Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Setting Analysis

The story “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” has many different settings and locations that are intertwined in the confusing, but humorous story. It starts out at King Arthur’s kingdom, Camelot. There is a knight that rides in on a horse asking to seek the leader. “Where is he, he said, The Captain of the crowd” (Pearl-Poet 167.225). The knight then proceeds to talk about how he has a game and ask one of King Arthur’s knights to cut his head off in exchange in a year he gets to return the favor. There is no taker so Arthur is willing to do it himself before his nephew, Gawain, steps up and offers to take the challenge instead, “…I would come to your counsel before your noble court”(Pearl-Poet 169.347). This is where the different sets of location
come from; since the Knight made the offer that in a year he will get to cut the head off of Gawain, and Gawain cut his off, Gawain must travel to find the knight. The writer, or author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” makes very many points throughout his or her writing.
One of the biggest points that seemed to stick out was that Gawain was a noble knight to his uncle, King Arthur, while all the other knights were to scare to be a knight that actually protected the king. “ And tis that I have asked it, it ought to be mine…” (Pearl-Poet 170.360). One might say that Gawain was the best knight that was able to sit around King Arthur’s roundtable. Another major point that could be made by one reading the story of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is that the Knight who comes into King Arthur’s court is wearing nothing but green, and is green. “… a horseman and a horse should have such a hue, than green as the grass, and greener, it seemed, than green fused on gold more glorious by far” (Pearl-Poet 167.235) These two things are major key points that anyone who reads the story could see as they stick out to no end in through out the entire story. The final thing that is very clear to see is the change of locations as Gawain is traveling. “…the narrator builds readers' apprehension by presenting the journey to the green chapel…” (Wendy Clein 1). One could see that he really is a brave, strong, courageous knight because of how he travels, and that he is not afraid to travel alone. “He had no mate but his mount, over mountain and plain…” (Pearl-Poet
177.695). In the story “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” Sir Gawain has his dignity tested all because King Arthur’s half sister wanted to play a joke on him, and so the “green knight” was her idea “…Your own aunt is she, Arthur’s half sister…” (Pearl-Poet 212.2264). An unknown author wrote the story, but many call him or her the Gawain-Poet, sometimes the Pearl-Poet. The Pearl Poet came about because it is believed that the author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, “Pearl” where the Pearl-Poet comes from, “Cleanness”, and “Patience”. There is nothing that proves that all four of the poems were written by the same author, but the writing style is very similar, and all four of them happen to found in the same manuscript, “…manuscript is unique because only these four works are in it, and they exist in no other known manuscript” (William McColley 2). The manuscript that contains all four of the writings is called the Cotton Nero A.x.and is located in the British Library, and there is no other copy of the book anywhere. There is nothing in the writing that states as to why there was nothing about why the author did not put his name on “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, or any of his other work, if he was the same author as the three other poems, “Cleanness”, “Pearl”, and “Patience”. When it comes to the locations of the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” there is the three primary locations. The first of these locations is Camelot, King Arthur’s kingdom. Gawain, King Arthur, Queen Guenevere, and many of King Arthur’s other knights of the round table. “This king lay at Camelot at Christmastide; Many good knights and gay his guests were there, Arrayed of the round table” (Pearl-Poet 163.37). This location is brought to life by talking about how King Arthur’s guests are drinking, playing games, having a feast, and all around enjoying there time during the Christmas and New Years Holiday. “While the New Year was new, but yesternight come, This folk at feast two-fold was served…” (Pearl-Poet 163.60). The second location that is mentioned in the tale “Sir Gawain and the Green knight” is the half sister of King Arthur.
