Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Analysis

Significance of the hunting and temptation scenes.

Throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain’s moral framework is tested thoroughly, he finds himself in positions where he has to break away from viewpoints that he previously had. Part three essentially works as a parallel for the whole poem, we see Sir Gawain consenting to a tit-for-tat arrangement where he is unaware of the capabilities of the huntsmen nor is he aware of what will occur during his time in the castle, it works as the trial within the trial. In this chapter we see a situation which is superficially a test of Sir Gawain’s chastity, challenging him to control himself from his animalistic impulses. However, what is more important is the host and guest relationship, and maintaining the usual moral standards that we would regard as important in that instance. This is then contrasted by the hunting scenes undertaken by Bertilak and his men, where we see three days of hunting of another kind, this is used to heighten the impact of the test and to symbolically describe the events that are taking place within the castle. The whole of part three foreshadows what is going to happen to at the climax whilst exemplifying the virtues that Gawain has whilst illuminating those which he lacks

The game that Bertalik intends to have between Sir Gawain and himself is analogous to the test that is proposed by The Green Knight early on in the play. The two games both present a condition where ostensibly the odds are