Essay on Games in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Games in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Many games are involved in the plot of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Green Knight, Bercilak de Hautdesert, plays a Christmas game with Arthurs court at Camelot (line 283); Gawains hosts wife plays games with Gawain throughout the third section of the poem; Gawains sees his arrangement of mutual trade with his host as a game (line 1380); and all of the events of the story are revealed as a game of Arthurs sister, Morgan Le Fay (lines 2456-2466). Throughout the telling of the story, the author plays a mental game with the reader or listener, as well. The Christmas game that the Green Knight comes to play with Arthurs court at the instigation of Morgan Le Fay†¦show more content†¦Bercilak, Gawains host, hides from Gawain the fact that he is the Green Knight from Arthurs castle, and Gawain sees this arrangement -- the of mutual exchange of things won over the course of the day -- as a game, although the host also describes this arrangement as a covenant. (line 1384) The hosts wife also plays games with Gawain throughout the course of this three-day game that Gawain plays with his host. The nature of the hunt that the host undertakes each day of the three parallels his wifes attempts to seduce Gawain, as well, although on both of the first two days there is an inversion. (Hunting is also a recreational activity comparable to a game.) On the first day, the host hunts and slays a doe, an act which, to medieval readers, would have been symbolic of a mans sexual conquest of a woman. The inversion here comes from the fact that Bercilaks wife fails to seduce Gawain -- Bercilak kills his doe, but his wife is unsuccessful in her attempted seduction -- and from the fact that the woman is here portrayed as the hunter. On the second day, Bercilak hunts a boar -- symbol of the carnal nature -- which, in Christian terms, is symbolic of the overcoming of the passions. The inversion here comes again from the fact that the female is portrayed as the hunter and, as before, from the fact that Gawain is forced to play a role seen as female: He must fend off the advances of his host. S everal times throughout his attemptedShow MoreRelatedA Comparison Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight808 Words   |  4 PagesBrit Lit Essay I: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight As an avid recreational reader I enjoy reading books of all types, however, one of my favorite genres is fantasy. This love began in my reading of George MacDonalds Phantastes, and continued throughout the past year as I have been working my way through C.S. Lewis’ The Space Trilogy. What is so interesting, and simply enjoyable, for me about reading Sir Gawain is that it is a more original and classic take on the typical structure and plot of aRead MoreThe Audience, the Pentagle and the Green Sash in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight1547 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Green Sash in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Works Cited Missing Although some early manuscripts of the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight still exist, nothing, beyond speculation, is known about the poet, which is a pity when considering its rich language and imagery. Believed to have been written between 1375 and 1400, and some 2500 lines long, the unknown poet blent a unique mixture of chivalry, the Beheading Game and the temptation of a knight called Sir GawainRead MoreSir Gawain And Don Quixote1373 Words   |  6 PagesFinal Essay Professor Meghan Evans 12/09/15 Who is More Chivalrous, Sir Gawain or Don Quixote? Sir Gawain and Don Quixote†¦these brave men bolster the honor, courage, and bravery which can be only demonstrated by that of the chivalrous knight. They face strong adversity, yet are able to use their wit and cunning in order to gain the upper hand. They uphold the laws of chivalry every knight must obey. First a knight must obey God. Then a knight must obey his King and his Lords. And then a knight mustRead More Masculine Identity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay3776 Words   |  16 PagesMasculine Identity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Vern L. Bulloughs article, On Being a Male in the Middle Ages, addresses how vital it was for a man living in the middle ages to be sexually active in order to maintain a masculine identity by explaining: Quite clearly, male sexual performance was a major key to being male. It was a mans sexual organs that made him different and superior to the woman. But maleness was somewhat fragile, and it was important for a man to keepRead More King Arthur Essay1428 Words   |  6 PagesRomano-Briton king who led the Celts against the Anglo-Saxons in the early 8th century (Americana, Arthurian Romances, 1972). The kings of the medieval period were warlords that protected a particular area of land. They surrounded themselves with knights, or thanes, who swore allegiance in battle in exchange for gifts of gold, armor, and land. There are stories that depict Arthur in this role, similar to that of Beowulf and Hrothgar in the poem Beowulf. However, later stories show Arthur in a differentRead MoreTheme Of Human Frailty In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight853 Words   |  4 PagesWhether it is a boastful display of courage and bravery, or a shameful episode of cowardice and temptation, the cha racters of Anglo-Saxon literature demonstrate both the best and the worst of each. In this essay, I will use the poems â€Å"The Wanderer†, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to exemplify this point. Most of the human honor presented in these poems comes from the portrayal of a hero. A hero in Anglo-Saxon culture not only had to be tough, courageous and modest, but also keep allRead MoreSir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay2448 Words   |  10 PagesSir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline   Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is self admittedly not the best knight around. HeRead MoreEssay on The Role of Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight5387 Words   |  22 PagesThe Role of Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight In the Fourteenth Century, Feudalism and its offspring, chivalry, were in decline due to drastic social and economic changes. In this light, _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_ presents both a nostalgic support of the feudal hierarchies and an implicit criticism of changes, which, if left unchecked will lead to its ultimate destruction. I would suggest that the women in the story are the Gawain poets primary instruments in this critique andRead More Sexuality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay5052 Words   |  21 PagesThe Complications of Sexuality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Gawains travels in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight suggest a world in which home--i.e., Camelot--is normal, while away--the opposing castle of Hautdesert where Gawain perforce spends his Christmas vacation--is other, characterized by unfamiliarity, dislocation, perversity. And in fact the atmosphere at Hautdesert appears somewhat peculiar, with various challenges to normal sexual identity, and with permutations of physicalRead MoreMasculinity : Portrayal Of Masculinity2222 Words   |  9 Pagesdepending on the social context of the time, the portrayal of masculinity in Beowulf and SGGK (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) will be somewhat different. Traditional traits that are commonly regarded as fitting with the concept of masculinity include physical prowess, courage, honour and glory, and loyalty. The representation of these traits in the respective two poems will be explored in this essay and it will be argued that while the expectations of masculinity are very similar in bot h poems