Motifs In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a piece of literature that was written sometime between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a chivalric romance tale and is an incredibly well-known story. This story combines an abundance of folklore motifs and one motif that is used repeatedly is the color green. The color green is said to represent a number of things from nature to death and also to the devil. The tale enforces many Christian beliefs and is the beginnings of chivalry and honor. This color seems to be some of the most important motifs within the story representing a wide array of things. In this paper, I will examine the meaning of this color used within the context and how this correlates to the Green …show more content…
One of the most prominent times we see the color green it is on the Green Knight when he first imposes on Arthur’s court. Here we are already introduced to the Green Knight, a green horse, and a green chapel. This knight is almost completely adorned in green and red, the knight wears green clothing and so is the saddle and armor of his horse. The appearance of his green skin directly marks him as some sort of a supernatural entity. This is backed up by when this mysterious knight is able to survive a beheading which seems to be somehow connected to his green complexion, as green is sometimes associated with healing. The color green in this story represents many things such as passion, vitality, and rebirth. This is shown when the knight is first introduced, the Green Knight enters the hall of Camelot in the name of peace although this interrupts the feast that was currently …show more content…
In the same breath, the knight is described as holding a holly branch, this would seem to indicate that this strange knight is meant to represent nature, as so his challenge to Gawain and company somewhat can be seen as the unpredictability of nature. The knight’s attire is heavily compared to vegetation during Gawain’s description of him when the Green Knight first barged into the court. As we find out later on in the story, we the readers come to find out that Morgan le Fay plotted the entire event starting from the very begging which dismisses the Green Knight as the antagonist of this story which we previously believed him to be. The impulsiveness of these events can connect to the unpredictability of nature. It is almost indisputable that the knight was shown to be antagonistic in the begging of the story, while at the end of the story his actions could be considered extremely noble, he informed Gawain the importance of chivalry. However, the Green Knight is still possibly working with the true enemy, Morgan le Fay who seems to be a foe of King Arthur. Her evil plot can be seen as a test to Arthur and his knights and bring the death to Guinevere. The Green Knight is being a pawn in Morgan's conquest, as the color green has an abundance of meanings and connotations, so does the Green Knight as his