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  • Essay / Christian theme of sin and redemption in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, like other allegorical poems attributed to the poet Gawain, can be read as an allegorical tale of sin and redemption in Christian terms. That the poem has strong Christian foundations is beyond doubt, especially in view of the elaborate use of Christian symbols such as the pentangle, Christian oaths, blessings and frequent references to Christ, Mary, various saints , at Christmas and other holidays. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The poet Gawain uses novel material subversively to foreground the broader reality of human fallibility and the need for redemption through repentance. Gawain allegorically represents everyone as he experiences the very real conflict within man between normal human weaknesses and the strict moral values ​​he is called to follow and uphold, and ultimately proves his human dignity by recognizing the reality of one's human condition rather than the superhuman image projected in romantic tales. The world of Arthurian romance is governed by ideals of chivalry derived from the Christian concept of morality. These ideals are brought together in Gawain's symbolic shield, the pentangle representing the five virtues of knights: friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy and piety; the five wounds that Christ received on the cross; the five joys that the Virgin Mary had in Jesus (the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Resurrection, the Ascension and the Assumption). The side of the shield facing Gawain contains an image of the Virgin Mary to ensure that Gawain never loses heart. In Camelot, on New Year's Day, the celebration of circumcision, Arthur awaits a marvel or a wonderful story. He and his courtiers seem ironically to neglect the miraculous events of the season and are caught up in the splendor of the festivities which seem only weakly connected to the religious motif which should inspire them - when the Green Knight suddenly appears, as if to play a reversal of the phase Easter of Jesus' ministry, a violent death and resurrection that threatens to bring death without hope of redemption or resurrection to Gawain. The Green Knight's intrusion into court is sufficiently motivated by the conventions of the poet's chosen genre: because Arthur expects a marvel, and Sir Gawain is a romance, a marvel will occur. But the Green Knight's intrusion also has a very strong Christian motivation: a shift from piety to materialism and pride is immediately followed by supernatural rebuke, mortal challenge, and death and destruction. grotesque resurrection. Later, when Gawain suddenly and unexpectedly stumbles upon the castle of the Green Knight/Bertilak, the event is also overdetermined: the romance genre allows, even demands, that a knight wandering in the forest "happens" upon the castle where a quest takes place. waits for him; However, the fact that Gawain invoked Jesus and Mary to help him find accommodation so that he could celebrate Christmas mass, that he prayed, that he lamented his sins and that he crossed himself three times, when suddenly the castle appears, gives us meaning once again. very strong religious motivation indeed. At Sir Bertilak's castle, Gawain is offered a second game to play in addition to his game with the Green Knight. Every night, Gawain must give Bertilak what he receives that day and in return will receive from Bertilak the spoils of the hunt in the forest. While Bertilak is in the forest, Gawain must deal with the seductive advances of Bertilak's wife. According to the chivalrous code,..