Though at the time Gawain is at the castle you do not know that it is King Arthur’s sisters when he is staying there. This is because King Arthur’s sister asked her servant, Bertilak de Haudesert, to pretend that him and his wife were the ones that were in charge of the castle. “Bertilak de Hausdesert, this barony I hold. Through the might of Morgan le Faye, that lodges at my house…” (Pearl-Poet 211.2445). This certain location of the castle is made very realistic by how the author portrays the looks of the castle, talking about the moat that surrounds the castle, and the trees that make a path leading up to the draw bridge. “…the wood, of a wondrous dwelling, within a moat, on a mound, bright amid bough of many a tree…” (Pearl-Poet 178.765). The author talks about how the castle is “well-framed” (Pearl Poet 178.783), and how it looks as if it could survive through any harm that was brought its
way. The third and final location that is mentioned in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is the Green Knights meeting spot for him and Sir Gawain, the Green Chapel. The Green Chapel is just a few miles away from the castle where Sir Gawain had been staying that belonged to his Uncle’s half sister. The Green Chapel very hard to see, and could be missed if you did not know to look for it, “…and sought on every side for a sight of the Chapel, But no such place appeared, which puzzled him sore…” (Pearl-Poet 206.2170). The feeling of life is found in Sir Gawain talking about his surroundings, the water running in the stream, and the foam at the end of that stream. He is able to find the Green Chapel by the stream, to find it not to be an actual chapel, but a mound with a cave within it surrounded by clusters of grass. “And was covered with coarse grass in clumps all without, or a crevice of an old crag- he could not discern aright” (Pearl-Poet 206.2184). Sir Gawain is able to figure it out further when hears the sound of a “grindstone” (Pearl-Poet 207.2202), sharpening possibly the ax that is soon to be used by the Green Knight. These three certain locations are the things that tie the story together as a whole. The locations help shape the story, and also helps conduct the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story. The three locations are given each their own description, Camelot, it is cheerful and enjoyable. It is during the holiday season which gives the detail that the people are obviously happy and that there is nothing but pure delight happening at King Arthur’s Castle. Then moving onto the second location, the castle that belongs to King Arthur’s half-sister. It has been about a year since the story was in Camelot and so it was once again around Christmas, and the New Year. Sir Gawain sees the castle, and just describes its appearance stating that it looks nothing would ever be able to harm it, no matter what it was, “The walls well-framed to bear The fury of the blast” (Pear-Poet 178.784). The third and final place that Sir Gawain goes before returning home to his Uncle’s Kingdom, Camelot, is to see the Green Knight at the Green Chapel. The Green Chapel comes to life when Sir Gawain starts exploring looking for the Green Knight. When it comes to the characters in the poem and where they match in the location is something that stands out greatly. The first time that that we hear about Sir Gawain at all, he is in Camelot with his family, his uncle, King Arthur, and his aunt, Queen Guenevere. He is with his people, and it is where he belongs. “There Gawain the good knight by Guenevere sits…” (Pearl-Poet 164.109). To say that he fit in there would be an understatement; another main character that shows up in Camelot is the Green Knight, “nor man on him riding, None had seen, I dare swear’ (Pear-Poet 166.197). He does not fit into the setting as well as Sir Gawain does, but based upon the circumstances of the challenge, it makes sense that he is there. As Sir Gawain travels down the his path to have his reencounter with the Green Knight, and stops at the castle where his aunt lives, and one could get the slightest sense that he is meant to be there, and that the people around the place think of him as a hero since he is one of King Arthur’s knights of the round table. The only time that the feeling of Sir Gawain feeling out of place is when he finally makes it to the Green Chapel. He seems afraid, he is in a place that he has never been to before and this gives the reader the obvious impression that he does not belong there and that he is very out of place. Taking a look at the interaction between the characters of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and the locations it is evident that when the location changes, so does the way that the character acts, thinks, and does things. For starters, Gawain at King Arthur’s Christmas and New Years celebration, he is laid back, and is willing to be the hero when it comes to chopping of the head of the Green Knight. Then in comes the night to Camelot, where he does not fit in, and even though he does not he still acts manly, and unafraid of the game that he is about offer up to one of Arthur’s most willing knights. As the story continues, and Sir Gawain is making his journey to find the Green Chapel, he is in the woods. Sir Gawain in the woods is a very different Gawain from the one in Camelot. He is afraid, he prays to God that there would be a place up ahead that way he may have somewhere to sleep, and somewhere to attend mass. Which brings up Gawain at his aunt’s castle. Sir Gawain at Camelot seems like a noble man that would not lie, but when he receives the green girdle that is his first thought. He does not tell the host, and that makes him a liar. He travels on to his last destination before he makes his return to Camelot, this final destination is the Green Chapel. At the Green Chapel is when the Green Knight has all the power, and seems to at his strongest point; while at the Green Chapel it seems to be Sir Gawain’s most vulnerable point throughout the story, other than when he accepted the girdle from the host’s wife. Sir Gawain does not act as a coward though, but as a true knight of the round table and makes his way to find the Green Knight Sharpening his ax and getting ready to fulfill his side of the game that he started a year ago when he visited King Arthur’s castle in Camelot. When it comes to the author making the setting feel real like they are coming to life, he or she uses the characters, and words that make you feel like you are in actually there feeling what is going on all throughout the story. There are times that the author portrays the scenes like they are scary, and