“Shame be to the man who has evil on his mind”
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight prayer style, the poet ending it with an “AMEN” and following it with a reminder that “Shame be to the man who has evil in his mind”. This ending ties back throughout the rest of the poem to the idea that for Gawain to overcome his sin, he must stop hiding it and acknowledge it, something he struggles with until the conclusion.
At the ending of the poem a request for peace is presented, yet it follows after bringing to mind the image of a thorn-crowned Christ. This is typically seen in the images of Christ crucified, when he died for our sins. And so this request is made in the aftermath of Christ dyeing for our sins, the request is to have peace granted by the one who died so that human sins could be forgiven. Promptly, last two lines effectively closes the poem prayer style. Therein the poet presents the overarching idea that throughout this poem, Gawain struggles to find perfection without truly being able to acknowledge that human nature …show more content…
And it is in those last couple of lines that the overarching theme on sinning and Gawain’s personal struggle with perfection and acknowledgement of sins comes to a close. Rapidly following along the heels of that last line, come the words “HONY SOYT QUI MAL PENCE”, or as listed in the footnotes, “Shame be to the man who has evil in his mind.” The poet’s ending brings a finality to the poem that allows for a much graver reading of what seemingly presents itself as a light story filled with adventure and kings and knights in shining armor. Suddenly, a more biblical meaning lends itself to the story, reading more as the ending of a sermon or prayer. This seems to be the poet’s own personal comment on the idea that this story hides a lesson meant to be taken seriously in a religious
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight prayer style, the poet ending it with an “AMEN” and following it with a reminder that “Shame be to the man who has evil in his mind”. This ending ties back throughout the rest of the poem to the idea that for Gawain to overcome his sin, he must stop hiding it and acknowledge it, something he struggles with until the conclusion.
At the ending of the poem a request for peace is presented, yet it follows after bringing to mind the image of a thorn-crowned Christ. This is typically seen in the images of Christ crucified, when he died for our sins. And so this request is made in the aftermath of Christ dyeing for our sins, the request is to have peace granted by the one who died so that human sins could be forgiven. Promptly, last two lines effectively closes the poem prayer style. Therein the poet presents the overarching idea that throughout this poem, Gawain struggles to find perfection without truly being able to acknowledge that human nature …show more content…
And it is in those last couple of lines that the overarching theme on sinning and Gawain’s personal struggle with perfection and acknowledgement of sins comes to a close. Rapidly following along the heels of that last line, come the words “HONY SOYT QUI MAL PENCE”, or as listed in the footnotes, “Shame be to the man who has evil in his mind.” The poet’s ending brings a finality to the poem that allows for a much graver reading of what seemingly presents itself as a light story filled with adventure and kings and knights in shining armor. Suddenly, a more biblical meaning lends itself to the story, reading more as the ending of a sermon or prayer. This seems to be the poet’s own personal comment on the idea that this story hides a lesson meant to be taken seriously in a religious