Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Fit 2)

1.) First Stanza: Gawain prepares to leave king Author's castle. It tells of how the people are going to miss him and it describes how well dressed in great armour Gawain is to go off on his quest.
Second Stanza: Explains in detail about the shield that Gawain was granted and the pentangle, also known as the Knot without End, enscribed on it in pure gold. Gawain rides away leaving the lords and ladies sorrowful. Gawain goes throughout the wilderness searching for the Green Chapel and the Green Knight. It talks about how his faith in God saved him many times in battle against beasts throughout his journey and helped him keep moving along. Winter and Christmas Eve are soon to come.
Third Stanza: Gawain finds a castle to stay at and is warmly welcomed. He is given a great room, a servent, a feast, and told he can stay as long as he wants. The people in the court find out Gawain is part of King Arthur's round table and is pleased to have his presence and learn from him. Gawain is introduced to the beautiful queen and they begin to take intrest in eachother. The lord of the castle tries to keep Gawain in his company but Gawain tells him it can not be. The lord tells him where the green chaple is and Gawain finds out it is not far away. The king is delighted to have Gawain stay longer and commands he do what he tells him. They then make a deal to share what ever they earn.

2.) Gawain's life is pretty much a game. When he is on the quest he goes through many trials and is never sure when his game is going to end or when he is going to reach his destination. When he agrees to play a game with the king, do what ever he tells him, and stay in his castle. In this section games is what keeps Gawain going and when they play games at the castle I think it make Gawain feel more like at home.

3.) The castle is a symbol of Gawain's fate. Gawain found the castle soon after asking the Lord for shelter and heat before is was too late. He ends up at the castle and is kindly welcomed and given great hospitality but is wanted to stay more than he intends and wants to. This idea fits into the theme of idea of hospitality.

4.) Gawain is different in this section compared to the first section because he is off on his own for the most part of this section during his travels and gains much confidence to defeat beasts along his way and keep moving. He acts differently at the castle and is pampered much more than he was at King Arthur's castle which is probably making his head even bigger and making him think there is no one better and he can do anything, unlike the last section where he agreed to fight the Green knight because no one else was going to do it except his king.

5.) Gawain is spoiled in Brytelac's castle and is surrounded with many great things including furniture, great food, and even his own servent. The setting of Brytelac's castle gives off a more serious vibe and Brytelac knows the importance of Gawain and wants to keep him there as long as he can so he surrounds and presents Gawain with even greater things to keep him there.

2.) Role of Kings: Hrolf is one of the best kings in this book. He is one of the few that do not take revenge and cause more hatred between other countries. It is also told that he is an open-handed and generous person who is so trustworthy and particular about his friends that there is no one else like him. King Helgi was embarrassed as a king and went through much disgrace. He was tricked by Queen Olof and didn’t even know it until a while later. It was worse to be disgraced than to die. He also cared more about his personal needs than the needs of his kingdom. King Adils was a very boastful and arrogant king. He killed his wife’s father which could mean that he has no respect for her. Adils was known to be a very strong and powerful king who is feared by some but not a good ruler and many wanted to get rid of him.

Role of a Warrior: Bodvar is an excellent warrior. He is willing to defend the best king and wants to make a name for himself. Once Hjalti drinks the blood of the dragon he becomes strong and defeats the dragon when Hrolf's champions think it is still alive.

Role of Women: Most of the women in this story seem to be magical and evil. Queen Olof was very powerful and did things to get her way. She got revenge on King Helgi twice. She is a women that tries to take over a man's job therefore she is evil in the eyes of the author

Concept of Magic: Magic is what most of the characters in this story are who they are. Skuld uses magic to defeat King Hrolfs kingdom by using a boar to defeat his knights. The Elf women uses magic to curse King Helgi because he did not go and see his daughter Skuld.

Revenge: When Elk-Frodi finds out that his brother, Bodvar, has died in battle he goes against Queen Skuld to avenge his brother. He is not the only one that does so, his brothers and many others went against Queen Skuld for this reason. Yrsa gets revenge on King Adils for killing her father Helgi. Helgi gets revenge on Olof for disrespecting and dishonoring him.

Hospitality: King Hrolf takes in Bodvar and Hjalti and treats them well unlike his champions who feel threatened by their apperance. When Hrolf and his champions are traveling to King Adils kingdom a farmer named Herani gladly takes them in and gives them shelter.

3. People transforming into beasts represents giving people the power to overcome what they are usually uncapable of and making them into a different person. For example Bjorn turns into a bear by day and is human back at night due to a curse from Queen Olof. He is a beast and kills the kingdoms farm animals. Elk frodi is stronger than most people and when Bodvar drinks his blood he becomes much stronger and is a great battler. Hjalti drinks the dragons blood and moves himself up and gets higher respect because of how strong he is. Bodvar gets a spirit bear in battle and is able to go against all of queen Yrsa's warriors. Queen Yrsa uses a boar when the bear dissapears because Bodvar is woken up. Being a beast in this story gets you farther in life and higher closer to the king.

4. King Arthur's round table repsents Hrolf's champions. Both contain twelve knights and each wants to be closest to his king. Both groups of knights are not that brave and the kings have to battle a beast because they are too scared to battle themselves. Each has a warrior who stands out and knows that the king can not fight so they fight the beast even if they are not strong enough.

8. Both have bears on thier side which is a symbol of power. Both kings went into battle but Hrolf left his people strong and Beowulf fought the battle by himself and did not teach his warriors how to fight. Beowulf was more concerned about making a name for himself and Hrolf was more concerned about his knights and country