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Theme Of Courage In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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Essay: Consider how the Theme of courage is treated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It has to be said that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is arguably one of the greatest middle English poems of the 14th Century. The author of the text, whom, amazingly is still unknown tells the reader, through the medium of poem the courage of the Great Sir Gawain as he bravely challenges the Green Knight. The poem also shows the courage of others. In Medieval times and especially medieval writings, there was a great engrossment with courage. Courage was spread throughout medieval literature and tended to be linked to knightly chivalry, as it is in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Courage was an extremely focal area of interest during medieval times. Medieval literature is teemed with examples of courage and thankfully Sir Gawain and Green Knight has great courageous characters too. What is great about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is that the poem tends to deal with the problematic nature of courage throughout. Courage can be defined in many ways, but the author of Sir Gawain: Cowardyse and the Fourth Pentad, Valerie Allen, really hits the nail on the head with her definition of courage. Courage in her opinion is “A Virtue central to Knighthood” (ALLEN). In the 14th Century, there was a huge public recognition of courage, people wanted to be recognised as possessing it. The Character who possesses the most courage in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is most definitely Sir Gawain

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