Gawain Essays (Examples)

Gawain the Two Sides of

Even in Mallory's work, Sir Gawain exhibits chivalrous and knightly behavior. When Sir Gareth arrives at Arthur's court unknown to the knights, Sir Gawain repeats his uncle's hospitality. Even though he was politely refused by his brother, whom he did not recognize, Gawain still extended a hand of hospitality to his brother Sir Gareth.

Despite his initial hospitality, Sir Gawain has a much more negative portrayal in Mallory's work. In this story Sir Gawain in transformed into a fool who fails to recognize his own brother on two separate occasions. When Sir Gareth first enters into Arthur's court, Sir Gawain does not recognize his own flesh and blood. Later, Sir Gawain engages in a joust with his own brother, "and there she cried all on high, Sir Gawain, Sir Gawain, leave thy fighting with thy brother Sir Gareth," (Mallory Chapter XXXIII). Later, after gaining his own recognition, Sir Gareth abandons…… [Read More]

Gawain Perceval Gawain and Perceval

As Pearsall indicates, in discussion on a French retelling by Chretien De Troyes, "Perceval's quest receives only 200 lines: he loses faith, meets some penitents on Good Friday who expound to him succinctly the meaning of Christ's sacrifice and goes to a hermit from whom he hears the explanation of the grail and from whom he himself receives communion." (Pearsall, 37) This may be perceived as a statement that Perceval had given his identity largely over to a quest that, once completed, had exhausted his purpose to either his world or the broader legend. One may also take the liberty of interpreting this to mean that the preoccupation of the Holy Grail was precisely that. Perhaps the diminishing relevance of Perceval with the passage of the grail story may be seen as a critical response to the religious aggression that is part and parcel to the crusades.

Indeed, Perceval is…… [Read More]

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The Unattainable Chivalric Code

Some Thoughts on Chivalry

The chivalric code is a paradigm that is both poorly understood and was even more poorly applied, not because the code was not clearly written down and able to be transferred among the people who it applied to but because of its very confusing historical development and even more confusing codification. The Chivalric code grew out of the desire by many to codify a new role in society, that of the knight. The knight though he had existed before did not previously have a role in society and therefore had only limited means of social control. In an attempt to respond to the lawlessness and brutality that arose from the development of this whole new class the, Christian mercenary soldier made up of individual men taught to fight mercilessly against his enemies and in consummate loyalty…… [Read More]

Illustrate Note Explain Roles Religion Sir Gawain Green Knight

Sir Gawain

eligion features prominently in the 14th century text Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story reveals the interface between indigenous pagan faiths and Christianity, especially as the two converge in the colonized Celtic regions such as Wales. As the story champions the hero, Sir Gawain, a Christo-centric message is being conveyed. Sir Gawain, although a problematic hero, is redeemed through his unwavering faith in Jesus and Mary. Christianity is presented as the prevailing social and religious order, replacing the pagan worldview. At the same time, the pagan worldview continues to provide a foundation and stability that is pervasive in the text. eligion in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is represented fully by Gawain's shield, bearing the image of Mother Mary on one side and the symbol of a pre-Christian Mother Goddess on the other. Christianity would express itself in Britain as a fusion of pagan and…… [Read More]

Beowulf Roland Sir Gawain Arthur

This acceptance reveals the flaw in his moral structure as it is evidence that he has a certain amount of fear of death, which means that his faith is not entirely impervious to doubt and that he is not morally perfect

The subsequent encounter between Gawain and the Green Knight reveals much of the strength of Gawain's moral attributes. He is brave in the face of the Knight. The Green Knight however does not kill Gawain due to his strong moral stature in refusing to succumb to the seductive advancer of Bertilak's wife. However, the Green Knight does nick Gawain's neck and draws blood. This is a sign that Gawain is being punished for his moral failure in accepting the green girdle. It is also clear at this point that the seduction of lady Bertialk was a central moral test that would determine Gawain's fate. The Green Knight is in…… [Read More]

