Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Allegorical Parallels of SGGK and the Bible
The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has been placed by historians around the Middle Ages, a time span roughly from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance and Reformation. The author of this work, still unknown today, has been often referred to as the “Pearl Poet” by many, this is based off the belief that this author also wrote three other poems, titled: Pearl, Patients, and Cleanness. These poems were written as retellings of Old Testament stories, Patients involved the retelling of Jonah, which emphasizes the need for patients when seeking the Lord, Cleanness, relates three great subjects from scriptural history, ...
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the human soul. In Schnyder’s reading, Gawain is a “personification of the human soul in general” (p.63), and the Green Knight “might… be accepted as the Word of God and-on a different level-anagogically as Christ” (p. 41)” (Champion p. 414). For these reasons I intend to further connect SGGK to the Christianity and the Old Testament in particular, through the allegorical figure, which exists simultaneously on two levels of meaning--the literal one (what the figures does in the narrative), and the symbolic level (what the figure stands for, outside the narrative).
The foundation of the biblical story is that the human race is estranged from God and Christ was sent down from Heaven to reconcile humanity with God. Christ voluntarily gives himself up to be sacrificed by crucifying him on the cross, after his death and resurrection, he ascends into Heaven and instructs his disciples to follow his examples: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce ...
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castle highlighted with a green glow, which he makes way for. The lord of the castle welcomes him and the next day, Christmas, he eats a lavish feast. But don’t let this be mistaken as his “Promise Land”, his is the Green Chapel. Just as the Israelite’s Promised Land is Canaan, but just as Gawain had his trials along his journey the Israelites had theirs. As Addis recounts, “They first must go to Mount Sinai where they make a covenant with God. After crossing the Sea of Reeds they travel for three days without water. They come to Marah, which has bitter water, but after complaining to Moses, he appeals to God, who tells him to throw a particular piece of wood into the water and ...
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Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (2011, November 9). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Analysis-of-Sir-Gawain-Green-Knight/100034
"Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Analysis-of-Sir-Gawain-Green-Knight/100034>
"Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Essayworld.com. November 9, 2011. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Analysis-of-Sir-Gawain-Green-Knight/100034.
"Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Essayworld.com. November 9, 2011. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Analysis-of-Sir-Gawain-Green-Knight/100034.
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