Sir Gawain and the Hunt - Para

A detailed Summary of Sir Gawain and the Hunt - Para

Throughout the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", the Pearl Poet uses symbolism to convey to the reader more clearly what is happening, and what will happen in the poem. In part three of this poem, the poet uses the symbolism of the three days of the hunt to visually portray to the reader what is happening to Sir Gawain in his bedchamber. The poet's detailed description of the slaughtering of the animals following each day's hunt serves as a foreshadowing of Sir Gawain's and the Green Knight's future meeting at the Green Chapel.

The three days of the hunt that is lead by Lord Bercilak, or, the Green Knight, as the reader comes to realize, occur while Sir Gawain is supposedly resting peacefully in his bedchamber. On the first day of the hunt, Bercilak and his men chase and kill deer. The deer that are killed are portrayed as innocent, frightened, and confused as to why they are being hunted and how they should react, "Deer dashed through the dale, dazed with dread" (l. 1151). This scene is directly juxtaposed with Sir Gawain in his bedchamber: "So the lord in the linden-wood leads the hunt/ And Gawain the good night in gay bed lies," (1l. 1178-1179). As the bedchamber scene p

On the second day of the hunt, Lord Bercilak and his men come across a wild boar, and eventually kill it. On this day's hunt, however, they have a far less easy time killing the boar than they did with the deer the day before. The boar puts up a valiant fight before succumbing to Bercilak's sword, and actually injures many of the hounds and the men. In this passage, unlike the first hunt, Gawain's bedchamber scene does not come after the finish of the hunt, but in between the chase and the slaughter of the boar. While Bercilak and his men are trying to corner the boar, the lady of the castle again interrupts Gawain's rest. This time, instead of not knowing how to react to her, and acting like a 'deer caught in the headlights' so to speak, Gawain reacts more like the wild boar that is being hunted; he puts up a fight. When the lady tries to tempt him, this time Gawain cleverly wriggles out of it by telling her that he does not wish to offend her by professing his feelings. No matter what she says to him, or how she tries to tempt him, Gawain remains steadfast in his innocence, just as the wild boar resisted the huntsmen: "Thus she tested his temper and tried many a time, / Whatever her true intent, to entice him to sin, / But so fair was his defense that no fault appeared" (ll. 1549-1551).

On the third and final day of the hunt, the Pearl Poet's symbolism reaches a climax when Bercilak chases and kills a fox. The fox is portrayed as being wily and cunning, looping back and forth to throw the hunters off of his track. Again, following the slaughter of the fox, Bercilak cuts its head off, foreshadowing the later scene at the Green Chapel. The fox serves as a symbol for both Sir Gawain and his slip from innocence, and for the cunning of Bercilak's wife. On this third morning, the lady of the castle again enters Sir Gawain's bedchamber to tempt him one last time. The fox can be seen as a symbol for Bercilak's wife, because of her cunning in making Gawain accept the green sash from her

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sir Gawain, Lord Bercilak, Green Chapel, Sir Gawain's, Gawain Bercilak, Pearl Poet, Pearl Poet's, Green Knight, Green Knight's, sir gawain, Bercilak Gawain, green knight, sir gawain's, green chapel, bercilak's wife, gawain green, wild boar, days hunt, day hunt, lady castle, sir gawain bedchamber, gawain green knight, tries tempt gawain, detailed description slaughtering, sir gawain green,

Approximate Word count = 1355
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English