Romance as a genre has two basic plots: the adventure plot and the love plot. In these plots, there is usually an individual hero who is on a quest. The hero, usually a knight, encounters one or more others. The two most important others are the public other and the private other. The public other competes with the outside worlds, such as: enemies, animals, monsters, strange environments and adverse conditions. The private other involves attraction, love and sex. The public other connects with the adventure plot and the private other connects with the love plot.
While romances are usually written for an “aristocratic audience” (Morgan, 500) the fabliau is not: “The fabliaux are the product of a bourgeois culture and the intended audience of the fabliaux is bourgeois audience” (Morgan, 499). Fabliau is a short comic tale in verse, where simple but obscure language is used. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is a medieval romance. In this story, there are idealized characters like knights and lady’s, there is an individual hero on a quest and the style of the text is alliterative and complex. The factors that make Sir Gawain and The Green Knight a romance is why labeling Chaucer’s The Miller’s Tale as a romance is incorrect, the genre that belongs to this story is fabliau. The Miller’s Tale is a fabliau, because in comparison with the idealized characters as knights and lady’s in a romance the characters are real people, they have ordinary jobs and do not belong to a royal
Much of the action in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around carious kinds of games. In a way, all these games are connected. Chivalry is defined as the medieval system, principles, and customs of knighthood. In the time Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written, chivalry was a major deal. The games may have been somehow connected with chivalry, in that the medieval system included the playing of these games.
While romances conventionally deal with society’s elite in upper class surroundings, the Miller’s story is set in a provincial town populated by common, working-class people. The main characters are not knights and royalty, but laborers and clerks. And much in opposition to the honorable and chivalrous heroes of the Knight’s story and the like, the Miller’s heroes are conniving, foolish, and amoral. And the character in the poem representing the church,
Radway depicts the usual heroine as feisty, independent, and enthusiastic, paradoxically, though his ultimate goal is to give autonomy to a powerful hero, losing himself in a romantic union. The sought-after man is distinguished by his very masculine characteristics (a male horse, like Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind); this priority is interesting as it seems to almost prevent the fulfillment of the desires for gentle preservation which is part of the love middle of love. Even the attributes of these two archetypes are brave, free and powerful heroin, aloof, though bitterly dread the point to the same need: to separate the conscious love of romance from the origins of the children. Apparently, for any of us, girls or boys, to know with romantic
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late fourteenth century Arthurian Romance Poem. During the time of Sir Gawain, society was dominated by males with women receiving little power. Women were treated with chivalry, but not respected as beings of their own rights. Knights were prided in having the code of chivalry yet were under the assumption woman could not attain much for themselves.
In this world now, people think of chivalry as men behaving courteously towards women; for example, holding the door for them or offering them their jackets when they are cold. However, the story of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight portrays a different aspect of chivalry: that of the medieval times. The chivalry of the medieval times suggests that it is more than just being courteous to women. In the story,Sir Gawain gets challenged by the Green Knight. Sir Gawain then goes to find the Green Knight.
The idea of courtesy is all throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Courtesy is the idea of politeness and courtly manners or behavior, it was a knightly virtue and highly valued during this time period. Specifically, King Arthur’s Court are expected to be courteous along with the other knightly virtues represented in the pentangle. The knightly virtues that are represented are courtesy, piety, purity, generosity, and compassion. Gawain is tested on his courtesy throughout stay at Bertilak’s castle.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance written in the late fourteenth century by an unknown author. It is part of the Arthurian legend and takes place in England during the winter. The knights of the Round Table have virtues tested when a mysterious Green Knight appears with a suspicious challenge, that leads Sir Gawain on an epic journey of self-discovery. Even though Sir Gawain is considered to be the perfect knight, his character is put to the test through a series of unbeknownst challenges that ultimately prove his true colors.
There are one in few ladies once again in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (now referred to as SGGK) so there is once more little representation on the views of women and those views have not changed much since the earlier days of British literature. With SGGK the most prevalent example in this comes in the form of Bertilak’s wife, whose sexuality plays a very important role. Right of the bat she is quickly presented as a temptation and test to Sir Gawain, her sexuality and lust represents a test of faith that Sir Gawain must pass. Bertilak’s wife is nothing quite like the women in which the time she was written in.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whose author is unknown, is an Arthurian Romance/Epic that holds a degree of Christian symbolism. These Christian symbols are intermixed with Britannic Pagan traditions and themes in order to appeal more to the common British people at the time of the early Christianization of Britain. This can be supported by the stories of kings being created in the earlier centuries throughout history. In this particular story, this symbolism is important since all the knights of King Arthur’s Court were supposed to follow a certain chivalrous code of conduct, whether present in the courts or away on some other venture. The chivalric code being the embodiment of Christian virtue and valor, which was expected to be personified
Throughout this paper we will examine three ways in which the characters in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight attempt to cover up the underlying theme of violence within the narrative. During Fitt 1 of the poem, we uncover the first method in which the characters attempt to mask the fantasy of violence. In order to ensure their thirst for bloodshed does not spiral out of control, there are certain rules that the court must adhere to. The Court of Camelot places violence in a strict binary with courtesy.
In the final section of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the audience is privileged to detailed descriptions of nature as Sir Gawain travels to his meeting with the Green Knight. Why does the poet include such descriptions? Through careful study of the text, it is apparent that these details about Gawain’s surroundings contribute to the suspense of this final section. All in all, the ominous tone of such descriptions followed by foreshadowing and affirmations of surrounding evil by various characters contributes to the suspense which is essential to the significance of the poem’s conclusion. Without question, the suspense first arises due to the foreboding tone prevalent in the descriptions of nature.
During the Medieval times chivalry was one of the most important characteristics a knight could display. Chivalry was viewed as a moral obligation that involved bravery, honor, respect, and gallantry. Knights were expected to uphold this code or face social consequences for any infractions, with punishments ranging from humiliation to termination of their knighthood. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” presents the struggles knights faced with honoring the chivalrous code at all times. Sir Gawain, while imperfect, exhibits qualities expected of knights and embodies the internal struggle between honoring the chivalrous code and giving into selfish desires.
The ideas of Chivalry was expressed through out all sorts of different literary works, such as songs, poems, and more. The Two stories of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Morte D’Arthur express some of the ideas of Chivalry. The first Chivalry idea that is seen in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the loyalty of Sir Gawain. Gawain on his way to fight the green knight, stays the night with a lord and his lady.
The Knight and Miller tale have similar characters which play very similar roles but with totally different personalities. The Knight's Tale is told by a famous person, and it is an historical romance which barely escapes a extremely sad ending (involves death or suffering). The Miller's Tale has a plot, but not themes. The Miller’s Tale is seen as a lower class point of view and it turns the knight’s idea of courtly love into a shorter, disgusting farce.
In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the characteristics of the ideal knight is represented by King Arthur’s court. However, it will be challenged by The Green Knight as well as Bertilak’s court. Sir Gawain would reach a new understanding that ideals would eventually remain as ideals and that he is human, therefore it is perfectly fine to feel weak. The clashes between religion and chivalry that defines the ideal knight in King Arthur’s court.