Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Juxtaposition Essay
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Juxtaposition is an excellent way to connect the ideas of different scenes within a literary piece. The juxtaposition between the scenes of the lady’s seduction and hunting in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by the Pearl Poet can also be connected to the different stages Gawain goes through for the beheading game. The three hunts can be used to represent the three stages of the beheading game. The easy hunt of the deer, the first hunt, is juxtaposed with the first appearance of the lady which can be related to when Gawain took the Green Knight’s bait at the beginning of the story with the beheading game. This juxtaposition introduces the idea that the lady’s sex game can be compared to hunting. For this particular hunt, it shows that the first move is the easiest. Furthermore, it is later shown how…show more content… This juxtaposition shows the initial idea to fight back against what is threatening, whether that be temptation or being hunted. One example of the boar fighting back is when the poem says, “Often he stands at bay, and maims the circling pack, wounding many hounds that piteously yelp and bark” (Lines 1450-1453). With this particular hunt being juxtaposed with the lady’s continued temptation, it can be assumed that Gawain will be resisting the lady in some way. This proves to be the case when, in reply to the lady, Gawain says, “What you say is quite true; but in my country force is considered ignoble, and so is each gift that is not freely given” (Lines 1498-1500). Gawain is resisting the temptation of the lady just as how the boar is fighting for its survival. The juxtaposition of these two scenes can be connected to Gawain facing the temptation to break his promise to the Green Knight in an attempt to save his own