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Composed in the late fourteenth century. The poet's name is unknown, but he is referred to as "the Pearl poet" since he also wrote "The Pearl." He was probably a member of a court since he is so familiar with court life, costumes, and entertainments.
The poet was a contemporary of Chaucer, and he wrote in a Northwest Midland's dialect much less modern than the London dialect of Chaucer.
The stories of Arthur, his knights, and his court are called romances.
The Arthur stories, prevalent in France, Germany, Italy, and
Britain, are a microcosm (world in miniature) of European medieval
culture emerging from the chaotic days (Dark Ages) in the centuries
after the fall of Rome. Rome had given Europe order, laws, judges,
roads, improved farming methods, and an educated bureaucracy. When
the Germanic barbarians (Anglo-Saxons and other tribes) destroyed all
this --starting in the fifth century A.D. -- people had to start all
over again, that is reinvent civilization. What was painfully slow
historically was in the Arthurian tales telescoped (speeded up
fictionally). Thus, in Arthur's court we have a miniature, speeded-up
story of European society reinventing itself, without Rome and with a
strong Christian sensibility. In much the same way, Westerns
(originally in pulp fiction, later in movies) in America are a
miniature story of America inventing itself, turning away from the
European and embracing the anti-authority spirit that is the essence
of America.
Like the culture itself, Arthur is young and inexperienced, stupid
really. The knights are equally clueless.
Since everyone is starting from scratch, the knights typically go out on adventures and face the forces of good and evil, uncertain how to balance bravery and Christianity. As a Christian knight he must decide how best to act in ambiguous situations. Most important for the development and instruction of society, the knight must return to the court and report his actions. Only in this way can the court learn from the individuals' experiences. Thus, future knights will have more to guide them.
Gawain goes out into the wilderness to face the Green Knight as he has honorably promised. He prides himself on being the perfect Christian knight. Look at the part of the text that deals with his shield. The shield and its symbolism are to constantly remind him to act like Christ. As Christ was a celibate, so is Gawain. But here is the problem facing the Christian knights: how can one emulate Christ and be a soldier living in the real world? Is it possible to be like Christ? Are have the knights set themselves a goal they will surely fail to achieve?
Faced with magic, and a lady who tempts his virginity, Gawain stumbles as a perfect knight. He takes the story of his humiliation back to the court so that they all might learn from his mistakes; thus, he serves his king and helps construct new values for his civilization.
The Green Knight is rather like a fertility god. Stories of ancient fertility gods that have survived in Greek and Middle Eastern myths demonstrate ancient people's belief that a god was in charge of all that grew and died. The fertility god was believed to follow the pattern observable in nature: 1) winter and death of all vegetation, 2) followed by spring and the rebirth or regeneration of the land. This death followed by rebirth was believed to be caused by a fertility god who dies in winter but comes alive again in the spring in a never-ending cycle. The Green Knight is portrayed with the trappings or symbols of fertility. First, he is green, the color of the land in the spring and summer. Second, his clothes are embroidered in gold, the color of the sun, without whose warmth and light no life on earth could endure. Third, he wears holly which is a plant that does not die in the winter, an ideal plant specimen for a creature that represents the eternality of life. Fourth, his beard is like a bush. The Green Knight, hardy and vibrantly green represents the life force in nature and in human beings. The life force is what makes human beings strive so hard to survive and what makes human beings reproduce: fertility, at least in human kind, is sexual. The Green Knight's as a figure of the life force is key to the meaning of the poem.
This poem is truly Christian, not the unformed Christianity of Beowulf. The season for the story's setting is Christmas, the biggest ritual in the Christian world. Of course, the Bible does not give us Jesus' birthday. The early Christian Church trying to make Christianity an easy to follow religion chose Dec. 25 because the pagan people (fertility-worshipping) were used to having a major celebration about this time around the Winter Solstice (Dec. 22, the shortest day of the year). The Solstices ( the Summer Solstice is June 22, the longest day of the year) and the Equinoxes were important to European countries because people marked the seasons of the year this way so they would know when to plant and harvest. The early Church fathers more or less say, You can still have your winter holiday, but we're going to call it Christmas, the celebration of the birth of your new god, Jesus. The same thing happened at Easter, the celebration of the Spring Equinox became the celebration of the Resurrection. This superimposing the new religion on the old is one of the reasons for the success of Christianity in Europe.
____ The Outside World, harsh nature, battles to be fought, wild animals, bad weather, war, chaos
____The Green Knight represents nature and primitive instincts
____The Green Knight is also very civilized. The poet spends a good deal of time in describing his clothes. Elaborate clothes are symbols of the artificial, a growing away from the natural.
In earlier tales (called romances) Gawain is linked to the sun god, another fertility deity.
But as the Green Knight represents fertility, Gawain represents chastity, a Christian virtue. We see how devoted he is to his chastity in the Temptation Game he plays with the Lady.
The Beheading Game occurs in earlier eighth and ninth century Irish (Celtic) romances.
In this story, the Green Knight invites Gawain to exchange blows, not to chop off his head. Is this wrong on Gawain's part? Is this his first mistake: to yield to temptation of anger? (He's insulted because the Green Knight belittles the valor of Arthur's court.)
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