THE

Abstract

FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1979.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hero sets out
 on a journey in which he is forced to make moral choices
 that ultimately alter his self-knowledge. Gawain's journey
 is the direct result of a challenge offered by the Green
 Knight under the guise of a Christmas game. Metaphorically,
 his actions are reflected by the pentangle, which although
 composed of oppositions, always leads back to itself.
 Gawain'3 divided consciousness is further symbolized by
 the Virgin-shield, which alludes to caritas, and the magic
 girdle, which alludes to cupiditas. Their opposition forms
 the basic conflict of the poem: between spirit and flesh.
 These symbols initiate two sequences of action wherein
 Gawain is tested, fails and is absolved. He returns to
 Camelot a new man, wiser for his folly, a true exemplar of
 Christianity as symbolized by the pentangle virtues.

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters