Blooms Literary Themes - THE HEROS ... - ymerleksi - home

198Sir Gawain and the Green KnightThe “tests and trials” Gawain endures most successfully demonstrateboth the knight’s need for and failure in achieving fulfillment.Throughout the poem, Gawain undertakes numerous challenges thatare designed to test the essential characteristics of a chivalric knight:courage, honor, loyalty, and courtesy. These are the attributes theGreen Knight challenges when he arrives at Arthur’s palace:“So here is the house of Arthur,” he scoffed,“whose virtues reverberate across the realm.Where’s the fortitude and fearlessness you’re so famous for?And the breathtaking bravery and the big-mouth bragging?The towering reputation of the Round Table,Skittled and scuppered by a stranger—what a scandal!” (Armitage309–315)The Green Knight’s initial arrival creates a palpable shockthroughout the court, not just because of his outward appearance,but also because of the blustery nature of the challenge he throwsdown among the assembled knights. Green calls this moment an“ominous intrusion of a figure from another world,” and thus itseems we can forgive the knights for being stunned into momentarysilence (124). It is Arthur himself who initially steps forwardto confront the Green Knight. Many critics have suggested thatArthur’s response is less than valorous, motivated more by woundedpride and embarrassment than by any more genuine chivalric ideal;however, the text does not necessarily bear this reading out. In fact,the opposite seems more likely true; once over his initial shockat the Green Knight’s odd request, Arthur’s reply, though not ascommanding as the Green Knight’s initial provocation, is bold andaggressive.It is now that Gawain steps forward, to take the stead of hisking and measure the might of the Green Knight. Critics have longsuggested that Gawain’s initial response to the Beheading Game isboth apt and courageous, and indeed, Gawain’s words to both hisking and the Green Knight demonstrate his humility and courage.However, Gawain’s initial motivation for undertaking the challengehas itself never been questioned. Though a knight is always supposedto perform his chivalric duty regardless of the potential danger to his