Sir Gawain the True Anonymous

The artful creator of the fourteenth- century poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" cleverly leads his reader with a trail of words through the mysterious world of "a castle cut of paper..."(Sir Gawain 802). Here, he puts his main character Sir Gawain to the most perilous of tests for an Arthurian knight, the test of honor. The gracious author constructs a most cunning component to his story, which the clever reader will conclude to be a foretelling counterpart. His clues are copious. Of particular importance are the "hunting" scenes of which the poet writes for 802 lines. These scenes, which switch between hunting the animals in the woods and "hunting" Gawain in the bedroom, mirror one another and amplify the somewhat hidden similarities of the respective sports. This comparison thereby elucidates the important facets of knighthood and honor that are so central to this romantic world. The ultimate significance of these three hunting scenes in the larger story is their ability to challenge Gawain on a level that compels the reader to view him as a worthy, true hero.

When the poet has led the reader to the hunting scenes the reader has already seen Gawain honorably agree to play a game...