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" tells the story of Sir Gawain as he journeys to meet his supposed death at the hands of the titular Green Knight, having promised to appear a year and a day following their first meeting. Gawain's journey from King Arthur's court, across England, and finally to the Green Chapel serves to demonstrate and comment upon the chivalric code professed and practiced in King Arthur's court, because it sees Gawain enacting the kinds of deeds the narrator lauds at the beginning of the poem and that the Green Knight mocks Arthur's court for failing to live up to. The chivalric code of Arthur's court relies nearly entirely on appearance, and the narration includes extended sequences describing the act of dressing and clothing itself. The arrival of the Green Knight may be read as an effort to intentionally…… [Read More]

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Dual Hunts in Sir Gawain and Green Knight

Hunting plays an extremely important role in the medieval epic, Sir Gaiwan and green knoght. In this poem, almost everything is symbolized and conveyed with the help of hunts, which makes the poem truly medieval in nature. It also says a lot about the author of this great piece of poetry. While we do not know much about the author and the poem is largely considered anonymously written, it is believed that he must have been a contemporary of Chaucer because of the language used in the epic. The story itself is also unique. It presents a colorful and rich image of courtly life and knightly adventures.

PETE J. LEITHAT (2003) Professor of theology and literature at New St. Andrews College Idaho describes the general nature of the poem in these words:

The anonymous alliterative Middle English poem "Sir Gawain and the…… [Read More]

Compare Heroism in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Beowulf" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" are two tales which show striking similarities in many different literary aspects. These two tales, which were passed down orally from generation to generation in Northern Europe, include many elements of heroic legend and the epic hero. An epic hero, such as Beowulf or Sir Gawain, possesses the qualities of valor, military prowess, loyalty, generosity, and honor. These ideals are also associated with the Chivalric Code. The portrayal of heroism in "Beowulf" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is similar in the way the heroes show valor and loyalty, but differs in the story of personal struggle and self-discipline.

The two main characters in each poem, Beowulf and Sir Gawain, are indisputable heroes of the Middle Ages. Both men fought valiantly against super-human creatures and both men underwent great journeys to partake in these battles. However, Beowulf was doing so to…… [Read More]

Beowulf and Sir Gawain as

He expresses his misery to his uncle, Arthur, but publicly puts on a happy face for everyone else.

ut Gawain said with cheerful face:

Why shrink back from the quest?

Though fate bring glory or disgrace man must meet the test."

Gawain is bedecked in all kinds of martial finery, but is full of woe. This furthers the theme of Gawain putting on airs of valor without truly possessing any. His trip is one of misery and hardship and he begins to learn the error of his ways after some time alone in a harsh wilderness full of dangers. eowulf doesn't endure such hardships in the story, but the action he faces is from when he was younger and ended up adrift for five days at sea, fending off sharks and the like.

When Gawain enters a castle he comes to, he is greeted cheerfully but there is an undercurrent…… [Read More]

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written ca. 1375-1400, is an Arthurian tale that recounts a quest undertaken by Gawain after he accepts a challenge from a mysterious Green Knight. Under the terms of the challenge, Gawain will be allowed to cut off the Green Knight's head only if he accepts that in a year and a day, the Green Knight will reciprocate the action. The story is combination of two types of stories -- folklore and romance -- and is rife with symbolism. Additionally, the tale highlights change and transformation, particularly on behalf of Gawain as he not only proves he is a worthy and chivalrous knight, but that he is as worthy a hero as the heroes that came before him, such as Beowulf.

In the story, the color green is associated with the Green Knight. While the guests at King Arthur's feast are shocked by the appearance…… [Read More]

Honor in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain

Towards the end of the tale about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain tells the Green Knight's wife "this is the bond of the blame that I bear in my neck this is the harm and the loss I have suffered, the cowardice and covetousness in which I was caught, the token of my covenant in which I was taken." Gawain was talking about a piece of lace that the lady had given him to protect him from the blade of the Green Knight. Like many of the tales from that era, honor was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight's primary subject. The entire premise of the story is based on the fact that the Green Knight had heard so much about the honor of the Knight's of King Arthur's Round Table, that he decided to discover for himself whether that honor was warranted or not.…… [Read More]

Sir Gawain and the Green Night the

Sir Gawain and the Green Night

The Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight features a number of female characters, and when taken together, they manage to portray the entire (albeit limited) spectrum of sexist tropes and roles allowed women in the vast majority of literature. Though some of them serve crucial functions in the plot, for example by testing Sir Gawain or hiding the Green Knight's identity, the roles they occupy nevertheless reproduce the very limited opportunity, in fiction and reality, offered to women. hen examining each of the female characters in the poem, it becomes clear that they are merely detailed versions of more general sexist tropes, and while they function as key elements of the plot, they do not hold any genuine agency or subjectivity.

The first woman introduced is Queen Guinevere, and although she is a queen, she does not have any genuine authority in…… [Read More]

Women in Sir Gawain and

Sir Gawain cuts off the knight's head, and the knight leaves, with a promise from Gawain to extract his pledge next year.

Gawain, true to form, finds the Green Knight's abode and resides there, waiting and dreading the final strike. All the while, the Green Knight's wife makes attempts to seduce Gawain. Yet although the woman is apparently false (later, this is shown to be a deliberately staged test of Gawain's chaste honor to his host) Gawain is true to his values and the honor owed to even a less than hospitable host. For his valor of spirit as well as his manly courage, the Green Knight spares Gawain. But as inspiring as this story may be in terms of knightly valor, it is noteworthy that the female body, unlike the male body is never tested -- rather it is only a sexual test for Gawain, or a symbol of…… [Read More]

Sir Gawain

Sir Gawain

Comparing Sir Gawain to the archetype character of a knight, similar to the knights in King Arthur's court, he possesses characteristics that define and at the same time provide a humane side to his knightly stature. As the archetypal knight, Sir Gawain is similar to King Arthur's knights in that he possesses the brave and resolute attitude of an honorable knight. He had shown these qualities when he met the Green Knight at the Green Chapel for a duel, where the impending threat and doom of death did not hinder him from courageously accepting his enemy's proposal. Despite the feeling that danger awaits him, Gawain mustered enough courage to at least face the challenge ahead of him: " ... If I turned back now / Forsook this place for fear, and fled ... / I were a caitiff coward; I could not be excused." These lines tells us…… [Read More]

Chivalry the Shield and Sir Gawain

Chivalry and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Introduction
In the medieval world, chivalry was a code of conduct—a principle of behavior—expected of courteous knights, as endlessly expressed by one of the most famous knights of all time, Don Quixote.[footnoteRef:2] In the medieval story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, chivalry takes center stage in the action, as the plot essentially pivots on what it means to be chivalrous and how chivalry should be embodied. Sir Gawain undergoes a moral test; the Green Knight is a kind of mythical, mystical judge who puts him through the test; and at the end of it, Sir Gawain emerges humbled and conscious of his shortcomings. The tale is a moral one[footnoteRef:3] and this paper will examine how the medieval concept of chivalry is applied in the story and what it means for Sir Gawain personally after he realizes the fullness of his behavior…… [Read More]

Arthurian Literature

Pearl Poet's Sir Gawain

The Arthurian Legends are one of the most mysterious of Middle English literature. For many years historians have tried to match King Arthur to one of the Early Kings of Britain, however, all attempts have met without success. It is now generally accepted that King Arthur and the other Knights of the Round table represent a composite of the behaviors and attitudes of people of that time period. The same can be said of the character of Sir Gawain in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." As social attitudes changed, so do the ideal characteristics that exemplify virtue and purity. The character Sir Gawain appears in many versions of the Arthurian Legends. The characteristics and attitudes of Sir Gawain seem to shoe a shift over time. The most widely accepted version of the character of Sir Gawain is the version that is attributed to the poet…… [Read More]

Courtly Love

Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Although Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is considered to be a romantic poem because of its nature and the era in which it was written, it does not represent romance in the traditional sense of courtly love during the medieval times. It is worth mentioning that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight does not substantially represent any of the conventions listed in "The Art of Courtly Love" by Capallanus, but instead focuses on the chivalrous nature of an honorable knight who struggles when his chivalry comes into conflict with his basic need for self-preservation.

