Characteristics Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

One of the key components of any literary work is the depiction of central characters and their various traits. The personality of the key characters can be revealed to readers through various ways including the characters’ own thoughts and opinions, their actions which help in shaping their personalities, and also the attitudes other characters have towards them. All of these attributes help in shaping up the believability and appeal of these central characters towards the readers. However, writers sometimes tend to overestimate the perfection of their central characters and in the process distort the illusion and allure of reality for readers regarding these characters. Sir Gawain and the Green knight is a famous medieval England poem written during the late 14th century. The poem is set in Arthurian England and is an alliterative romance poem which emphasizes the importance of chivalry, honor and virtuous attributes, characteristic of that time period. During fourteenth and fifteenth century’s medieval culture, Christianity was the primary belief and guideline of people’s lives and standards. Qualities of a hero shifted along with the beliefs; a hero did not only have great physical abilities to defend and protect his/her people and country, but also had inner values, such as humility and honesty. The main character in the poem is Sir Gawain, one of the youngest knights in King Arthur’s Round table who rises to prominence after accepting a beheading challenge from the