English Literature 11A
Apolinario
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ( 4-5 page essay )
“In most of the personages who are thus slain in mimicry, it is impossible not to
recognize representatives of the tree spirit of the spirit of vegetation… but if these
persons represent the spirit of vegetation, the question arises: „Why kill them?‟. The only
probable answer to this question seems to be given in the explanation already proposed of
the custom of killing the divine king or priest. The divine life, incarnate in a material and
mortal body, is liable to be tainted and corrupted by the weakness of the frail medium in
which it is for a time enshrined; and if it is to be saved from the increasing enfeeblement
which it must necessarily share with its human incarnation as he advances in years, it
must be detached from him before, or at least as soon as he exhibits signs of decay in
order to be transferred to a vigorous successor. This is done by killing the old
representative of the god and conveying the divine spirit from him to a new incarnation.
The killing of the god, that is of his human incarnation, is merely a necessary step in his
revival or resurrection in a better form.”
from the Golden Bough by Sir J G Frazer
Prompt: In (40 minutes) write a 4-5 paragraph essay use the preceding excerpt, discuss
the patterns of physical and/ or spiritual rebirth that follow from Sir Gawain‟s ritual
beheading contest with the Green Knight. Include quotes/ paraphrases from the above
passage and specific examples from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in your answer.
Step 1: Identify all underlined vocabulary, then re-read the passage in a more
appropriate context, using your new definitions to replace the underlined words. Now the
passage should make a whole lot more sense.
Step 2: What do you know about the allegory of the beheading game? What does it
seem to mimic in the agrarian community of these people?
Step 3: Think about this statement from your lecture on the hero journey in relation to
Gawain’s tale & the prompt: It is clear then that there can be no redemption without fault,
just as one is unable to return from exile without first being sent into one. One's worth is
only so much greater after a return from a fall, since if one is flawless, one has nothing to
gain and therefore nothing to teach to others.
Step 4: It was brought up in class that Sir Gawain is not perfect. He is a human being
capable of making mistakes. Yet he remains a hero not because he is flawless. How is
this possible and related to the prompt?
Step 5: Answer the prompt directly
 Create a thesis – what do you want the audience to understand?
 Us the excerpt, to talk about patterns of physical and/ or spiritual rebirth in the
story of Sir Gawain.
 Include quotes/ paraphrases from the above passage and specific examples
from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 Conclude it satisfactorily by restating what you wanted the audience to
understand, and how they learned it from your explanations.
English Literature 11A
Apolinario
Response 1
In this passage, we find ourselves in King Arthur's court during a Christmas feast. A
Green Knight has just proposed a challenge before the court, a game in which a blow for a blow
shall be given. Seeing that no one is willing to accept this challenge, King Arthur himself steps up
to the Green Knight, ready to defend his honor. Sir Gawain, being a noble knight, asks the court if
he can replace King Arthur in the game. His wish is granted.
The passage begins as King Arthur calls Sir Gawain to his side to give him his weapon
and blessing. As Gawain kneels before his lord, King Arthur says: "Keep, cousin what you cut
with this day, and if you rule it aright, then readily, I know, you shall stand the stroke it will strike
after." (Norton p. 210) With these words King Arthur implies that since Sir Gawain has the first
hit, he has nothing to worry about, since the Green Knight will be dead and unable to return the
blow.
The Green Knight asks Gawain to go over the terms of the game and asks to know his
name. Gawain replies: "In good faith, Gawain am I whose buffet befalls you, what'er betide after,
and at this time twelvemonth take from you another with what weapon you will, and with no man
else alive." ( Norton p. 210 ) In this statement Gawain not only asserts himself but also makes
sure that if he kills the Green Knight with his blow, no one shall take his place.
Satisfied with that answer, the Green Knight reminds Sir Gawain that he must find him on his
own, as promised before the court. However when Gawain asks the Green Knight where his
home could be found, the Green Knight delays his answer, saying that Gawain will know soon
enough after the blow where to find him. Not finding out the true identity of the Green Knight
may be Gawain's first mistake. It is always important to know your enemies, especially when a
very big, very green knight, who comes out of nowhere, presents one with a challenge.
Having resolved the terms of the agreement, the Green Knight gets ready for the blow by
kneeling down and moving his long green hair away from his neck. Gawain skillfully grips the ax
and strikes the Green Knight with all his might, cutting through the flesh with such force that the
blade ends up in the ground. The head falls from the bleeding body and rolls on the floor under
the feet of the observers. But, to everyone's surprise, the Green Knight doesn't fall. Instead, he
stands up, stretches out his hand and picks up his fallen head. He then mounts his horse and sits
with his head in hand ready to speak as everyone watches in shock.
Thus this passage ends, but it's only the beginning of things to come. In this passage
Gawain is seen as a hero, a noble knight who steps up to the challenge, defending his lord and his
kingdom. However, Sir Gawain is not perfect. He is a human being capable of making mistakes.
