Meleagant
I admire the proud
and courageous entrance the Green Knight made into Camelot. However, the Green
Knight’s odd request for an unprovoked duel strikes me as puzzling. Even the
language used by the Green Knight is not straight-forward, but instead reeks of
trickery. He demands to speak to the commander of the crowd, King Arthur, but
claims to wish to speak words that are rational and sound. He claims to be
passing in peace and not searching for confrontation, and bears a branch to
signify his good intentions. However, the Green Knight then proceeds to boast
of this strength and discredit Arthur’s court, in clear violation of his
previous claim of not wishing to exchange prickly words. For no clear reason,
the Green Knight challenges any man present to strike him with his own axe so
that he might return the blow in a year’s time.
Was the Green Knight only
intending to deceive the court with his initial declaration of peace, or did he
truly change his mind so quickly? If his original intention was to issue this challenge,
why would such a man bother with initial declarations of peace? He had already
charged into the gathering, so there was no need to lie to gain admittance. My
entrance to King Arthur’s court was much more straightforward and less baffling.
If only I had the power of the Green Knight to withstand beheading, I would
have surely defeated Lancelot.
I generally prefer
my armor to be the darkest black, but the Green Knight was clad entirely in
green. Although he did not actually wear armor to the confrontation in part one,
we know his armor is also green. The significance of this color is unclear.
Surely it means something, but we do not know exactly what as of yet.
Part
one and part two of Sir Gawain’s escapades seem to focus extensively on
frivolity and party. Despite the writer’s claims that there is too much going
on to be explained in detail, the majority of these first two parts focus
festivities. As I am a great warrior with serious matters that require my
attention, these needless exchanges of pleasantries seem pointless. I can only
assume that the excessive hospitality of Sir Gwain’s hosts will soon end some spectacular
manner. Based on the lengthy description of the attractive woman on page 435, I
predict the honorable Sir Gawain is likely to disgrace himself and soon get
himself removed from his host’s lodging.
Meleagant,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Green Knight's request is not only mysterious but also outrageous. I cannot help but consider both the holly branch and the fact that he allowed his own head to be cut off first. If he wanted to overwhelm and capture King Arthur, his knights, or his ladies, he obviously had the power to do so. Perhaps, the holly really was meant to convey a message of ultimate good will. Part two may be filled with inactivity on purpose. Perhaps the storyteller wanted give his listeners time to consider what they had already heard and to prepare them for what was to come. Maybe the lull in the action would make the listeners want to come back to hear the rest of the story. Besides, Sir Gawain needed to psyche himself up for battle.