In the third section of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the audience is swept through stories of the lord’s hunt and the attempted seduction of Gawain by the lord’s lady. What is the purpose of the detailed inclusion of the hunting scenes in the midst of Sir Gawain facing his seductress? Close analysis reveals that attention to the action of the hunt is crucial to our understanding of Gawain’s attempts not to endanger his religious morality, courtious reputation, and very life. Through providing this enlightened understanding of how Gawain is personally endanger, the poet in turn promotes the idea that the protection of personal ideas is central to heroism. On the whole, the juxtaposition of the scenes of hunt and the seduction enlightens
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When after each of the lord’s hunts, the huntsmen are successful and “boast of their prize” (1601), it seems that the lady too may succeed in her hunt of Gawain, corrupting his moral and religious virtue of chastity, but guarding his courtious reputation through not offending the lady. Although the lady is not actually successful in her seduction, Gawain does sin as a result of the entrapping nature of the exchange of winnings, as he lies to the lord in order to preserve his own life. One might argue that this foreshadowing that one of the protagonist’s personal values will be corrupted implies the notion that protecting personal values is not integral to being a hero. Indeed, with Gawain being the protagonist, it might be easy for the reader to interpret all of his actions as being heroic at this point in the poem. However, as earlier stated, in the end it is the fact that Gawain still recognizes himself as having committed “cowardice and coveting” (2508) despite still being respected among Arthur’s court and the Green Knight which demonstrates the poet’s ideals of heroism. All in all, the primitive nature of both the hunt and the seduction foreshadows that one of Gawain’s values will be compromised, which may make readers prone to misinterpret the poet’s message about heroism; however, the final lines of the poem help to clarify the poet’s
When after each of the lord’s hunts, the huntsmen are successful and “boast of their prize” (1601), it seems that the lady too may succeed in her hunt of Gawain, corrupting his moral and religious virtue of chastity, but guarding his courtious reputation through not offending the lady. Although the lady is not actually successful in her seduction, Gawain does sin as a result of the entrapping nature of the exchange of winnings, as he lies to the lord in order to preserve his own life. One might argue that this foreshadowing that one of the protagonist’s personal values will be corrupted implies the notion that protecting personal values is not integral to being a hero. Indeed, with Gawain being the protagonist, it might be easy for the reader to interpret all of his actions as being heroic at this point in the poem. However, as earlier stated, in the end it is the fact that Gawain still recognizes himself as having committed “cowardice and coveting” (2508) despite still being respected among Arthur’s court and the Green Knight which demonstrates the poet’s ideals of heroism. All in all, the primitive nature of both the hunt and the seduction foreshadows that one of Gawain’s values will be compromised, which may make readers prone to misinterpret the poet’s message about heroism; however, the final lines of the poem help to clarify the poet’s