
Sir Gawain is more than just a brave knight; he's a normal man, if placed in the current time period. A knight is seen as someone who is perfect at all he does, a person who doesn’t give in to sin, somebody who is godly. Sir Gawain is somebody who makes mistakes and accepts sins like an everyman. (QOUTE HERE) By the end of Gawain’s journey …show more content…
he’s faced once again by the Green Knight. The Green Knight strikes Gawain three times, each time reminded him of his sin. Upon closer interpretation one can see that Gawain is facing something that can closely resembles Judgement Day. Sir Gawain then accepted his sins and made right of them. “ … this that I bear in my neck is the badge of this blame. This is the evil and the loss that I have got from the cowardice and covetousness that I showed there.” (Sir Gawain 50) Like a normal man, all his sins are stated and studied, seeing if he qualifies as a normal man. Sir Gawain is just an everyday person who lives their life in the views of God.
The Green Knight can be compared to God. Him who judges any and every man. When first being introduced the Green Knight challenged King Arthur “ … thou be as bold as all men tell, thou wilt grant me graciously the game that I ask.” (Green Knight 7) He walks into his house with no fear and took on Sir Gawain, in place of King Arthur. Then, when Sir Gawain cut off the Green Knight head “ … he held the head straight up in his hand …” (Neilson 10). This proves that the Green Knight is some sort of supernatural being, someone immortal. One last way the Green Knight proved he was godly was when giving tests to Sir Gawain. He set Gawain up to face sins, like a God would do, to test his faith. Then after failing those tests Gawain went to Green Knight and faced his judgment. All these examples and more supports the fact that the Green Knight was used as a metaphor for God.
The final allergy connection was with the Fair Lady, who represented sin. She was sent by the Green Knight, who was also her husband, to seduce Sir Gawain. Gawain honorably resisted that temptation, but he soon fell ill to another. “ … no man under heaven that could wound him.” (Fair Lady 38) The girdle proves that Gawain sinned. By taking the girdle from the Fair Lady Gawain failed in his religion. He didn’t trust that the lord would protect him in anything he did. By sending his wife, the Green Knight deliberately tempted Sir Gawain knowing he’d give in to greed rather than lust.
When making allegorical connections between Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, one could compare anything in the book with any concept.
A main connection is found when looking at a normal everyday man, God, and sin. Sir Gawain was tested in a way where only God himself would be able to tell him if he’s sins and journey was honorable enough. The Green Knight is a God all in his own, he’s the only person who truly tested Gawain and his faith. The Fair Lady portrays sin, she made Gawain think that he was being tested in lust when really she’s testing his faith. All of the events happened because the Green Knight demanded it. He set up trails while Sir Gawain went on his merry way, to the Green Palace, which he thought was where his true challenge was. These roadblocks are like a man's’ own. A man who went through his own sins just to face God and discover that God himself set up his trails; all to test one’s faith. All the above reasonings prove that the three main characters are the fundamental allegorical connections out of the whole book, Sir Gawain, the Green Knight, and the Fair Lady, sets the
stage.