A Comparison Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight - 808 Words

Brit 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 a fantasy/fairytale. In the beginning you already get a general idea of how the story is going to go, yet the story has its own quirks that keep it interesting. At the start of the story the Green Knight enters the great hall and proposes his game.†¦show more content†¦Knowing that the Green Knight is a fairy endowed with mystical characteristics makes the story even more interesting; as you continue through the story you begin to wonder more and more about how Gawain would be able to survive the Green Knight’s returning blow. The story in Bertilak’s castle seems arbitrary and unnecessary until you read on and realize that it is an integral part of the story and it is the means by which the author provides Gawain with his solution. In Phantastes, MacDonald spends a lot of time telling the tale of Cosmo of Prague, which at first seems to be an interruption to the main story being told, unbeknownst to the reader, however, it is setting the stage for parts of the plot later on in the story. In the same way Sir Gawain’s time in Bertilak’s castle does the same thing. It is this mysterious structure and suspens e that makes Sir Gawain and the Green Knight such an interesting story to read. The â€Å"huzzah† moment that the reader has when Bertilak’s wife first introduces the idea of the girdle, the idea that connects this part of the story to the rest, is such a satisfying moment for the reader and provides an experience like no other. This is compounded as the reader discovers, sometimes in a frustrating manner, that some unknown test had been occurring to test the character of the hero. Sir Gawain had been honorable and noble the whole story yet his one slip up may have lead to his demise. This isShow MoreRelatedSir Gawain and the Green Knight Hunt vs. Temptation: a Comparison816 Words   |  4 PagesSir Gawain and the Green Knight is an Arthurian poem; an enchanting story of chivalry, romance and heroism. With its intricately woven details, parallels and symbols, the reader will often easily overlook these facets in a story of this caliber. Undoubtedly, the author would n ot have spent time on details that do not add to the meaning of the overall telling of the story. The three hunting scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and in parallel, the three temptations, monopolize a considerableRead MoreBeowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Comparison Essay1443 Words   |  6 Pages and the idea they symbolize. Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, two of the earliest great stories of English literature, do not disappoint the readers and present us with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the Dragon, and the Green Knight. The two poems similarly describe the protagonists’ encounters with these unworldly characters in three patterns, Beowulf’s three great battles with the monsters and Sir Gawain three nights at the Green Knight’s castle. 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While both the epic poem Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have similar protagonists, the main character of each poem also hasRead MoreEssay on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Modern Fantasy627 Words   |  3 Pages Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Modern Fantasy nbsp; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an unknown author in the 14th century, can be called a timeless work of poetry. It exudes a certain fantastic quality that, despite its age of over 500 years, still appeals to modern audiences. Because of this application to all eras, would it be reasonable to state that this poem could be classified with modern fantasy fiction? Because of the similarities in plot and style with so much modernRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight1482 Words   |  6 PagesIn Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the protagonist, Sir Gawain, is illustrated as the imperfect hero of the tale. 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Ultimately, Sir Gawain chooses magic over faith, and by doing so, shows his ironic nature as aRead MoreSir Gawain820 Words   |  4 PagesOne Tragic Defeat The poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, illustrates the perfection of a knight throughout his life. Sir Gawain the perfect knight goes on a Christmas game quest provided by the Green Knight which tempts his purity and eventually ruins the ideal knight he used to be. In the criticism, â€Å"A Psychological Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight†, the critic Stephen Manning argues that the poem centers on Gawain’s feeling of guilt. On the other hand, P. J. C. Field a