The Concept Of Nature In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Life is a phenomenon. The natural world is quite transparent on the surface, but extremely complex when trying to explain the roots of man. As a result or the difficulty to accurately describe the fundamentals of the natural world, Nature has become a widely utilized theme in literature. When used as a theme or motif, nature liberates the reader’s minds, and opens up a new portal to understanding, resulting in myriad variations to many reader’s understandings of the concept of nature. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, written by Pearl Poet features many old English concepts. It is comprised of themes such as chivalry, order, and honor. All these themes are made obvious through the details in the dialogue. While all these themes enable the poem to be in existence, one theme that is not as blatantly obvious, yet crucial to the plot is nature. In this poem, nature is depicted through both the iconic Green Knight, as well as through the lifestyle of Bertilak of Hautdeser. Both depictions are greatly different, yet they both represent the natural component to this fantastical story. Color is more than just a …show more content…
Bertilak of Hautdeser demonstrates the themes of chivalry, respect, regality and formality. It is a vivid contrast to the ideas set in place through the usage of the Green Knight, yet both individuals seems to enhance the theme of nature. Bertilak of Hautdeser is said to be a fantastic hunter and a fabulous host- quite the contrary to the Green Knight. However, it is shown that Lord Bertilak shares numerous qualities with the eccentric knight. His energy, vitality, strength and his love of games show a strong link to the knight. The link is fortified when he proposes a game with Gawain. His civilized charisma seems to be legitimate, until the evidence of relation to the Green Knight is elucidated. It all falls into place when it is reveled that the Green Knight and Bertilak are the same