Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Major Characters

• Sir Gawain

• The Green Knight/Bercilak

• Bercilak’s wife

Summary

• The Green Knight challenges the knights of the round table on Christmas.

• Sir Gawain accepts and chops off his head

• In one year and a day Sir Gawain has to go find the Green Knight and let him chop off his head.

• He leaves on Halloween and arrives to the castle on Christmas Eve

Summary part 2

• He stays at the castle and goes through a series of tests he doesn’t know about

• He finds the Green Knight and he is prepared to get his head cut off

• The Green Knight reveals himself as Bercilak and says he has passed the challenge and the knights of the round are worthy

symbolism

• three animals- deer, boar, fox• Day one- Hunts for a deer that symbolizes that he tries

to run away from the wife• Day Two- Hunts for a boar and that symbolizes how he

gave the wife just TWO kisses• Day Three- Hunts for the fox symbolizes the

cunningness and deceit and that’s why the wife and Sir Gawain stay together

• three cuts at the end

Themes

• chivalry-at first he accepted the Green Knight’s challenge

• Then he went to seek out the Green Knight• While he was in the castle he was respectful towards the

host’s wife for the most part• He showed courage at the end when he accepted his

‘punishment’ from the Green Knight