This paper will examine Gawain's character, which is clearly very noble, and how this conflict between morality and mortality becomes almost a mockery by the poet by the end of the poem. Through satire, the poet is able to show the reader how even the noblest and…… [Read More]

Green Knight vs The Mario

Mario, however, is not so lucky. He finds Bowser, and is forced to do battle with the giant beast until Bowser inadvertently casts himself into the fiery abyss of his own creation. Bowser's downfall is rather ironic: what ultimately ruins his grand designs of Mushroom domination is the structure of the castle that he built himself.

Despite the dissimilarities concerning the identities of their enemies, both Mario and Sir Gawain are victorious because they live up to their reputations as good and honorable heroes. Sir Gawain travels back to Camelot where he is praised by his King and the other Knights of the Round Table. Mario receives an identical homecoming -- he is praised as the conquering hero of the Mushroom realm. Stories, feasts, and games follow in both lands. Eventually in the Mushroom realm, even Bowser is allowed into the noble games and he races alongside Mario is his…… [Read More]

Hero in Literature and the Hunt Symbolism

unter and the unted:

Courtly Love and the Many Faces of the ero

Literature abounds in depictions of the hero.

Solomon, Esther, Gawain, and countless others call to mind tales of strength, valor, and passion. Whether a text's purpose is religious, instructional, or purely a matter of entertainment, a single character stands out. Emotion is often overpowering, as too, are the choices between what is right and what is wrong. Morality plays an equally important role in each of these "superhuman" stories. Frequently, the path of virtue is crossed by the highways of desire. A hero may take the high road, or he may take the low road, but which choice is correct depends upon the specific circumstances of the narrative, and upon the central figure's point-of-view. A bewildering array of problems, impossible tasks, and larger-than-life villains can turn closely-held beliefs inside out, and cause a hero to commit acts…… [Read More]

Old and Middle English

Knighthood and Chivalry: Heroism, Love, and Honor in "Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"

Fourteenth century literature was characteristically based on medieval period, wherein the dominance of Christianity is evident in estern society during that time. Influenced by the image of a knight, who serves as a warrior and man of noble birth, literary works during this period centered on the virtues taught to be important by the Church: love, honor, and chivalry. These are the characteristics that every heroic knight should have: respect for other people and the self, respect for love, and protecting those people who are unable to protect themselves from harm.

These are the traits that readers see in the images of the 'knights' depicted in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Belonging to the 14th century estern literary period, these works have illustrated how…… [Read More]

British Lit Legends Tales About

"

In total contrast with these heroes lies the modern hero or better said the modern man defined by his struggle for power. The idea of an individual selling his or her soul to the devil for knowledge is an old motif in Christian folklore, one that is centered upon in Cristopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus."

Doctor Faustus, a well-respected German scholar unsatisfied with the traditional forms of knowledge decides he wants to learn to practice magic. He begins his career as a magician summoning Mephastophilis, a devil while Valdes and Cornelius instruct him in the black arts. Despite the devil's warnings about hell Faustus tells the devil to return to his master Lucifer with an offer of Faustus's soul in exchange for twenty-five years of service from Mephistopheles. As the twenty-five years have passed, Faustus begins to dread his impending death and on the final night he is overcome by…… [Read More]

Knighthood Medieval Knighthood or Chivalry

By the late thirteenth century he had his own seal. The various officials concerned with the holy infirmary, the infirmary for sick brothers and almsgiving were under his authority. From 1340, the hospitaller was a brother from the tongue of France."(Nicholson, 77) Thus, the knights were mainly warriors who nevertheless had numerous other attributions, such as being actively engaged in charity actions and other social services. Percival's quest for the Holy Grail exemplifies the sublime missions assigned to the most virtuous of knights.

