Realism in
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Shabana Khilj
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the poet presents the medieval idea of a knight being the symbol of
ideal perfection. Though a highly realistic and ironical approach, the poets proves that no one can be
perfect, not even the most venerated knight at the court of the great King Arthur.
Throughout the poem, the poet uses subtle humour and irony in describing the idealized medieval
concepts of courage, love and courtesy. In this article I shall study the human and realistic elements in
the poem and establish that the poet does not believe in the stock, idealized, characterization of his
hero.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the best example of how the elements of French literature__chivalry,
courtly love and psychological insight into character___ were combined with the adventure stories of
the English.
Geoffery of Monmouth’s History of Kings of Britain, written in the middle of the twelfth century,
triggered the popularity of the Arthurian legends. This Latin work was translated into French by Wace, a
Norman from Gersey. The French influence was dominant in this period and the English writers
borrowed, imitated or adopted whatever they found worthy in French literature. Thus Layamou, a
Wellish priest, translated Wace’s work into English and called it Burt (c. 1205). Arthur became the
symbol of an ideal English king, comparable to Charmagne and the Arthurian Knights became heroes
with highly idealized qualities.
The medieval knight is a warrior, defender of the faith and a merry lover. Most medieval romances
present such knights or noblemen who are very strong, brave and virtuous; they face marvelous
adventures but seldom seem normal humans. Sir Gawain has all the attributes of such a romance. It tells
a highly marvelous and thought-provoking story of a knight whose character is tested through a
beheading challenge, and different temptations. His virtues are presented in a very elaborate and
exaggerated manner for the sake of emphasis. “Sir Gawain was known as the good, refined gold,/
Graced with virtues of castle, of villainy void, /made clean.” (633-35)1. He is “faultless” (640), the
gentlest“ (639), and such superlatives and adjectives (“noble”, “courteous”, “great”) are used
throughout the poem.
The setting of the poem is that of a true romance. Both the courts are splendid in their beauty, warmth
and lavish way of life. The ladies are the loveliest (the ugly one is the ugliest), the lords, the bravest and
most courteous, and the fun and comfort limitless. In contrast, the world outside has trolls and
monsters, the weather is extremely hostile and all kinds of wild animals are at large. The hero is fearless
and strong; the greatest difficulty for him is the weather and not the strange creatures, for he is armed
with valour and piety.
The Green knight is the most wonderful of all the beings in this strange world. He is green from head to
toe, even his horse is green. His head is struck off by Gawain, but the body picks it up and the severed
head starts speaking with great majesty. This is the stuff romances are made of.
Again, the preoccupations of the characters in the poem are those of the characters of typical romances.
There are great feasts, celebrations, tournaments and challenges, dances, courtly games and flirtations;
fights with marvelous creatures and, above all, beheading games, solemn promises and magic charms. In
short, it is a marvelous world, “a world where wonder is expected..2”. The king does not leave “till a
strange story of something eventful/was told him (93-94)” or “someone besought him to send a true
knight/ to join him in proving the perils of jousting, / life against life.” (96-98).
1
The textual translation used in this paper is that of T.H. Bakes in The age of Chaucer edited by William Frost (New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc. 1961), 341-404.
2 Williams Frost, Intro. The Age of Chaucer, 21.
Nothing is explained, nor is anything marveled at, but nothing seems vague or out of place. Theclothes
might almost have been a modern novelist------ merely accepting a fabulous story, and adding
accessories from real life, manners and conversations.3
There is nothing cheap or sensational about this romance. It uses the romance ingredients in a very
realistic manner, doing away with stereotypical characterization. The marvelous happenings are an
integral part of the poem and appear normal in comparison to the hero’s ordeal. He has to be tested
and the more difficult his predicament, the greater the dramatic effect. As Ker says, “the author’s choice
of a plot is justified because what he wants is an ordeal of courage that is afforded by the green Knight’s
jeopardy”.4
The test of Sir Gawain, and through him of the whole Arthurian court, is the most remarkable feature of
the poem. It gives a purpose to the work; it unifies the sub-plots of beheading and temptation into an
organic whole; and it subordinates the different incidents to the main issue. Above all, the test proves
that the poet is not a mere writer of a romance but a realist who believes that ideal perfection should be
sought, but is impossible to be achieved by humans.