Yet he remains a hero not because he is flawless, but because he is able to learn from his
mistakes, becoming a better person as a result.This passage then, is start of a journey of Sir
Gawain through many challenges, that will ultimately not only bring his fall, but also his
subsequent return to the court as a better men. This concept of felix culpa 'fortunate fall' is being
alluded to through mentioning of Felix Brutus in line 13 of the tale. Brutus was a great-grandson
of Aeneas and a legendary founder of Britain. Only here is he given the name "Felix", meaning
favorable and fortunate. This tells the reader that he was fortunate in being able to overcome
obstacles in his path and rising as a leader of Britain. This is in spite of the fact that he was
doomed to fail, labeled in a prophecy before his birth as a son of death who would kill his parents
and be hated by all men.
It is clear then that there can be no redemption without fault, just as one is unable to
return from exile without first being sent into one. One's worth is only so much greater after a
return from a fall, since if one is flawless, one has nothing to gain and therefore nothing to teach
to others. Likewise, those who have fallen from the top and then struggled to climb back up are
looked up to as role models. Furthermore, in today's society, more respect is given to those who
have struggled to achieve success than to those who have come to power and wealth thorough
lineage.
Sir Gawain's fall is therefore fortunate because it leads to his return as a better knight
who has learned humility and the true meaning of honor. This passage carries great significance
through the tale because it sets the stage for Sir Gawain's fall and a journey from which he shall
return a greater man.
English Literature 11A
Apolinario
Response 2
In this passage Gawain is seen as a hero, a noble knight who steps up to the challenge,
defending his lord and his kingdom. However, Sir Gawain is not perfect. He is a human being
capable of making mistakes. Yet he remains a hero not because he is flawless, but because he is
able to learn from his mistakes, becoming a better person as a result. This passage then, is start of
a journey of Sir Gawain through many challenges, that will ultimately not only bring his fall, but
also his subsequent return to the court as a better men. This concept of felix culpa 'fortunate fall'
is being alluded to through Frazer‟s lines in his essay, The Golden Bough,
“The divine life, incarnate in a material and mortal body, is liable to be tainted
and corrupted by the weakness of the frail medium in which it is for a time
enshrined; and if it is to be saved from the increasing enfeeblement which it must
necessarily share with its human incarnation as he advances in years, it must be
detached from him before, or at least as soon as he exhibits signs of decay in
order to be transferred to a vigorous successor.”
Frazer speaks of Gawain‟s own soul as being divine since it is a gift from God. The soul is
immortal, an abstract concept, unlike the body which is merely a physical manifestation. As the
shell of a man grows weaker and more ruined by age and sin, there needs to be a purging of the
soul. This separation allows the body to gain strength and allows the soul to return to a purified
and virtuous host. This tells the reader that Gawain, despite his faults, was fortunate in being able
to overcome obstacles in his path, such as the Green Knight and his wife‟s temptations, and rise
as a knight of Britain.
It is clear then that there can be no redemption without fault, just as one is unable to
return from exile without first being sent into one. Frazer states that, “ The killing of the god, … ,
is merely a necessary step in his revival or resurrection in a better form.” This lets the reader
recognize that one's worth is only so much greater after a return from a fall, since if one is
flawless, one has nothing to gain and therefore nothing to teach to others. Likewise, those who
have fallen from the top and then struggled to climb back up are looked up to as role models.
Furthermore, in today's society, more respect is given to those who have struggled to achieve
success than to those who have come to power and wealth thorough lineage.
Sir Gawain's fall is therefore fortunate because it leads to his return as a better knight
who has learned humility and the true meaning of honor. Gawain‟s growth physically is not
merely in strength, but in the superficial and chivalric eyes of the other knights. His personal
development is one that is unseen by all, except Gawain himself who recognizes the futility in his
own humanity. It is where his faith in God and the chivalric code falls to temptation; like Adam
in the garden of Paradise. It is here that he loses his moral innocence when his original value
system is shattered by the end of the poem, and he is force to re-evaluate his beliefs.
Gawain‟s tale along with the passage by Frazer carries great significance through the
metaphors of the tale, because they set the stage for Sir Gawain's fall and a journey from which
he shall return a greater man more spiritually than physically. He is forced to confront the forces
of Nature both external and internal -- in the form of the Green Knight, the winter landscape, his
own sexual desire, and ultimately, his own fear of death. In the end his natural fear of death
overcomes his sense of human morality, causing him to accept the green girdle. This is similar to
when Jesus cried out to his Father to take away the burden of being the lamb of God for the
Jewish people. When Gawain returns to human society at the end of the poem, it is with a sense
of unease, he realizes that his human beliefs have no comparison to the divine in all of us.
Through his travels, Gawain learns the irony of human nature: the quest has never been and
external conflict, it has always been an internal one; thus the reason to cleanse the soul and
prepare it for a new beginning. Symbolically it is the closing of winter in order to prepare for
spring.