Thus, knighthood can be identified as an important cell in the Middle Ages, with a complex ideology of its own but also with a determinate role in society.

orks Cited

Harper-Bill, Christopher ed. And Ruth Harvey ed. Medieval Knighthood IV: Papers from the Fifth Strawberry Hill Conference 1990. oodbridge: Boydell, 1992

Kaeuper, Richard . Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Nicholson,…… [Read More]

Christian Themes in Everyman Beowulf

Beowulf experiences tough circumstances and because he does the right things, he emerges a hero and can live knowing he did the best he could. Here, responsibility leads to good works and, subsequently, a good life.

In "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," we see Christian values displayed when Gawain accepts his responsibility in much the same way that Grendel does. hen examining the story of Sir Gawain, we cannot overlook the importance of chivalry, which is strongly associated with Christian ideals. Gawain maintain the knight's high ideals even when he under pressure. hen Gawain is traveling to the Green Chapel, he speaks with God, working out his own fear and uneasiness. The result of this conversation is a renewed sense of honor and a urgency to continue. Another example of how the poet intended Gawain to carry these ideals with him is in the pentangle, in which he describes…… [Read More]

Gender Women Occupy Conflicted and Ambiguous Roles

Gender

Women occupy conflicted and ambiguous roles in Middle English and enaissance English literature. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night all show how male authors in particular grappled with the role of women in an increasingly patriarchal society. Women feature prominently in each of these stories, even if their status and perceived morality is questionable. Each of these stories features women who have a fair degree of power, albeit expressed within the confines of a patriarchal social and political construct. What's more, the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canterbury Tales, and Twelfth Night create their own power; power is not "given" to them by self-serving benevolent men. In fact, women like Morgan Le Fay, Lady Bertilak, the Wife of Bath, and Viola all wield power effectively. Women and men occupy separate and distinct spheres, and each wields a different type…… [Read More]

Chaucer and Pearl Poet

Pearl-Poet

Indeed, few figures are more dominant in any era of literature in any language or cultural tradition, than both Chaucer and the Pearl-Poet are in the way that they tower over the rest of Middle English literature in terms of having crated the most imposing, lasting, and resounding works of literature associated with that time period and that stage of the development of the English language. Indeed, both Chaucer's and the Pearl-Poet's works are indubitably some of the most important and lasting of any works in English literature and without their contributions to the early development of literary style in English, it is difficult to imagine the stage having been properly set for any of the later greats of Modern English, from Shakespeare on down to Joyce. Indeed, for the very fact that their works was so unbelievably influential in even setting the tone for the sort of literature…… [Read More]

Courtly Love

Courtly love is, in general form, a structured form of male / female interaction which was infused with a poetic, heroic, romantic idealism about the virtue of both the man and the woman. The core idea of Courtly Love, as defined by Capellanus, is that the woman (or Lady) should be worshipped, ardently pursued, and intensely desired. She is to receive this attention and devotion not because of an intrinsic beauty and nobility (read: only the members of the upper class were capable of Courtly love), but because she capable of endowing the male with virtue and honor because of and through her acceptance and faith in him. The Lady, then, is to judge her suitor upon the basis of his character, his noble deeds of gentleness and courtesy, his degree of chivalry, not his incidental qualities. In this dynamic, the Lady is obligated through her social responsibility, to accept…… [Read More]

Courtly Love

Courtly Love -- the French Ethos Embodied in the Romantic Lancelot, and the English Ethos Embodied in the Dutiful Gawain

In many ways, the courtly love narratives of medieval chivalric romance were equally as formulaic as Hollywood romances today. The typical Hollywood romance is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl, while the typical courtly love scenario might be defined along the lines of knight pines for (married) lady, married lady pines for knight, knight does great deeds in the name of the unattainable lady, and both come to tragic ends. The French chivalric romance adopted many of the characters and conventions of the English tales of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, such as the thwarted love for the greatest and most loyal knight Lancelot for Arthur's queen Guinevere. But when the French chivalric genre, as exemplified Chretien de Troyes' Lancelot, "Knight of the Cart"…… [Read More]

Courtly Love Is Expressed in Sir Gadwain

Courtly Love" is expressed in ir Gadwain and the Green Knight

How social and cultural events influenced the development of the selected theme "Courtly Love"