This strange courtesy is the target of the poet’s satire here and later in the temptation scenes.
The pride in Gawain’s voice is not to be ignored: " give it to me who soonest have sought it and let/ all
this court of my speech is not seemly, decide/without blame” (357-360).
Soon,the poet himself steps out to give Gawain a warning:
Now take heed Gawain lest,
Tearing the green Knight’s brand,
Thou shrinkest from the quest
That thou has ta’en in hand
This warning points to the seriousness of Gawain’s ordeal and the word “shrinkest” has an ominous ring:
it leads to the mocking reproach of the green Knight: “thou art flinching” (2272)
Arthur’s strange yearning “to hear boasts” (492) is satisfied and the games begin. But the poet’s warning
is again very grim:
But not strange it would seem if sad were the ending;
For though men having drunk much are merry in mind
Full swift flies a year, never yielding the same,
3
W.P. Ker, English Literature: Medieval (1912; npt. Lodon: William and Norgate 1926), 139
4
Ker, 141.
The start and the close very seldom according (496-99).
The King’s love for boasts, and the advice of a drunken counsel lands a courteous knight into trouble.
The seriousness of this new game is lost on the court given to revelry-- no one is worried at Gawain’s
predicament. It is only when he is ready to depart that the courtiers start worrying and complaining.
“Who e’er knew any king such counsel to take/ as foolish as one in a Christmas frolic? “ (682-3). The
poet’s knowledge of human psychology finds a clear expression in these ironic lines.
Before Gawain’s departure, the pentangle on his shield is discussed in detail. The symbol “befit[ted]s”
(622) him as he is said to be as perfect and constant as the “endless knot” (630). Green writes, “the poet
could hardly have chosen a more ambiguous patron for Gawain’s virtue”5. He explains that Solomon was
a wise and powerful king but in the end he became “guilty of follies that cost him his kingdom…. His
weakness for women turned him away from God and he built temples to the powers of darkness (111
Kings 11:9)”6. The virtues symbolized by the knot, truth and constancy, and Gawain’s other virtues:
loyalty, chastity, courage and generosity, are exaggerated by the poet in contrast to the anticlimax at
the end of the poem. We note that faith is missing. The realist that the poet is, he makes Gawain bid
farewell as a desperate man: “and gave them all good-day/forever,7 as he thought”. (667-68).
The brave and pious knight is sure he will be killed by the Green Knight and this feeling is throughout
with him, causing fear and sleepless nights. The detailed description of Gawain’s elaborate dress and
armour is significant. It is not only a tradition in romances, but a device to emphasize the worldliness of
it all. We find in the end that he needs nothing of the armour or the glitter to prove his virtues.
When Gawain arrives at Bertilak’s castle, it is a day of penance and fasting but he is served fish cooked in
many different ways. It is a “dinner fit for a gourmet with an insatiable medieval appetite. With amused
irony the poet records Gawain’s graceful compliments on the feast and the protests of the waiter”8. It is
also obvious that Gawain seem[s] to have a better and better time as the wine [goes] to his head”.9
Gawain’s virtues are even more exaggerated at the new court:
That never made Christ a comelier knight
They thought
On earth, or far or near,
It seemed as if he ought
To be prince sans peer
5
Richard Hamilton Green, “Gawain’s Shield and Quest for Perfection”, Middle English Survey, ed. Edward Vaeta (Notre Dame: Univ. of Notre Dame, 1968), 82
6
Green, 82
7
Emphasis mine
8
Green, 89
9
Green, 89
In fields where fierce men fought (869-74).
