The Presentation and the Importance of the Green Knight in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

Abstract

This paper investigates the role and the significance of the Green Knight character in the literary work, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This poem is written by anonymous author; he is often referred as Pearl Poet or Gawain Poet. This work belongs to the medieval literature, specifically the late 14th century. The manuscript of this poem is survived as a single copy, Cotton Nero A.x., housed in the British University. As cited in Nemeckayova (26), Nitze indicates that this literary work is a“complex narrative full of exciting fantastical elements, vivid descriptive language, compelling poetic structure, complex and interesting characters, and a moral depth rarely credited to romance” (351). However, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is considered as a chivalric romance which belongs to the Arthurian legend. The anonymous poet introduces his antagonist, the Green knight, through a paradox in which the character is portrayed in a contradictory mold. Generally; in literature, extraordinary knights are always tend to be perfect, but throughout the assigned work, the protagonist, Sir Gawain appears to commit mistakes as any human being. Thus, the Green Knight serves to test Gawain’s virtues, a moral test in which he reveals the flaws of such a character. Therefore, the Green Knight would approve that approve that no knight is perfect, great men have sin too. In brief, the relationship between the Green Knight and Sir Gawain is brief shown as the tester and the tested; moreover, the antagonist mirrors the protagonist, they both reveal the tensions beneath Arthurian glory.