What makes the selected work uniquely English

The term 'courtly' love only evolved far later. Here, in ir Gawain and the Green Knight,, t he poet refers to it as 'courtesy'. It is still uncertain whether courtly love was a social construction or a literary notion that existed in many medieval romances (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight/about.html). Either way, it was pervasive. The most influential and earliest book on courtly love was that written by Andreas Capellanus in the 1170s where he provides rules of love that are illustrated by a story of a knight on the way to the court of King Arthur. The knight was a man devoted to pleasing the lady. The fact that the lady was married was no impediment to the knight. He was…… [Read More]

Perceval the Arthurian Legends May

This includes the need to maintain chastity, a test Perceval passes when he "has a close call with sexual temptation: slipping into bed with a demon in alluringly feminine form, he is only saved when his glance falls on the red cross inscribed on his sword pommel. The 'lady' and her silk tent disappear in a flash and a puff of smoke, leaving the tell-tale sulphurous stench of hell. A distraught Perceval stabs himself through the left thigh in penance" (Kaeuper 258). Such ability to resist is the mark of a knight, though many of the stories also suggest that the knight often fails this test at some point and then has to do penance to make up for his failure.

hether the Grail derives from Christian ideas first or from Celtic images and stories, over time the idea of the Grail did become more associated with Christian symbols so…… [Read More]

Le Morte D'arthur the Legend

No other hero is so frequently mentioned. He is the only person so important that triads are enlarged into tetrads to fit him in. (Ashe 45)

The account that did the most to establish Arthur as a prominent historical figure was the History of the Kings of Britain written in 1135 by Geoffrey of Monmouth, a elsh monk, and the book provides a history of the earliest kings of Britain, some 99 in all, including King Coel, known to us today from the nursery rhyme as Old King Cole. About one-fifth of the book is devoted to Arthur, and Geoffrey provides the first organized version of the story. Many of the elements that would be part of the later tradition were missing, however. Arthur's court is not at Camelot but at a place called Caerlon-on-Usk, or City of Legions. Geoffrey contributed at least three new elements to the existing histories…… [Read More]

Arthurian Legend and Myth --

She receives the wounded king after the last battle and offers to cure him if he remains long enough." (Rise, 2001) Because Christianity had such a difficult time "assimilating a benevolent enchantress," into Camelot's structure of tales, particularly a female outside of male religious spheres of power, Morgana "becomes more and more sinister," in later tales, and also more human in her jealousies and passionate wrangling in Camelot. (Rise, 2001)

In Malory's "Morte d'Arthur" for example, Morgana gives Excalibur to her lover Accolon so he can use it against Arthur. In the anonymous but still clearly Christian poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" Morgana is presented as the instigator of the Green Knight's visit to Arthur's court, partly motivated by her desire to frighten the Queen. (Camelot Project, 2004) "Part of Christianity's failure to understand the character of Morgan was their misapplied versions of morality. They imposed a Judeo-Christian…… [Read More]

Odyssey and Arthurian Legend the

The supernatural element is also often present in the Arthurian legends, such as the appearance of the Green Knight in Sir Gawain, and it is an important part of the mystical experiences described in the legends. In a sense, the knights, just like the epic heroes, are confronted with the supernatural so as to prove their worthiness, but the difference is that the knights, such as Lancelot, Percival or King Arthur himself engage in a mystical experience rather than in a mere confrontation with their own destiny, as Ulysses does. The romance is thus more concerned with the inner qualities of the knights. Courtly love also plays a very important part in the romances, as the knights are usually devoted to God, to their king or liege and to a beautiful and virtuous lady.

The Odyssey and the Arthurian Legend

There are many similarities, as well as significant differences between…… [Read More]

Malory Comparison Thomas Malory's L'morte

The question of how the knights may prove themselves as Christian men of might and lordly loyalty yet negotiate courtly love ethics is important to Malory, rather than the Camelot kingdom's ethics and laws as in Tennyson.