This praise is ironical because it is in this castle that he is observed, tested and proved weak and lacking
in integrity. He has faced the hardships of his journey with the help of his courage and piety, but the real
test comes in the familiar social environment where he “must struggle against the darks powers within
himself, aroused and concealed by the softening influences of society” 10
The virtues most praised here are his manners and “faultless terms of talking most noble” (917). Brian
Stone uses the words “virtuous discourse” and “lofty talk” in his translation. 11 Gawain is called
“nurturers own father” (919):
To each of us this her now
Will noble manners teach
Who hear him will learn how
To utter loving speech (923-27).
This emphasis on manner and courtesy is important: ironically, it is in these that he ecxcels and it is
because of them that he falls.
The contrast between the two ladies, one the loveliest, the other the ugliest, is depicted with great
realism and humour. The minor details make these characters convincing and real.
If fresh was the one, the other was yellow;
Rich on the one was rioting everywhere,
Rough wrinkled cheeks hung in rolls on the other
Her body thick and short,
Her hips were round and wide (951-967)
Palpably amused at the thought of a goddess turned old, he presents Morgan le Fay as a squat, ugly,
overdressed, old woman, though she is still, as a goddess, possessed of malign powers”.12
“On the morning when the Lord…../ was born,” (995-6) there is great feasting and merry-making. The
poet’s slant humour, tinged with realism is at its height.
Yet I know both the lovely lady and Gawain
10
Green, 87
11
Brian Stone, Trans and ed. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A new translation (Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1959)
12
Roger Sherman Loomis and Laura Hibbard Loomis, eds. Medieval Romances (New York: Random House, 1957), 327
So sweet found each other’s society…………………………………
Each minded his affairs,
And those two did the same (1009-1015).
Being a human, and a man, Gawain cannot resist flirting with the lovely lady- Birthlack. The lady’s first
and sudden attack is met by Gawain in a manner that is amusing in its extreme courtesy. In the parallel
hunt, “the deer fled, foolish from fright” (1150); and imprisoned in his bed, Gawain makes an amusingly
sophisticated sppech in reply to the lady’s blunt offer: “By God, should you think it were good, I’d be
glad/if I should, or in words or action accomplish/your ladyship, pleasure, a pure joy that would prove.”
(1244-46).
“This is a gentle mockery of manners mistaken for words and further evidence that Gawain is in fact
more vulnerable than he knows.”13
To her protest that he has not even craven a kiss, he says, “let it be as you like, lovely lady/ as a knight is
so bound, I’ll kiss at your bidding/and lest he displease you, so plead no longer”. (1301-303).
On her second visit, the lady presses even harder but Gawain’s courtesy has no bounds. He tells her that
he has not talked of love to her because it would be “a manifold folly” (1544) to take up the topic in
front of one who has “more skill in that art” (1541). It is quite obvious that the poet is satirizing courtly
love, a concept of medieval literature which WP Ker calls “courtly game”.14 Ker says, “the difficulty is to
know how much there is of pretence and artifice in the game”15, and this is exactly what the poet is
asking.
The conversations between Gawain and the lady may be normal or courteous by medieval standards,
but they have a vanity and artifice, which is duly noted and mocked by the realist poet. It is quite
possible that this beautiful lady and her overtures give Gawain the love of life that is mocked later by the
Green Knight. The temptation offered is very dangerous as he has to prove his chastity and his loyalty to
the host, but he is able to indulge in the art of conversation at such a dangerous moment. This is the
only quality left with him for the others will soon prove to be missing. Brian Stone says that the lady is
“using every means short of magic, for a victory by magic could not succeed in its object of making
Gawain sin”.16
This fact is proof of the poet’s keen sense of realism. This hero has to fall because of his own fault and
not through stereo-type devices used in typical romances.
