Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Essays Papers

Sir Gawain and the kilobyte KnightPassage AnalysisSir Gawain and the Green Knight was scripted in the fourteenth century in Northern dialect by an anonymous author who was a contemporary of Chaucer. The story begins in King Arthurs court. The Green Knight, a green monster who challenges the court to a Christmas stake, Sir Gawain, a brave, loyal knight of the court, and King Arthur, the lord of the court, are the main characters. Lines 279 through 365, which deal with the Christmas game, alike known as the beheading game, foreshadow the Green Knights supernatural powers, Sir Gawains victory over the Green Knight, and his bravery and loyalty to King Arthur. The events surrounding the proposal of the game foreshadow what allow for happen next. It is New Years, and everyone in King Arthurs court is feasting when the Green Knight arrives and challenges the court to a Christmas game. The rule of the game is that the knight, Sir Gawain, will strike at the Green Knight, and then in a ye ar and a day, the Green Knight will return the strike. This is indicated when the Green Knight says, So you grant me the guerdon to give him another, sans blame. In a twelve month and a day he shall of me the same(Norton 208). A guerdon is a reward and sans means without. So when the Green Knight receives his reward for the game, which will be to return the strike in a year and a day, it will not be his deformity when Sir Gawain dies because it is part of the game. This foreshadows the Green Knights supernatural powers and Sir Gawains confrontation with death. If Sir Gawain chops off the Green Knights head, one would think that the Green Knight would die. So why does the Green Knight gather up to meet Sir Gawain in a year and a day to return the strike? The answer to this question shows the Green Knights supernatural powers because he knows that he is not going to die because of the strike. The Green Knight appears to have a hidden agenda, which will be revealed at the end of the story. As a reward for the knight who is brave enough to participate in the game, the Green Knight gives him his ax to keep and use for the game. The ax is first given to King Arthur, who has volunteered to participate in the game so that his court will not appear to be full of cowards.