Sir Gawain in Transition Essays -- Sir Gawain Papers

Sir Gawain in Transition Sir Gawain has played a significant region in Arthurian legends since the Middle Ages. His first major appearing in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight depicts Gawain as a warrior rather than a cleaning ladyizing nickname like others from King Arthurs court. Even in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain focuses on his action with the yard knight rather than the advances of Bercilaks wife. During Gawains visit to Bercilaks castle, his wife makes three particularised advances to entice Gawain into an adulteress relationship. Although Gawain faces certain death with the Green Knight, he declines any(prenominal) sexual involvement with Bercilaks wife. Gawains character remains faithful to his warrior image by rushing into battle with the green knight rather than prolonging his stay at Bercilaks castle. Although he exhibits this obsession with battle in many stories, Gawains role changes drastically between his style in The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell and his later appearance in Howard Pyles The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. Although these stories employ similar plots, Gawains character undergoess a dramatic transformation. In The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell Gawain reveals his loyalty to King Arthur by agreeing the marry the Loathly lady after she saves the kings life. This not the first appearance of the loathly lady in Medieval literature. In Chaucers Canterbury Tales, the Knights Tale reiterates the old(prenominal) folklore motif that concerns the transformation of the ugly hag into a beautiful woman after a man has placed himself under her sovereynte and incorporates the theme of A Riddle Asked and Answered (Wilhelm 467). ... ...en he learns to love the women he marries, Gawain argues with his new wife and then mutters so be it when confronted with her choice. Gawain refuses to learn from his mistakes in Pyles business relationship. In both Pyles story and T he Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, Gawain does not battle as he does with the green knight instead, he marries and enters the marital war zone rather than those fought on the battlefield. BibliographyLupack, Alan, ed. Modern Arthurian Literature. New York Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992. Vasta, Edward. Chaucer, Gower, and the Unknown Minstrel The literary Liberation of the Loathly Lady. Exemplaria. 395-419.Wilhelm, James J., ed. The Romance of Arthur. New York Garland Publishing, Inc., 1994. sack Text version of The Marriage of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell is at http//rodent.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/ragnell.htm