13
Green, 90-91
14
Ker, 99
15
Ker, 99
16
Stone, footnote,
As promised, Gawain is honest about the kisses he gives to the hostess in exchange for the hunted
animals he is presented. On the third night, Bertilak has a warning for Gawain, but he does not take
heed for he is but human:
Twice I’ve found you were faithful when tried:
In the morning ‘best be the third time,’ remember.
Let’s be mindful of mirth while we may, and make merry,
For care when one wants is quickly encountered.
(1879 – 82)
Gawain’s sleep is disturbed by fearful and gloomy dreams of the encounter the next day. But seeing the
lady “glorious, gaily attired,/…Deep joy came welling up, warming his heart, / With sweet , gentle smiling
they straightaway grew merry.” (1760 – 63). He throws away his fears and enjoys the company of the
pretty lady. Her attack is even more dangerous on her third visit. The Green Knight’s challenge was a
public test and Gawain, in his pride and youth, accepted and answered it. This second test is different.
He is tested “not only privately, but even without his realizing it is a test at all – no wonder he partly
fails!”17. Finding Gawain chaste and true, the lady offers a token of her remembrance. He swears not to
take anything before he attains “the adventure he’d there under-taken” (1838), but the nature of the
girdle makes him change his mind: “Her suit he suffered, and let her speak.” (1859) This shows that he
deliberately makes her keep offering it so that to refuse would seem discourteous. So great is his love
for life that he contrives to accept the talisman and thus cheats his host and himself. “The fine issue of
[the] story here is not the proof of hero-hood or of chastity but of a failure, even in the best of knights,
to keep a perfect integrity…”18. He hides the girdle form Bertilak not out of courtesy for the lady as he
has her believe, because this very courtesy also binds him to her husband. He hides it and then goes for
confession which is again portrayed with amusement and irony. When something as precious as life is at
stake, certain moral issues are dealt with through reason alone. This “irony of muddled conscience is
sustained through the new year’s journey to the green mound and to the end of the quest”19.
We are told that the priest- “made him spotless,/indeed as if doomsday were due on the morrow”.
(1883-84). The irony is implicit: “and never, they declare, /Has Gawain shown such glee/ since hither he
did fare.” (1890-92).
One is bound to think that this “glee” is partly due to his purification after the confession, but mainly
because of talisman he is hiding in his room for the encounter the next day. It is his “doomsday” for he
shall be judged and “scathe[d]” (2507) forever.
17
Frost, 23
18
Loomis, 327
19
Green, 91
On the hunting grounds, there is no dear or boar but a shy fox and Bertilak is disgusted at the winning
he presents to Gawain: “the skin of this fox- the fiend take its foulness” (1944). Similarly, we are
disgusted at Gawain’s slyness and disloyalty towards his host.
Gawain’s night is a disturbed one: “yet I dare not say whether soundly he slept,/ for much, if he would,
on the morn, he remember/ had he. (1991-93). If the morning, he wears the girdle under his clothes,
“himself to save when he needs must suffer/ the death” (2040-1). The poet’s use of “bold man” (2042)
here is again ironical and touched with humour. Gawain was bold when he started his journey, but now
he is corrupted by softness, love of life and disloyalty. “Realistically, psychologically, the moment and
the choice are perfectly conceived; the young hero gain in human credibility what he loses in ideal
perfection.20
When the guide bids him go back without fighting the green Knight, Gawain is offended: “a coward I’d
prove, and could not be pardoned” (2131). His virtue is public and deliberate like that of most human
beings. He is worried to be proven a coward on the evidence of the guide, while the girdle’s secret is his
alone, a private sin he can live with. (He thinks the lady will not reveal it without revealing her own
action).
Gawain talks with the green knight boldly and readers know he can talk well, but “his shoulders shrank
from the sharp iron a little”. (2267)
The Green Knight reproves him: “no in fear, are thou feelest a hurt, thou art flinching (2272). This is
significant because the poet, being a realist, has created a flesh-and-blood character, not a robot or a
stereotype hero. The knight is no more pure and the “flinching” points to this aspect too.