Also, the French tales adapted by Malory for his story were more fascinated and focused upon the character of the French Lancelot and Lancelot's relationship with Queen Guinevere. These were seen as embodying Christian courtly love ideals as well as being adulterous. The noble French Lancelot sacrifices all for the queen -- his sworn loyalty to his lord and king, his reputation, and even his faith in the divine in Malory. This is seen as somewhat sublime albeit foolhardy by the author Malory. But this act provokes mostly outrage and nationalist pride in Tennyson instead. Tennyson crafts poems that give greater significance to the coming of Arthur at the earlier parts of the…… [Read More]

The Tattoo Experience Regrets and Memories

Janes used humor to describe her "failed" tattoo as a Rorschach inkblot. This was a light-hearted, comedic way of showing how what she wanted (something delicate but strong -- like an iron-wrought fence) could turn out so wrong. Dolgoff's humor is more situational -- popping Vicodin to get through a tattooing. The humor works for both pieces, because it lightens the mood: Janes refers to herself as a "badass" in a playful but serious way and Dolgoff shows a softer, more sensitive side to getting a tattoo.

I don't think they would need to be forgiven anymore. Today, so many people have tattoos that it just seems like something that is accepted. Especially as the younger generation grows up, the tattoo taboo will recede into the past like an ancient memory. It is almost like a rite of passage today -- or an expression of creative genius, as Dolgoff notes.…… [Read More]

Villains in Beowulf and the Song of

villains in Beowulf and the Song of Roland, I believe those in the last-mentioned work are more justified in their actions than those in Beowulf. This at least is true from the perspective of the 20th century religious paradigm. In the modern world, it is vitally important to display a tolerant attitude towards all pardigms of religion and other directions of philosophy. In Beowulf there is a direct rivalry between the villagers and the monster, Grendel. There is little doubt that Grendel is a monster and a bully, without any right to reprieve or defense. His mother is the only one prepared to defend him, and she does so to her own demise. Of course this could be understood from the perspective of the family paradigm. Nonetheless, Grendel was never justified in his slaughter of the celebrating party. His villainy is apparently inherent, and he simply enjoys terrorising people without…… [Read More]

Warrior Hero A Stranger in a Strange

arrior Hero: A Stranger in a Strange Land

The figure of the hero is set apart from the common herd of ordinary men by virtue of his special qualities and abilities; in some works, this separateness is literal - he is in a strange land apart from his own kin. To see how this alienation enhances the tale of the hero's conflict, The Odyssey, Beowulf and The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice will be considered.

Odysseus, Beowulf and Othello are all warrior heroes. Odysseus, in The Odyssey, has been instrumental in the victory at Troy, and now fights to return to Ithaca and bring his men safely home; more struggles await him there. Beowulf, a great fighter who has proven his mettle in many conflicts, hears about the depredations of Grendel on Heorot Hall and journeys there to rescue Hrothgar's people. His role in the conflicts against the…… [Read More]

Elizabethan Love Poetry Is Laden

He "almost" despises himself but still seems not to think that his actions were absolutely wrong. Furthermore, the narrator of the Shakespeare Sonnet finds solace and comfort in thinking of his lover. By thinking of the one he loves, a human being, the narrator feels absolved of any wrongdoing. The narrator of the Shakespeare Sonnet is more concerned with the consequences of his actions, such as being an outcast, than with whether the action was right or wrong. For Herbert, morality is quite the opposite. Herbert suggests that the human condition is itself a state of sin.

Therefore, a central difference between secular and religious morality as expressed in Elizabethan poetry is between absolute and situational ethics. For Herbert, morality is based on a set of absolute values that God and only God can create. God is the "Just Judge" and God's judgments transcend any human laws (l 12). Moreover,…… [Read More]

Pilgrims Progress

STYLE OF RITING AND TEACHING METHODS IN PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

Teaching and preaching have always been considered cornerstones of Christian beliefs. For devout Christians, teaching others about various things of value is what their entire religion is based upon as Gospel of Matthew mentions that Jesus is believed to have instructed his disciples to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the orld" (Matthew 28: 19-20). Teaching has thus been considered an important part of religious beliefs and it is one responsibility that Christians must shoulder. For this prominent Christian figures with authority over the subject have also upheld the responsibility of teaching. Saint Augustine for example maintained that it was…… [Read More]