Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Comparison Essay

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We have always been fascinated by tales of magic and adventure. The tales of King Arthur and Camelot are a prime example and Authors throughout generations have written about the the mythical kingdom and its quests. Knights are the perfect heroes: brave, chivalrous, and strong. Every knight has their own personality and backstory, each one intriguing. Knights Gawain and Bedivere go on life changing journeys in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by the Pearl Poet and The Passing of Arthur by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Passing of Arthur feature similar themes and elements, but differ in style. In both works, loyal knights do whatever they can to protect their King. When Arthur goes to war with the traitor Mordred in The Passing of Arthur, Bedivere is right by…show more content…
Sir Gawain is offered a “rich ring wrought in red gold”(89) twice by the castellan’s wife, but declines. The third time she says, “If you reject my ring as too rich in value,/ Doubtless you would be less deeply indebted to me/ If I gave you my girdle, a less gainful gift”(89), and he accepts. Again in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the number three in a display of affection: “And thrice by then had she kissed the constant knight”(91). In The Passing of Arthur, the number appears between Arthur and Bedivere. Bedivere fails twice to throw Excalibur into the lake, but he believes he will succeed with another attempt: “Yet, for a man may fail in duty twice, and the third may prosper”(4). After he throws the sword, the lady of the lake grabs it and “bradish’d him/ Three times”(5). Three appears yet again, when “three Queens/ Put forth their hands, and took the King, and wept”(5).The recurrence of the number is not a coincidence. The pattern has a trinitarian background - Christianity was a pillar of Arthurian times, as well as the time period in which the books were
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