The joy and sprightliness Gawain shows on being safe is portrayed with humour and irony (2315-2330):
“and since he was a mortal man born of his mother/ the hero was never so happy by half” (2320-1). His
statement to the Green Knight is based on a lie: “I’ve received, unresisting, a stroke”- no wonder he is
ashamed when he finds his lie is detected. As compared to his passion, the Green Knight is gentle in his
reproach: “now be not so savage, bold sir, for towards you/non have has acted unhandsomely, save/In
accord with the compact arranged” (2338-40). He explains that the first “two mere feints” (2352) were
harmless because Gawain had proved that in chastity he was as “faultless” (2363) “as a pearl” (2364).
“The terrible enchanter compliments the Christian on his virtue”,21 but adds: you failed the third time,
Knight,
And therefore took that blow.
‘T is my garment you’re wearing, that woven girdle,
Bestowed by my wife, as in truth I know well (2356-59).
20
Loomis, 326
21
Stone, 14
The reproach never becomes insulting or harsh: “But a little your lacked, and loyalty wanted,/ yet truly
‘twas not for intrigue or for wooing/ But love of your life; the less do I blame you (2366-68)”. There is no
cynicism and the poet is gentle and sympathetic towards Gawain, just as the Green Knight is
compassionate.
Gawain’s self-reproach is as intense as his other major speeches to the Green Knight. He has always
been over-confident about his virtues and therefore his guilt is also exaggerated. “Be cowardice cursed
or coveting”: (2374) and his boastfulness finds way even her: I’m faulty and false, who’ve been ever
afraid/of untruth and treachery” (2382-83). The poet’s insight into human psychology is visible in these
lines and those in which Gawain blames womenkind in general:
But no marvel it is for a fool to act madly,
Through women’s wiles to be brought to woe.
So for certain was Adam deceived by some woman,
By several Solomon, Samson, besides;
Delilah dealt him his doom; and David was duped by Bathsheba, enduring much sorrow. (2414-19).
Gawain compares himself to great Biblical characters who were formally “most noble and fortunate”
(2422) before being “caught” by “women’s wiles” (2425). The pious, noble, and courteous Knight had
forsaken “munificence, loyalty” (2381) and truth by accepting the girdle. Now he has forsaken the only
thing that was with him in Bertilake’s castle- courtesy towards women. This is human nature depicted
realistically, for man always finds something or someone to put the blame one.
The poet is a human and realist first and then a satirist, therefore Gawain never falls too low to be
redeemed. His final speech to the Green Knight is dignified and shows genuine remorse. He shall wear
the girdle not for its beauty, fame or cost,
But in sign of my sin I shall see it oft.
When in glory I move, with remorse I’ll remember
The frailty and fault of the stubborn flesh.
And thus when I’m proud of my prowess in arms
The sight of this sash shall humble my spirit (2433-38).
The proud knight has learnt the lesson of humility, for back at Arthur’s court, he publicly narrates and
accepts his sin: “In torment this he owned;/ Blood in his face did flame;/ with wrath and grief he
groaned” (2501-2504).
Thus, the poem “points to the vanity of human pride- the pride of magnificent Kings, of grayed queens,
of perfect knights whose perfection is illusory” 22 and this is the moral of the poem. The moral is not
presented openly but with a fine subtlety which is very modern by medieval standards. It is a moral
based on truth and reality and has no harshness or sentimentality in it.
In brief, we find that Gawain’s character is not improbable, nor idealized. The poem may have been
received as a fairy-tale in the medieval times but “the drop of humanity [injected] into [the] treatment
of Gawain23” differentiates it from the moral romances of the middle ages. Gawain does fall, but his
public confession gives him a greatness we can look up to just as his fall evokes feelings of sympathy and
fellowship. This is the universality and the realism of the poem.
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